Veteran journalist Gerald F. Seib tells the story of how conservatism came to dominate national politics in Washington and in the media over the succeeding decades, thanks to Rush Limbaugh and the rise of Fox News. We follow Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America that secured the Republicans both chambers of Congress for the first time in forty years, the rising power of evangelicals in the wake of Roe v Wade, and George W. Bush’s compassionate conservatism. But we also see multiple warning signs, many overlooked or misread at the time, that a populist revolution was brewing. Pat Buchanan, Ross Perot, Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party—all were precursors of the Trump takeover. In this scintillating work of journalism, Seib brings new insight to the most important political story of our time.