Description: David N. Gibbs explores the forces that shaped the turn toward free market economics and wealth concentration and finds their roots in the 1970s. He argues that the political transformations of this period resulted from a "revolt of the rich," whose defense of their class interests came at the expense of the American public.
Review Quotes: How did America become a land of grotesque excessive wealth for a few and widespread want and insecurity for so many? The Revolt of the Rich shows how much forethought and strategic maneuvering it took from the combined forces of the pro-corporate right, not least its many subsidized scholars and operatives. Yet historian David Gibbs also points to the presidency of Jimmy Carter as a pivot point in their success--and to the failure of progressives to engage in intentional joint work for the better future too many of us took for granted for too long... A wonderful and well executed book.--Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America