Kazin, Michael

Covers populism as an impulse in American politics based on anti-elitism, adoration of common people, and the ideal of democracy; and portrayed in the People's Party, the labor movement, prohibition, the new left, George Wallace, Jesse Jackson, Ronald Reagan, H. Ross Perot, and the new right.

Explores the impact of the American left on two centuries of politics and culture in the United States, describing abolitionism, early feminism, and the efforts of radicals and idealists in the 1960s and 1970s, and discussing the lasting contributions made by movements that failed to gain full public support.

Chronicles the life of William Jennings Bryan, focusing on his role as an American leader of the Christian left, and placing his life and achievements in a historical and cultural perspective.