Zion and state Book

Good info and analysis but dull writing. This book was written at the start of the 90's so it's dated, but the divisions it describes are still with us. The author outlines the 30-year period between the 60's and 90's and how the populist left and populist right destroyed the political center. It goes on to discuss each faction in the lost liberal coalition and each of the factions in the conservative coalition. Many of the issues and coalitions and issues therein are still relevant today, nearly 30 years after publication.

For all it's info and foresight, this book suffers from two major issues…first, the writing is dull…I kept having to put the book aside every 15 minutes or so to keep up my interest….it didn't help that the sourcing seemed restricted to one or two books for each topic instead of a broader base of viewpoints. Second, the question of why Americans hate politics doesn't get answered until 90% into the book and seems to be just a cursory section before moving on to solutions…So, the title is very misleading.

On the whole, I give this book a 3. Good analysis and info, but dull writing, limited sourcing and a very misleading title and expectation.