Gary Gerstle charts the genesis of US neoliberal thought, its rise to ascendency during the Reagan presidency, and its rapid demise at the end of the Obama presidency. While its US incarnation rose on the right mostly as a repudiation of the New Deal, its adoption by Democrats cemented its dominance until its glaring failings led to its collapse culminating in the 2016 election.

For better or worse, this book is built to last. Gerstle covers events through 2021, and given the mostly by-the-numbers historical recounting today these last sections make for fairly boring reading. In 10 years, though, these sections will be immensely useful. There are also some minor factual errors that bugged me (e.g. Atari was an American company, not a Japanese one), but they don't detract from the overall message. This book stands as a worthy recounting and exploration of an ideology that echoes through society and discourse even today. Highly recommend