The rise of the presidential wing of the Republican party over the past generation has been driven by the overlapping issues of race and taxes. The Republicans have capitalized on these two issues, capturing the White House in five of the last six elections. "May be the best account ever written on why the Democrats no longer dominate American party politics. . . ".--Judy Woodruff.

They have come to intersect with an entire range of domestic issues, from welfare policy to suburban zoning practices. In an explosive chain reaction, a new conservative voting majority has replaced the once-dominant Democratic presidential coalition, and a new polarization has pitted major segments of society against one another. How did this massive power shift occur? Thomas Byrne Edsall of The Washington Post and Mary D. Edsall provide answers in this compelling analysis, cited by Newsweek as one of the book[s] that shape[d] the debate in the 1992 presidential campaign.