A must read for anyone interested in contemporary American politics or the Trump phenomenon. Full of data about voting patterns and portraits of real voters and the issues they care about both of which illuminate how Trump was able to turn Obama counties to his column and thus people off the upset election of the century. If you want to truly understand these voters and not just rely on caricatures, read this book.

That said, I think some of the claims introduction are a bit hyperbolic. It is not clear how much Trump's election means a once in a generational shift in politics or whether he is a symptom of other things going on and his, and Hillary Clinton's, uniqueness. The last two chapters, however, offer challenges to both parties and public engaged citizens on the left and right.

Nearly everyone in the United States was surprised by the results of the 2016 presidential election, and in the aftermath many competing explanations for what happened have been offered. In The Great Revolt, first-time authors Salena Zito and Brad Todd dig into the most obvious but often ignored source of Donald Trump's stunning victory- people that voted for him.

The focus of this book is on the voters that propelled Donald Trump to the Oval Office, and in particular, those found in Rust Belt areas that helped flip Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa from the Democratic column in 2008 and 2012 to the Republican column in 2016. The authors detail about half a dozen archetypes of Trump voters, and then spend some time on the background of a few individual voters of each archetype. The narrative storytelling is buttressed by data collected in the aftermath of the election.

The Great Revolt defies coastal stereotypes of what Trump voters are like and why they voted they way they did. Likely to the disappointment of many, the "ignorant racist" isn't one of the archetypes. Instead, the groups include Rotary Club Reliables (business types in small towns), Perot-istas (those drawn to the outsider, a la Ross Perot), and Girl Gun Power (women concerned with gun rights).

As a reflection of what happened more than a projection of what will happen, the book has some tough medicine for Democrats who allowed many of these voters to escape their party and push Trump over the top. What lessons are learned- by Democrats and Republicans- will likely shape the immediate political future in significant ways.

In all, The Great Revolt was a very interesting look at our most recent presidential election, and a window into the voter behavior that few saw coming.

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent story telling from the authors about the people in 10 swing counties in the Rust Belt, which flipped in the 2016 election. Voters felt left behind as their jobs had been sent overseas with NAFTA & coal mines closed with cleaner sources of energy. Voters were unhappy with the direction of the country,

Voters all had similar hopes for Trump as a President for change and to “Drain the Swamp” or improve the recession they felt American lived in during 2016 and loved the logo “Make American Great Again”. Important issues included:
1. Bring back jobs
2. Protect S.S & Medicare
3. Supreme Court appointment which was a conservative
4. The Wall

I found the first part of the book interesting, but noticed a partisan bias in the latter half and although I didn’t agree with some of the conclusions in the book, it was overall a good read.

Thanks to #NetGalley for an ARC for my honest review