Ganz looks to American history and politics in the 1990s for answers about the state of the nation today. While I wish there was a little more explicit analysis, the book provides a sharp and incisive account of the U.S.’s urban disarray, economic and cultural upheaval, and the politicians who tried to address—or capitalize on—these circumstances, including, of course, Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and a whole cast of opportunistic thinkers on the right who sought to capitalize on people’s racial, ethnic, and class prejudices by fanning the flames. Ganz has synthesized a ton of material to give us a colorful set of narratives about the post-Cold War America, including race riots in L.A., the fascination with NYC mafia figures, political response to the AIDS crisis, and the rise and fall of con men and cranks like David Duke and Ross Perot. An engaging history that doesn’t necessarily explain why we find ourselves in the same place over and over, but maybe reminding us that we do is a start toward breaking out of the loop.