The People, No

Brilliantly written, eye-opening . . . Frank is the ideal public intellectual to grapple with the duality of populism. . . . Readers come away knowing that at its heart, populism means just one thing: This land was made for you and me. --The Washington Post Frank describes an indigenous radical tradition that descends from Jefferson and Paine and stretches forward to Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr. . . . Compelling. --The New York Times Book Review Rousing . . . central to the challenge of our times . . . A call to arms against the plutocratic elites of both America's main parties . . . Frank's real strength lies in his energetic optimism. --Financial Times Tom Frank does what few writers today are capable of doing--he criticizes his own side. --Wall Street Journal Deserves your attention . . . The People, No describes meticulously how over the last 120 years, reigning elites--whether conservative, liberal, or progressive--have regularly attacked populists with the same falsehoods . . . Welcome. --Forbes A terrific book . . . damning . . . eloquently-argued . . . The People, No documents the furious elite propaganda response to bottom-up political movements that has recurred in uncannily similar fashion at key moments across nearly a century and a half of American history, and is firing with particular venom today. --Matt Taibbi Brilliant . . . grand . . . an urgent plea to liberals and radicals alike to embrace a left populism and universalism--or keep on losing. --Jacobin An illuminating book, the best one I've read about the sound and fury of America's 2020 Election campaign. --Lewis H. Lapham A real contribution . . . Frank looks forward to the day when the 'liberal' elite and right-leaning populists exhaust themselves--and the Democratic Party reclaims its identity as the voice of workers. --City Journal Smart . . . Thomas Frank is one of the few great American political writers, and his new book The People, No is one of his best, if not his most urgent and pressing. . . . We need more Thomas Franks. --Splice Today Provocative . . . powerful . . . Frank has delivered a defiant challenge to the antipopulist liberals more infatuated with the advice of experts and their own moral virtues than mobilizing ordinary Americans on the basis of progressive values. --The Progressive Populism is not just an old American way of doing politics, the author argues, but fundamentally a progressive one as well. . . convincing . . . an eminently readable contribution to political discourse. --Kirkus Reviews Frank blends diligent research with well-placed snark to keep readers turning the pages. Liberals will be outraged, enlightened, and entertained. --Publishers Weekly Frank brilliantly places populism in the context of seminal historic events. . . . His provocative conclusions, about elites and the people, turn common assumptions upside down--all the better for making readers think. --Booklist (starred review) With his usual verve, Frank skewers the elite voices of condescension that vilify the egalitarian and democratic strivings of working people. In so doing, he offers a passionate defense of populism, which he reveals as a deep and wide political tradition that remains as essential as ever for the hopes of a more just and equitable society." --Charles Postel, author of Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866-1896

Thomas Frank is the author of Listen, Liberal, Pity the Billionaire, The Wrecking Crew, and What's the Matter with Kansas? A former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper's, Frank is the founding editor of The Baffler and writes regularly for The Guardian. He lives outside Washington, D.C.