Book Presentation

In What’s The Matter With Kansas?, Thomas Frank explores what he calls “the Great Backlash” - the culture war that is creating a popular revolt against a supposedly liberal establishment. He believes that in Kansas, as in so much of mid-America, society’s losers are even more committed to the Republican agenda than are society’s winners.

Frank, a native Kansan and onetime conservative, examines how a place like Kansas, a state once famous for its radicalism, came to rank among the nation’s most eager audiences for this backlash. Using Kansas as the perfect example, Frank tries to figure out why so many Americans seem to vote against their economic and social interests.

Thomas Frank is the founding editor of The Baffler and the author of One Market Under God and The Conquest of Cool. He also frequently writes for Harper’s and The Nation.

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