From Fox News’ politics editor Chris Stirewalt — a great and lively account of America’s populist tradition, from Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt, to Ross Perot, Pat Buchanan, and Donald Trump.

No matter the ideological fad of as soon as, American populism is definitely home to a fascinating assortment of charismatic leaders, characters, kooks, cranks, and sometimes charlatans who have – with widely varying degrees of success – led the charge of ordinary people that have gotten wise about Every Man a King: A BRIEF, Colorful History of American Populists to the ways of the swamp.

This attitude of skeptical resentment also makes populism a fertile field for the work of conspiracy theorists and other enthusiastic apostates from civic convention. After all, if the people in power are found to become rigging one area of the program, you will want to the rest?

EVERY MAN A Ruler tells the tales of America’s populist leaders, from an older Andrew Jackson brutally caning his would-be-assassin, to William Jennings Bryan’s pre-speech schedule that combined equally prodigious quantities of prayer and meals, to Ross Perot’s military-style marketing campaign that made even volunteers wear badges with stars to show rank. It is a rollicking background of an American attitude which has shaped not merely our current moment, but also the lengthy struggle over who gets to define the truths we keep to be personal evident.