Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam argue that the Republican Party must move beyond Reagan-era orthodoxies to address the actual concerns of working-class voters who form its electoral base. Writing before the 2008 financial crisis made their warnings prescient, they identify a growing disconnect between GOP economic policy—focused on tax cuts, free trade, and deregulation—and the lived experience of Americans facing stagnant wages, disappearing jobs, and rising healthcare costs. The authors propose a 'Sam's Club conservatism' that would use government actively to strengthen families, expand economic opportunity, and build social capital, while maintaining conservative commitments to limited government, traditional values, and national sovereignty. Specific policy proposals include wage subsidies, healthcare reform centered on catastrophic coverage, education reform emphasizing vocational training, and immigration policies prioritizing assimilation. Douthat, then a film critic with philosophical training, and Salam, a policy analyst, combine intellectual history—tracing different strands within American conservatism—with detailed policy analysis and electoral strategy. They argue that Republicans have too often dismissed working-class concerns as resistance to necessary economic change rather than recognizing legitimate interests that deserve political representation. Readers interested in how the Republican coalition has evolved, and in policy approaches that don't fit neatly into existing categories, will find this book a valuable artifact of reform conservatism before Trump's populist turn scrambled the landscape entirely.