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party) establishment proved utterly incapable of stopping him, and in the general election against Hillary Clinton. Speaking of the latter, Paulson does well not to limit his discussion of the 2016 contest to Trump and the Republicans, as he makes sure to include a concise but important discussion of the Democratic primaries and Bernie Sanders’ role in pushing and helping to produce the ‘most progressive’ platform in the party’s history. Psephologists may take issue with the concept of electoral realignments, which has a prominent place in Chapter 4, given the concept’s track record in recent decades – that is: When can one clearly identify the last true electoral realignment? And what makes it stand apart from other electoral cycles? That said, the author is clear in stating that he is not defending the concept per se, but rather merely discussing it in the context of an election – that of 2016 – that political historians may have a hard time categorizing (let alone understanding) for years to come. Perhaps the book’s aspect that is simultaneously its most understated and its most precious is the nuance it uses to discuss Trump-era politics. For all the punditry’s talk of how so much happening in Washington is without precedent (which, to be fair, sometimes is the case), Paulson also highlights several elements that are with precedent – for example, the polarized political environment, the winning presidential candidate having lost the popular vote, a candidate winning a major-party nomination without having previous elected office experience, à la Wendell Willkie in 1940. Another important contribution the book makes is in underlining how tenuous the current marriage between a highly polarized political environment and a nonparliamentary system of government. This, of course, pre-dates Trump’s presidency – and the challenges it represents were already readily visible during at least the two preceding presidencies, when Congressional Democrats repeatedly worked in unison to block President Bush’s initiatives, particularly during his second term, only to see Congressional Republicans return the favor (and then some) during President Obama’s tenure. However, as Paulson observes, the peculiar nature of Trump’s character, his approach to governance and the already highly charged perceptions about him are likely to make the task of governing even harder. Ultimately, the book leaves the reader with many important questions – as would any worthy endeavor of the sort, especially less than 2 years into this new presidency. Will Trump’s term in the White House bring about a significant change in terms of national policy directions? Will his pressing of the problems associated with globalization and deindustrialization – arguably more forceful than any other major-party candidate in decades – result in a fundamental change in US and international trade policy? Will voters feeling in 2016 that they had found in Trump the rare, if not unique, breed of politician willing to tackle these issues be satisfied in 2020, and beyond? Will the country – not merely its governing institutions, but its civil society and population – be able to unite again, or does it now find itself in the throes of a spiral of ever-deepening polarization and strife that knows no end in sight? In the end, Paulson suggests that Trump is both a cause and a consequence of some of the most pressing question in American politics. Only time will tell the mark left on the country and its institutions by this President with few precedents. Donald Trump and the Prospect for American Democracy certainly does make the reader wonder.