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Ippolito (Southern Methodist Univ.) provides an exceptionally detailed account of the political debates over US fiscal policy from the nation's founding to the Trump era. As the title implies, the book weaves together the political and economic history of the United States. Ippolito reminds readers that an aversion to public debt characterized the first 150 years of US history. Unprecedented deficits since then—caused by low taxes and high spending—were grudgingly accepted and budget surpluses became rare. Ippolito emphasizes that a seemingly permanent bipartisan consensus—that debt should finance increases in public spending—now controls fiscal policy. The result is that “voters need not decide how big a government they are willing to pay for.” Ippolito augments the narrative with well-placed tables derived from primary sources and presented in a style and format that are consistent regardless of the period covered or the specific policy context examined. Social historians, political scientists, economists, and public policy scholars will want to keep this volume handy for its historical context, vital for any number of scholarly purposes.

--J. E. Herbel, Kennesaw State University, CHOICE

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