The United States of Suburbia: How the Suburbs Took Control of America and What They Plan to Do With It

Big-city politicians used to be the king-makers of American politics, but G. Scott Thomas, a former reporter for National Public Radio turned demographic analyst, argues convincingly that the cities have become irrelevant. In the 1996 presidential race between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, suburban issues were everything, while urban concerns were forgotten. The United States of Suburbia documents, with a precision that will delight even the most obsessed policy wonk, how voters in the 'burbs are leading the nation. The dividing line of the "two Americas"--which used to be racial--has become, he writes, more economic and geographic. Much of what Thomas writes may seem like common sense, but his documentation (including several tables of statistics) gives gut feelings a solid numerical underpinning. --Robert McNamara