by Alex Wagner
First published 2026
Alex Wagner reveals how Reagan's election in 1980 launched more than conservative policies. Behind the public agenda of tax cuts and law and order, a small group plotted to seize control of the Supreme Court. Ed Meese, Reagan's California ally and former prosecutor, led the charge to pack federal courts with conservative judges. Paul Weyrich provided organizational muscle. Joe Coors supplied funding from his beer fortune. Robert Bork brought legal credibility and mentored young lawyers forming The Federalist Society. Wagner uses her journalistic background to reconstruct closed meetings and nomination battles. She traces how these men transformed the American judiciary within a decade. The book combines rigorous reporting with accessible storytelling to show how this coordinated effort reshaped issues from abortion to criminal justice. Wagner demonstrates how their work continues to influence American law today.
Genres: biography, history, political-science, non-fiction, law, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, power-dynamics
Period: 1980s
320 pages · Hardcover · Flatiron Books