"What is remarkable about Shirley’s stirring account of the start of the revolution is his description of the state of the GOP in 1976. The party establishment had been practicing a move to the left strategy for years, unhappy conservatives were beginning to talk about forming a third party, and open talk about a 'brain dead' Republican Party devoid of ideas was commonplace," said 2004 Howard Dean for President Campaign Manager Joe Trippi. "As I read his book, I felt I was reading the description of the Democratic Party of today."

Even Al Franken, comedian turned liberal talk show host, raved about the historical significance and lessons to be learned from the book in a live radio interview with Shirley from the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

"Ronald Reagan’s introduction of the conservative ideology in 1976 brought the Republican Party out of the death throes following the Watergate scandal," said Shirley. "It was a campaign that can teach us all valuable lessons about the importance of having a clear ideological leader in a political party, salient message, and a unified ideological agenda."

Editor's note: