Prairie Populism

"Ostler has written an excellent book that points to the significance of politics in understanding the overall success or failure of radical movements in the United States."—H-Net Reviews

"A strong addition to scholarship on the Populists."—American Historical Review

"An important study."—Reviews in American History

"A well researched and an insightful investigation that focuses upon both an important region and a major historical question in the study of the Populist movement."—Western Historical Quarterly

"Ostler has produced an outstanding, well-researched volume on the Populist movement in Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas, which should be required reading for anyone wanting to investigate midwestern politics of the late nineteenth century and the functioning of a federal system of government."—North Dakota History

"Ostler has written a first-rate book that reads well and contains a wealth of information."—Minnesota History

"Engaging reading and accessible to a wide audience."—Great Plains Quarterly

"Ostler’s study is analytically sophisticated and crisply executed. It is required reading for anyone interested in the relationships between social movements and political parties and underscores, in a subtle and refreshing way, the nonobvious role that federalism has played and still plays in the American party system’s development."—Richard M. Valelly, author of Radicalism in the States: The Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party and the American Political Economy

"A fresh interpretation of political history. Ostler writes with equal sophistication on the economic conditions of midwestern agriculture, the social dynamics of farm organizations, and the nuances of state politics. The work is also significant because so little has been written on Populism in Iowa and other states where the third-party movement was a failure."—Robert C. McMath Jr., author of American Populism