Joseph J. Thorndike's history of the U.S. federal tax system from the 1920s until the end of World War II might feel familiar: the president with a progressive reputation who proves more pragmatic than his ardent supporters hoped, the legislators who serve the media apoplectic rhetoric, the magnates who pay no income tax and defend themselves with the perfectly true argument that doing so is 100 percent legal, and the public interested seeing everyone pay their fair share. Thorndike mines governmental and popular media archives to explore both the scholarship of taxes and the way we feel about paying them. Joe Thorndike is the gold standard when it comes to the history of American taxation--a sadly neglected topic in academia. As he correctly explains, today's tax code today rests largely on a foundation established during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, which saw the percentage of Americans paying income taxes rise tenfold. Since many of the debates on tax policy today echo those during the formative years of the income tax, academics, policymakers, and taxpayers should be aware of them to avoid reinventing the wheel. --Bruce Bartlett--Author, The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform--Why We Need It and What It Will Take Joe Thorndike is the Alexis de Tocqueville of tax culture, a lucid, nonpartisan guide shining light on the idiosyncratic, oft-surprising events of the past. His new volume is indispensable to understanding why modern fiscal policy has been so challenging. --Amity Shlaes--Director, Four Percent Growth Project, and Author, Coolidge Whatever you think you know about federal taxes, historian Joe Thorndike's Their Fair Share will surprise you with fascinating facts and insights. Thorndike marshals telling details to weave a rich tapestry about how the federal tax system had developed when the New Deal began and how revisions wrought by FDR's administration changed America, and Americans' fortunes, illuminating our own tax policy debates today. And best of all, the words and ideas flow smooth and clear whether you are a veteran wonk or a high school student. --David Cay Johnston --Pulitzer-prize winning author of Perfectly Legal, Free Lunch, and The Fine Print Joe Thorndike is the Alexis de Tocqueville of tax culture, a lucid, nonpartisan guide shining light on the idiosyncratic, oft-surprising events of the past. His new volume is indispensable to understanding why modern fiscal policy has been so challenging. --Amity Shlaes--Director, Four Percent Growth Project, and Author, Coolidge Whatever you think you know about federal taxes, historian Joe Thorndike's Their Fair Share will surprise you with fascinating facts and insights. Thorndike marshals telling details to weave a rich tapestry about how the federal tax system had developed when the New Deal began and how revisions wrought by FDR's administration changed America, and Americans' fortunes, illuminating our own tax policy debates today. And best of all, the words and ideas flow smooth and clear whether you are a veteran wonk or a high school student. --David Cay Johnston --Pulitzer-prize winning author of Perfectly Legal, Free Lunch, and The Fine Print Joe Thorndike is the Alexis de Tocqueville of tax culture, a lucid, nonpartisan guide shining light on the idiosyncratic, oft-surprising events of the past. His new volume is indispensable to understanding why modern fiscal policy has been so challenging. --Amity Shlaes--Director, Four Percent Growth Project, and Author, Coolidge Whatever you think you know about federal taxes, historian Joe Thorndike's Their Fair Share will surprise you with fascinating facts and insights. Thorndike marshals telling details to weave a rich tapestry about how the federal tax system had developed when the New Deal began and how revisions wrought by FDR's administration changed America, and Americans' fortunes, illuminating our own tax policy debates today. And best of all, the words and ideas flow smooth and clear whether you are a veteran wonk or a high school student. --David Cay Johnston --Pulitzer-prize winning author of Perfectly Legal, Free Lunch, and The Fine Print Joe Thorndike is the Alexis de Tocqueville of tax culture, a lucid, nonpartisan guide shining light on the idiosyncratic, oft-surprising events of the past. His new volume is indispensable to understanding why modern fiscal policy has been so challenging. --Amity Shlaes--Director, Four Percent Growth Project, and Author, Coolidge Whatever you think you know about federal taxes, historian Joe Thorndike's Their Fair Share will surprise you with fascinating facts and insights. Thorndike marshals telling details to weave a rich tapestry about how the federal tax system had developed when the New Deal began and how revisions wrought by FDR's administration changed America, and Americans' fortunes, illuminating our own tax policy debates today. And best of all, the words and ideas flow smooth and clear whether you are a veteran w