There are numerous books that purport to explain the current "populist" moment, but in The Strange Death of American Exceptionalism, Jack Ross puts both sides of the cultural war into a historical context. Ross explains both the self-destruction of the Christian right and the transformation of the Democratic party into a party of technocratic woke illiberalism. Neither woke identity politics, nor the cult of Trump are mere fads. Instead, they are the culmination of both necessary and contingent historical and cultural developments tracing all the way back to the roots of American civilization. This book is for those on the left or the right who still cling to the American Creed -- the strong commitment to civil liberties and the embrace of individual rights over group rights -- and look to the prospects for its revival.