Charles Koch

Though not the central focus of the book, Charles Koch and his brother David built the political machine that provided the fuel for the far-right conservative movement. Viewing this book as an investigation into the source of the funding for this movement, Mayer follows the paper trail back to Charles and David Koch. Born to a wealthy family, Charles followed his father's footsteps as a successful businessman, but Mayer frequently urges the reader to keep in mind the advantages that naturally come with a higher-class pedigree. Charles and his younger brother David have been major financiers in the political sphere for decades, but recently their political successes have granted them the security to be visible for the first time. With this book, Mayer dedicates almost five-hundred pages to the empire of radical conservatives that Charles and David have been instrumental in funding and mobilizing.

In the...