The coastal states of Washington and Oregon retain a degree of liberal sentiment that might be considered a pale shadow of their radical selves, but the story Johnson (history, Augustana College, South Dakota) tells also incorporates intermountain Idaho and high plains Montana, where the traces are harder to find. He describes how industrial laborers, farmers, and middle-class reformers created a robust political alternative to the steadily growing rule by robber barons. His account is chronological, encompassing local events and personalities, but focusing on the socialist movement in the region as a whole. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)