Must-Reads for 2017: Mysteries of the White Working Class

Nov. 8, 2016, left a lot of people standing around with dumb looks on their faces. Including me. (Okay, I was sitting on my sofa when I realized that Donald Trump was going to win. But the dumb look was definitely there.) In the wake of his election, a lot of folks in the Acela Corridor have become interested in exploring the sociology and history of that exotic creature, the White Working-Class Male.

How did this person come to vote for a guy who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and managed -- by dint of cheating his tradesmen, playing on his father’s political connections and strategically declaring bankruptcy -- to turn it into a gold one? Was their support all about racism? Sexism? Anger toward the elites? Or something else?