The myth of Ronald Reagans greatness has reached epic proportions in recent years. The public rates him as one of the most popular presidents, and Republicans everywhere seek to cast themselves in his image. But, William Kleinknecht reveals, much that has gone wrong in Americaincluding the subprime mortgage crisis and the meltdown of the financial sectorcan be traced directly to Reagans policies. Boom-and-bust cycles, CEO salaries, drug-company scandals, collapsing bridges, plummeting wages for working people, the flight of U. S. manufacturing abroadthese are all products of Reagans free-market zealotry and his gutting of the public sector. The Man Who Sold the World is the first book to explode the Reagan myth.