Inspired by my beautiful wife, I have spent countless hours over the last two years reading thousands of pages of US history, economics, and analysis of public policy. I went from having a visceral sense that "things ain't right" to a better understanding of the how and why. I'm still educating myself.
Here are two free, online sources I came across. One I found over a year ago, the other is newish. Both authors have (some) solutions in mind. Ignore those portions if you want - agreement is not necessary - the point is that they both do a good job of explaining what has happened:
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/http://www.deanbaker.net/images/stories/documents/End-of-Loser-Liberalism.pdfAnybody else found anything? Please share.