How did contemporary conservatism/GOP emerge and evolve in the United States between WWII and 2000? In addition to perhaps a tl;dr, I'm interested in any book recommendations that give a historical survey.
Rick Perlstein is a historian who covers American conservatism. His work spans a lot of that period, although he has so far stopped with Reagan’s election. His books are Before the Storm which covers post-war conservatism and Barry Goldwater, Nixonland, and The Invisible Bridge and Reaganland which cover the post-Nixon rise of Reagan.