From the Outside In examines the profound impact of World War II on American government. The book argues that the wartime and immediate postwar experiences of the 1940s transformed and redirected the policies and government institutions of the New Deal. In a work that makes significant contributions to the study of U.S. politics and history, Bartho "[Sparrow] has thought hard and boldly about theoretically important issues, has devised clever comparative and historical means to appraise his arguments, and has expanded our knowledge of state processes. In doing so, he has provided a new and provocative interpretation on an important episode in the history of the U.S. state."