Challenging Inequality: Variation Across Postindustrial Societies By Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens, Chicago: University Chicago Press, 2024. $35 (paperback). ISBN-13: 978-0-226-83465-8, ISBN-10: 0-226-83465-4

Evelyne Huber and John D. Stephens' Challenging Inequality: Variation Across Postindustrial Societies is a comprehensive exploration of the causes of rising inequality in post-­industrial democracies. It offers a nuanced analysis of how structural transformations and political institutions shape inequality and poverty across advanced economies. The book is structured into two parts. Part I provides a quantitative analysis of inequality trends, focusing on wage dispersion, household income inequality, top income shares and poverty. It also examines the role of social policies in mitigating inequality. Part II complements this with comparative historical case studies of four countries—Germany, Spain, Sweden and the United States—representing different welfare state regimes.