New York Times Best Seller
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This is the authoritative account of an eighteen-month crisis in American democracy that will be seared into the country’s political memory for decades to come. With stunning, in-the-room detail, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns show how both our political parties confronted a series of national traumas, including the coronavirus pandemic, the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and the political brinksmanship of President Biden’s first year in the White House.
From Donald Trump’s assault on the 2020 election and his ongoing campaign of vengeance against his fellow Republicans, to the behind-the-scenes story of Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate and his bitter struggles to unite the Democratic Party, this book exposes the degree to which the two-party system has been strained to the point of disintegration. More than at any time in recent history, the long-established traditions and institutions of American politics are under siege as a set of aging political leaders struggle to hold together a changing country.
Martin and Burns break news on most every page, drawing on hundreds of interviews and never-before-seen documents and recordings from the highest levels of government. The book asks the vitally important (and disturbing) question: can American democracy, as we know it, ever work again?
PRAise for thE BOOK:
“Martin and Burns have chronicled a tumultuous time with precision and scope and their tireless reporting unearths revealing new details. Their wide-angle lens reminds us how much was— and remains— at stake. Masterful!”
“What an account of these extraordinary times. Martin and Burns deliver reporting from deep inside both parties with fresh facts and new details on nearly every page about a political system pushed to the brink. When future historians chronicle this time of crisis they will turn to this book as a deeply valuable account of our all too human leaders.”
“This is an enthralling and at times frightening account that weaves together the Trump implosion and the roller coaster ride of Biden’s first year. Deeply reported, it combines amazing inside scoops with a fine feel for the historic forces that have roiled our times. By helping us understand what happened, it provides insight about where we are heading.”
“Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin are two of our best sourced, most insightful and honest chroniclers of American politics. Their book takes us not only through those harrowing final days of the Trump-era but is the first to deeply explore the central tension of President Biden’s presidency thus far: that of a man who is trying to balance ‘national reconciliation’ with his ‘aspiration to craft a presidency of grand and lasting impact.’ The writing, full of luscious details and newsy nuggets, allows the reader an ‘in the room where it happened’ experience.”
