The New York Times Book Review - Ari Berman
If someone had hibernated through the 2016 election, woke up early this year and logged onto Twitter or turned on cable news and wondered, what the hell happened?, this would be the book to read. One Nation After Trump devotes considerable space to tackling the unprecedented nature of Trump's election and presidency—his vulgarity, racism, authoritarianism, cronyism and reverence for America's longtime enemies. But the book is particularly useful in showing how, despite all the talk of Trump as an aberration in American politics, his rise reflects the longer-term trends that have shaped the modern Republican Party: the four-decade war on the "liberal media"; the delegitimatization of political opponents; the appeals to racism and xenophobia; the hostility to democratic norms…The book is less a rallying cry and more a sober examination of how someone so obviously unfit and unqualified to be president could be elected anyway, and the authors make skillful use of social science research to better understand the Trump phenomenon. Their observations defy easy conclusions.
From the Publisher
If you’re still baffled by how Donald Trump got to live in the White House, or you want to make sure that no one like him ever lives there again—or both—One Nation After Trump is your must-read book for 2017.” —The Guardian
“If someone had hibernated through the 2016 election, woke up early this year and logged onto Twitter or turned on cable news and wondered, what the hell happened?, this would be the book to read. ... [An] important book.” —The New York Times Book Review
“[A] good-spirited and thoroughly readable exercise in envisioning a better America.” —The Washington Post
"A trio of acclaimed political scholars and journalists ... offer a unified voice of sanity in a world gone mad. ... A breath of hope but also a serious call to action: everyone needs to take part." —Kirkus Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
2017-08-07
A trio of acclaimed political scholars and journalists do their best to encourage those bemoaning the path of America's government.Dionne (Why the Right Went Wrong, 2016, etc.), Ornstein, and Mann (co-authors: It's Even Worse than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism, 2012, etc.) offer a unified voice of sanity in a world gone mad, and their arguments are well-supported by citations of other political writers. On the question of whether Trumpism is a new phenomenon, they point out that the radicalization of the Republican Party has been underway for nearly three decades, and the hatred of the liberal media began with Nixon and Agnew. Now, conservatives have delegitimized the traditional media and empowered the worst and most reckless journalists on the right. To call the writers at Breitbart et al. opinion journalists is wrong; it isn't journalism if it's not based on facts. Much of our current situation can be traced to Newt Gingrich's pernicious influence and the polarization he introduced and proliferated. Centralizing power in the Speaker of the House's office and the drive for a majority sent a message that ideological commitments would always outweigh evidence. Trumpism is best understood as a protest movement reacting to the long-term changes in our social, economic, religious, and political lives. The authors also note a difference between nationalism, always a power situation, and Trump's populism, more a style than a philosophical orientation. They trace the various elements of his rise, but there is no single reason why Trump is president. Ultimately, the authors seek to develop a new concept of patriotism, a new sense of civic-mindedness, a new civil society, and a new democracy. Of course, this is all exceedingly difficult in the current climate, but the authors are seasoned guides and provide good jumping-off points for moving beyond the noxious atmosphere of Trumpism. A breath of hope but also a serious call to action: everyone needs to take part.
