What the Hell Do You Have to Lose?: Trump's War on Civil Rights

by Juan Williams Narrated by Dale Turner

Overview

The bestselling author, political analyst, and civil rights expert delivers a forceful critique of the Trump administration's ignorant and unprecedented rollback of the civil rights movement.

In this powerful and timely book, civil rights historian and political analyst Juan Williams denounces Donald Trump for intentionally twisting history to fuel racial tensions for his political advantage. In Williams's lifetime, crusaders for civil rights have braved hatred, violence, and imprisonment, and in so doing made life immeasurably better for African Americans and other marginalized groups. Remarkably, all this progress suddenly seems to have been forgotten -- or worse, undone. The stirring history of hard-fought and heroic battles for voting rights, integrated schools, and more is under direct threat from an administration dedicated to restricting these basic freedoms.

Williams pulls the fire alarm on the Trump administration's policies, which pose a threat to civil rights without precedent in modern America. What the Hell Do You Have to Lose? makes a searing case for the enduring value of our historic accomplishments and what happens if they are lost.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"A vivid and beguiling investigation on how Donald Trump is hell-bent on dismantling a large slice of America's Civil Rights heritage. This is a wake-up call for those who want to keep Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream alive. Williams, who works at Fox News, is taking a brave stance in these pages. Highly recommended!"—Douglas Brinkley, professor of history at Rice University and author of Rosa Parks

"A cogent response from a veteran journalist... His skillful succinctness makes his anti-Trump commentaries often devastating... [A] relevant and well-grounded book."—Kirkus Reviews

"Juan Williams has written an important and timely book on the future of civil rights and equal justice under the law. Williams, an eyewitness to history, warns us to 'stay woke' in the era of Trump. Otherwise, we might find the moral arc of our history suddenly bending backwards."—Donna Brazile, former Interim Chair of the Democratic National Committee

"This book skillfully combines observations of the current state of politics and race relations with insights from the long, and sometimes forgotten, history of the civil rights movement. With decades of hard-won progress under threat, Juan Williams reminds us that knowing our past is essential if we are to understand our present, and shape our future."—Vernon Jordan, civil rights leader, attorney, and former head of theNational Urban League

"Like a finely-honed fact-based scalpel in the hands of a skilled surgeon, Juan Williams carefully examines the pillar achievements of African Americans in our nation since Slavery and our Civil War.... A chilling, fact-based recital of just how much African Americans are losing and could lose under President Trump."—Dr. Clarence B. Jones, former political advisor, lawyer, andspeechwriter to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and adjunct professor, Universityof San Francisco

"In this challenging time, when the echoes of past injustices linger just beneath the surface waiting to burst forth like a broken dam, we must understand the consequences at hand. Juan Williams takes us chapter and verse through the incredible sacrifices, struggles and progress of the civil rights movement and what is now at stake for all Americans: freedom, liberty and justice- for all."—Mitch Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans

"By contrasting the Trump administration's blatant attempts to rewrite history to suit their goals with accounts of what really happened, Williams highlights the current administration's total lack of regard for African Americans. It's a powerful and effective structure; a call-and-response demonstrating the bleak parallels between today and past decades and the razor-thin line we walk to avoid returning to a past of intolerance. Williams' book shows not only that progress can be easily lost but also highlights the slow, painful successes of the civil rights movement, and how depressingly small some of its victories seem. Thanks in no small part to its author's writing, What the Hell Do You Have to Lose? is a civil rights lesson that's needed now more than ever before."—Anna Sheffer, Medium

Kirkus Reviews

2018-06-18
During the presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump reached out to African-American voters by asking, "what the hell do you have to lose?" Here is a cogent response from a veteran journalist.Williams (Muzzled: The Assault on Honest Debate, 2011, etc.), currently a columnist at The Hill, provides detailed answers to Trump's question regarding six different realms of government discrimination against African-Americans, using the Civil Rights Act as approved by Congress in 1964 as his guide for selecting those elements. Other key laws include the Fair Housing Act and the Voting Rights Act. In each area, the author documents the dreadful early record of the Trump administration, followed by a succinct history of the civil rights gains made against stiff opposition during the second half of the 20th century. As Williams focuses on the gains, he singles out a primary advocate in each of the six realms: voting rights (Bob Moses), education (James Meredith), public accommodations (Everett Dirksen), equal rights legislation (James Baldwin), employment (A. Philip Randolph), and housing (Robert Weaver). Williams is an accomplished storyteller; as a result, the oft-documented historical gains in each chapter feel fresh again. Trump has been shamed countless times for translating his racist tendencies into abhorrent public policy, so Williams does not mount any groundbreaking attacks. However, his skillful succinctness makes his anti-Trump commentaries often devastating. Some readers might consider the author's account of past gains overly enthusiastic. He notes that while never deviating from accepted factual accounts, he intends for the historical context of the gains to spawn inspiration. Williams writes that he feels optimistic about the post-Trump future for civil rights because those on the correct side of the law can rely on far more resources, digital and otherwise, than their predecessors.As he ends this relevant and well-grounded book, Williams tells Trump that African-Americans have "a lot" to lose, "far more, it appears, than [Trump] will ever know."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173845108
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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