Politics

On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake

On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake

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  • Create Date：2021-10-18 10:50:55
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Sarah Chayes
  • ISBN：0525563938
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Summary

From the prizewinning journalist and internationally recognized expert on corruption in government networks throughout the world， comes a major work that looks homeward to America， exploring the insidious， dangerous networks of corruption of our past， present， and precarious future。

"If you want to save America， this might just be the most important book to read now。 --Nancy MacLean， author of Democracy in Chains

Sarah Chayes writes in her new book， that the United States is showing signs similar to some of the most corrupt countries in the world。 Corruption， she argues， is an operating system of sophisticated networks in which government officials， key private-sector interests， and out-and-out criminals interweave。 Their main objective: not to serve the public but to maximize returns for network members。

In this unflinching exploration of corruption in America， Chayes exposes how corruption has thrived within our borders， from the titans of America's Gilded Age （Andrew Carnegie， John D。 Rockefeller， J。 P。 Morgan， et al。） to the collapse of the stock market in 1929， the Great Depression， and FDR's New Deal; from Joe Kennedy's years of banking， bootlegging， machine politics， and pursuit of infinite wealth to the deregulation of the Reagan Revolution--undermining this nation's proud middle class and union members。 She then brings us up to the present as she shines a light on the Clinton policies of political favors and personal enrichment and documents Trump's hydra-headed network of corruption， which aimed to systematically undo the Constitution and our laws。

Ultimately and most importantly， Chayes reveals how corrupt systems are organized， how they enable bad actors to bend the rules so their crimes are covered legally， how they overtly determine the shape of our government， and how they affect all levels of society， especially when the corruption is overlooked and downplayed by the rich and well-educated。

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Reviews

Melissa Williams ，

This book is along the lines of Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs。 The Climate but tackling big corporations and their links to politics。Sarah Chayes compares our current political climate to Ancient Greek mythology， centering on the King Midas theme。 This comparison as well as her repetition of the word kleptocracy and her reference to the Gilded Age helps to ground her research。 I am more educated This book is along the lines of Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs。 The Climate but tackling big corporations and their links to politics。Sarah Chayes compares our current political climate to Ancient Greek mythology， centering on the King Midas theme。 This comparison as well as her repetition of the word kleptocracy and her reference to the Gilded Age helps to ground her research。 I am more educated after reading this book。 I was hoping for a bit more of how we as the consumers can find our similarities and push for solutions。 。。。more

Joel ，

Pretty good overview of how corruption works in a broadly systemic fashion。 The historical perspective is interesting; I haven't seen much before about how the robber barons were continuous with today's corrupt networks。 But it's long and repetitive， and not written in a particularly readable or entertaining style。 Pretty good overview of how corruption works in a broadly systemic fashion。 The historical perspective is interesting; I haven't seen much before about how the robber barons were continuous with today's corrupt networks。 But it's long and repetitive， and not written in a particularly readable or entertaining style。 。。。more

Pavan Singh ，

Check out our Books in 5 review of On Corruption in America！https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=1E6aP。。。 Check out our Books in 5 review of On Corruption in America！https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=1E6aP。。。 。。。more

Robert ，

A big disappointment。 The draft of this book needed a huge edit， which it evidently did not get。 These conclusions are unhappy ones for me because the points Sarah Chayes wants to make about corruption in America I mostly agree with。 She connects many dots and shares many sharp insights。 But her work here will persuade few doubters。 The text covers so much ground over so much of history as to become， at times， a nearly inchoate scream of rage and innuendo。 Also， fact-checking: Dick Cheney led Ha A big disappointment。 The draft of this book needed a huge edit， which it evidently did not get。 These conclusions are unhappy ones for me because the points Sarah Chayes wants to make about corruption in America I mostly agree with。 She connects many dots and shares many sharp insights。 But her work here will persuade few doubters。 The text covers so much ground over so much of history as to become， at times， a nearly inchoate scream of rage and innuendo。 Also， fact-checking: Dick Cheney led Halliburton， an energy concern and not -- at least not principally -- a defense contractor before becoming vice-president （p。 134）; forests in northwest Arkansas are in the Ozarks， not Appalachia （p。 264）。 I hope these are the only boo-boos in the book， but as always little errors make one wonder about bigger ones。 Too bad。 Given Chayes' professional expertise and civic passion， this winds up as a giant opportunity wasted。 。。。more

Michael Patton ，

everyone should read this book。 Well done。 Well researched the results are surprising and eye opening to say the least。 Would love to see her charts of the interconnections of the network。

Tyrone Umrani ，

Sarah Chayes presents a searing and thoroughly research treatise on corruptions throughout America history and its varied tentacles in today’s society。 The prose is hardly academic， read by the author in plain， straight forward language。 It is a must read for people interested in how we’ve arrived at our current situation， and further， how we move forward as citizens in the world。

Andrew Steimer ，

This is a great examination of corruption in the US。 My only complaint is that this book is too short to really examine corruption in great depth。 Unfortunately， such is the nature of a book written for popular consumption that a high page count is simply out of the question。 The author finds a decent compromise by examining a few cases in depth， but arguably misses quite a bit， and occasionally conflates proximity with conspiracy。 Still， this is a great read。

Terry Earley ，

Well， we see such distinct parallels in the the US。 We are not immune。 It is disturbing。The Ides Of August:https://www。sarahchayes。org/post/the-。。。https://www。pbs。org/newshour/show/the。。。 Well， we see such distinct parallels in the the US。 We are not immune。 It is disturbing。The Ides Of August:https://www。sarahchayes。org/post/the-。。。https://www。pbs。org/newshour/show/the。。。 。。。more

Bryan Spinsley ，

Significant well-organized details of the demise of America via politics。 Good reference source for the constant arguments against political ignorance。

Josh Spencer ，

Chayes has an extensive background analyzing corruption both in the US and abroad as well as experiencing it firsthand。 She brings this to bear in illuminating the corruption networks that exist in both the public and private sectors as well as the linkages between those。 Some of her sociological analyses are particularly insightful， such as how shared sacrifices and disasters work to develop a more egalitarian sense among different groups of people。 Unfortunately， her discussion of historical e Chayes has an extensive background analyzing corruption both in the US and abroad as well as experiencing it firsthand。 She brings this to bear in illuminating the corruption networks that exist in both the public and private sectors as well as the linkages between those。 Some of her sociological analyses are particularly insightful， such as how shared sacrifices and disasters work to develop a more egalitarian sense among different groups of people。 Unfortunately， her discussion of historical events and figures has the tendency to veer into the simplistic， ascribing cynical motives to a wide swath of laws， policies， and people， while outright ignoring aspects that don't fit her framework。This is most evident in her explanation of the changes that occurred in the 80s with the "Reagan revolution" that brought about deregulation， lowered taxes， etc。 Reading her take， you would think that the 70s was a golden era of labor and environmental protections， equality， and checks on the worst excesses of corporations and governments， all of which were undone by greedy actors so they could generate and redirect more profits to themselves。 There is little to no discussion of the stagnation， inflation， and general economic woes that occurred in the 70s as a result of overregulation and government bureaucracy that spurred some of the eventual changes。 To completely leave such historical data and experiences out detracts from her credibility and what is in other places a wonderful treatment of the various forces at play。 One finds oneself constantly going back and forth between "Wow。 I didn't know that。 That's a good point。"， and "Uh， you seem to be extrapolating a bit here and reaching exaggerated conclusions that aren't really warranted。"Such drawbacks are not significant enough to outweigh the many positives of the book， but they are a bit disappointing in what would otherwise be a truly excellent read。 。。。more

Edward Newton ，

Coincidentally as I finished reading this book I read a newspaper article about an ex-mayor who was convicted of taking bribes amounting to $500，000。 He was convicted and fined $180，000。 Seems like he came out $320，000 ahead。 How does this do anything but encourage other public officials to do the same thing？ I've seen this pattern over and over with individuals and corporations who steal millions of dollars from the public and receive a relatively tiny fine which = the cost of doing （criminal） Coincidentally as I finished reading this book I read a newspaper article about an ex-mayor who was convicted of taking bribes amounting to $500，000。 He was convicted and fined $180，000。 Seems like he came out $320，000 ahead。 How does this do anything but encourage other public officials to do the same thing？ I've seen this pattern over and over with individuals and corporations who steal millions of dollars from the public and receive a relatively tiny fine which = the cost of doing （criminal） business。 I think we are all aware of the undue influence of money on our elected officials but this book beautifully describes the sordid details。 。。。more

Paul Vasko ，

This was an excellent book。 Sarah Chayes diagnoses of America’s “Midas disease” is spot on。 Our country’s sense of value and community has been completely upended in the past 30-40 years。 She makes a strong case that the vast amounts of money in politics （on both sides of the aisle） is corrupting our politicians， sacred institutions， and invaluable national resources。 What is really great about this book though， is that she doesn’t end by simply framing the problem。 There are good concrete sugge This was an excellent book。 Sarah Chayes diagnoses of America’s “Midas disease” is spot on。 Our country’s sense of value and community has been completely upended in the past 30-40 years。 She makes a strong case that the vast amounts of money in politics （on both sides of the aisle） is corrupting our politicians， sacred institutions， and invaluable national resources。 What is really great about this book though， is that she doesn’t end by simply framing the problem。 There are good concrete suggestions for the reader to take steps on beginning to restore our communities and country to the ideals upon which it was founded。 。。。more

Scott Stewart ，

This is a passionate and well documented history of American corruption in particular （19th-21st Centuries）， which includes a link to the concept from Greek history and mythology and other historical events。 It also provides cogent comparisons to Chayes' expert knowledge of corrupt practices in Afghanistan。 I highly recommend it。 This is a passionate and well documented history of American corruption in particular （19th-21st Centuries）， which includes a link to the concept from Greek history and mythology and other historical events。 It also provides cogent comparisons to Chayes' expert knowledge of corrupt practices in Afghanistan。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more

Bill ，

The corruption is far worse than I realized。 If you care about fairness， the good of the order， the survival of our democracy and the planet， read this book！ We must all reevaluate our priorities， and cease to complacently turn a blind eye on corruption， even if personal sacrifices of convenience and monetary wealth are required。

Kenneth ，

The author has written a fascinating book on the history of corruption， essentially seeing it as the power of money - the Midas Touch， （after the legendary king of Lydia in western Asia Minor， in what is now Turkey）。 King Midas was gifted by the gods so that everything he touched would turn to gold， which turned out to be a curse。 This lust for wealth permeates our society， our business world， and our politics。 She describes the corruption of the Gilded Age in America - the period following the The author has written a fascinating book on the history of corruption， essentially seeing it as the power of money - the Midas Touch， （after the legendary king of Lydia in western Asia Minor， in what is now Turkey）。 King Midas was gifted by the gods so that everything he touched would turn to gold， which turned out to be a curse。 This lust for wealth permeates our society， our business world， and our politics。 She describes the corruption of the Gilded Age in America - the period following the Civil War - the era of the Robber Barons and how the rest of the country tried to resist and push back， with the rise of organized labor。 One result of the corruption was the financial panics that happened every 10 years or so。 Perhaps the worst was the Crash of 1929 which resulted in the Great Depression of the 1930s。 The impact of the World Wars is discussed。 The New deal of the 1930s and World War II resulted in a lessening of the Gilded Age mentality but she sees it as beginning to revive in the 1970s and really take off in the 1980s and thereafter。 The gap between the top 10% of earners and the rest of us widened。 When it comes to blaming politicians， she is mostly bipartisan。 In the book's epilogue， she makes some suggestions as to how to combat this corruption （which a reader may or may not agree with）。 。。。more

Rafa Willisch ，

Everyone concern about corruption should read this book。 Sarah Chayes was combating corruption in the developing world and now takes aim at the United States where conflicts of interest， bribery and collusion are commonplace。

Robert W。 Piedrahita ，

Corruption， driven by money and greed， governs our politics。Disheartening， but， I fear， true。 Seems like some calamity， where all of us must work together， loosens， if not breaks the hold money has upon our political process。 The author makes some important points about this “kleptocratic” group exercising such a stranglehold upon our politics。 First， she believes that the Supreme Court， in three seminal decisions， has rewarded political corruption， by it’s sophistical and disingenuous parsing o Corruption， driven by money and greed， governs our politics。Disheartening， but， I fear， true。 Seems like some calamity， where all of us must work together， loosens， if not breaks the hold money has upon our political process。 The author makes some important points about this “kleptocratic” group exercising such a stranglehold upon our politics。 First， she believes that the Supreme Court， in three seminal decisions， has rewarded political corruption， by it’s sophistical and disingenuous parsing of words， such as the term “bribery”， making it very difficult， if not impossible to combat corrupt politicians for such a crime。 Secondly，she points to this “kleptocratic” group’s success in dividing and splitting those groups opposed to its interests。 Thirdly， she addresses the Supreme Court’s decision on Citizens United and the flawed reasoning， allowing this group to strengthen its hold upon our politics， with added monetary contributions， dealing as death blow to campaign finance reform。 Fourthly， she draws our attention to the revolving door between powerful corporations and government—for both Democrats and Republicans。 It is difficult reading this book without emerging as a cynic。 。。。more

Dael ，

Disappointingly simplisticI came to this book expecting a great deal more， and was disappointed。 Chayes is very well-traveled and very well-connected， and points out， in naive， simplistic language what is by now a mainstream observation: that we’re being strangled by a kleptocratic kakistocracy。 Useful for providing context for high school students or young adults encountering corruption in the U。S。 for the first time。 But if you’ve been awake for more then a few years， nothing here will be surp Disappointingly simplisticI came to this book expecting a great deal more， and was disappointed。 Chayes is very well-traveled and very well-connected， and points out， in naive， simplistic language what is by now a mainstream observation: that we’re being strangled by a kleptocratic kakistocracy。 Useful for providing context for high school students or young adults encountering corruption in the U。S。 for the first time。 But if you’ve been awake for more then a few years， nothing here will be surprising or new; this is primarily a summary of others’ readily accessible work （scholarship， reporting， etc） framed with very badly done mythological-evo-psych bs （the existence of a “real” King Midas doesn’t really mean much for understanding the myth of his golden touch。。。and why do long form journalists love bad anthropology about hunter-gathering societies so much？）。 A bit odd that a book by someone so clearly well-traveled and well-connected is so naive in its articulation of the problems we face。 For all the book’s repeated refrain about the need for group action， the solutions Chayes proposes are， at root， about individual virtue expressed through consumer choice， i。e。 nonstarters。 。。。more

Amy ，

Audiobook。 Liked the history （"meat hogs" of Iron/Bronze Age cultures， French con women， and Viennese land/stock speculators） and mythology （the hydra） more than the recent stuff。 Really interesting chapters about labor activists and more rural populists in the late 19th/early 20th centuries， with clear explanation of why domestic terrorist approaches backfired。 Author speaks from a place of expertise--she's seen these patterns in other countries （Nigeria， Honduras， Afghanistan）。 Audiobook。 Liked the history （"meat hogs" of Iron/Bronze Age cultures， French con women， and Viennese land/stock speculators） and mythology （the hydra） more than the recent stuff。 Really interesting chapters about labor activists and more rural populists in the late 19th/early 20th centuries， with clear explanation of why domestic terrorist approaches backfired。 Author speaks from a place of expertise--she's seen these patterns in other countries （Nigeria， Honduras， Afghanistan）。 。。。more

Pearse Anderson ，

A fine primer， though the structure and call to direct action confused and frustrated me。 This book dealt with a lot of good topics， but didn't feel revolutionary， and I came away unsure why it was awarded so much praise as a top audiobook of the year。 By no means a bad read！ Just， not my thing， really。 A fine primer， though the structure and call to direct action confused and frustrated me。 This book dealt with a lot of good topics， but didn't feel revolutionary， and I came away unsure why it was awarded so much praise as a top audiobook of the year。 By no means a bad read！ Just， not my thing， really。 。。。more

A。G。 Chancellor IV ，

A must read。 Plain and simple。

Jennifer ，

An excellently executed work of political non-fiction。

Luke Johnson ，

Various tales of corruption dating from Biblical times up to the Covid 19 pandemic。 Some of this was very insightful， especially the way the author shines a light on why Jesus' action in the temple to drive out the money lenders was so monumental， and the role it played in his crucifixition。 Other times it was pretty standard stuff。 What？ Politicians are crooked？ Mitch MicConnell is a real piece of @#%？ I'm glad you're here to tell us these things！My main complaint with this book is it seems to Various tales of corruption dating from Biblical times up to the Covid 19 pandemic。 Some of this was very insightful， especially the way the author shines a light on why Jesus' action in the temple to drive out the money lenders was so monumental， and the role it played in his crucifixition。 Other times it was pretty standard stuff。 What？ Politicians are crooked？ Mitch MicConnell is a real piece of @#%？ I'm glad you're here to tell us these things！My main complaint with this book is it seems to be running along two parallels。 One is， as previously mention， the story of Jesus in the temple。 The other is the tale of the multi-headed Hydra， comparing it to the corruption that binds together politicians， mafia bosses， corporations， etc etc， which I do believe， is a tale out of Greek mythology。 Okay， which is it？ Christian belief or Greek myth？ Having two themes weakens the arguement in my opinion， especially the Hydra， which is mythical。 We're talking about very real instances of corruption and greed and comparing them with tales of the Hydra and Midas and the Golden Touch。 To me， it comes across as scattered。I also thought the book hits with kid gloves at times。 It calls some people out， but never really draws a line in the sand。 Nor is it really inspiring as it relates tale after tale of the the corrupt winning。 At the end it finally gets around to the "What You Can Do To Help" part of the book but by then your so beaten down you pretty much just want to give up。 Yes， there are some good ideas at the end but just shopping local isn't going to stop the exporting of jobs to Asia。 Yes， not shopping at Wal-Mart would help but how many of us can even afford not too at times？ We've all got bills to pay， we've all suffered losses thanks to Covid。 For every dollar a white male makes a Hispanic female makes 55 cents？ Can she afford to buy all her meat and produce at a farmer's market， a CSA， or Whole Foods？ I doubt it， I know I can't。 Don't get me wrong， it's all good advice， but it comes off very pie in the sky。 And after a couple hundred pages of being beaten down by a system and laws stacked against the common person， you're not really even fired up to go and try。 A+ for effort， but only a C overall。 。。。more

Micah Grossman ，

So concise and informative。 Great stuff。

Stever ，

This book struggles everywhere where Chayes’ earlier book， Thieves of State， excels。 Whereas Thieves of State rigorously and meticulously fleshed out a framework that Chayes had developed through personal experience， this book was a loosely structured summary of everything that she had read about corruption in America。If you don’t know about the Koch brothers， and gerrymandering， and about the military industrial complex， then you’ll probably find this book accessible and illuminating。 The probl This book struggles everywhere where Chayes’ earlier book， Thieves of State， excels。 Whereas Thieves of State rigorously and meticulously fleshed out a framework that Chayes had developed through personal experience， this book was a loosely structured summary of everything that she had read about corruption in America。If you don’t know about the Koch brothers， and gerrymandering， and about the military industrial complex， then you’ll probably find this book accessible and illuminating。 The problem is that it adds nothing to the canon。 It is sprawling and disappointingly skin-deep on every subject。 It makes references to books which have explored the subjects in more depth than she does， like Seymour Hersh’s Darkside of Camelot or Jane Mayer’s Dark Money， but it achieves nothing like what those books do。Chayes has some loose plot about corruption in America， whereby the prior apotheosis was reached in the Gilded Age， following which the destruction of WWII and the New Deal made the worship of money less fashionable for 50 or so years。 This calm was then broken by Reagan Era deregulation which gave birth to Wall Street and corruption。 It’s not that she’s wrong， it’s that there’s nothing new in this summary。 I’m sure that this is the kind of thing that will be reviewed well by the New Yorkers and New York Times of the world， but that is only because this agrees with their politics。 As a piece of work， it’s underwhelming， and more so given the prior evidence that Chayes can do better。 。。。more

Erik ，

This book is really up to date， covering not just Trump but also coronavirus relief programs。 And both come out short by the standard of fairness and democracy， along with many other examples of government working for plutocrats at the expense of the people。Chayes's thesis is that Gilded Age levels of income inequality and wealth disparity， whether in the actual Gilded Age of the late 19th and early 20th centuries or the new Gilded Age that started in 1980 and continues today， don't come about b This book is really up to date， covering not just Trump but also coronavirus relief programs。 And both come out short by the standard of fairness and democracy， along with many other examples of government working for plutocrats at the expense of the people。Chayes's thesis is that Gilded Age levels of income inequality and wealth disparity， whether in the actual Gilded Age of the late 19th and early 20th centuries or the new Gilded Age that started in 1980 and continues today， don't come about by the natural forces of the free market， but are instead engineered by networks of elites working to line their own pockets。Her most important point is that it's not just Republicans or autocrats like Trump and Putin who use the government to enrich themselves， their families and their cronies。 Kleptocracy is a bipartisan pursuit， and Bill and Hilary Clinton turn out to be just as bad as any Republicans。 Indeed， using the tools of "network analysis" that Chayes had honed in her work in Third World kleptocracies like Afghanistan and Nigeria， she is able to draw lines leading from the Clintons and other leading Democrats of the 1990s to some of the same people helping Trump today。Though she's not explicit about it， Cheyes does appear to believe that history goes in cycles， and that the current 40-year old cycle of plutocratic rule may be drawing to a close， or at least may be vulnerable to attack。 In the past， it took a major cataclysm， like a war or economic collapse， to end an era where elites worshipped at the altar of big money over other values。 For example， it took the Great Depression and two world wars to dislodge the Gilded Age， and lead to a 50-year cycle of more public spiritedness， when a change in the moral values of elites allowed public policies and the legal system to redistribute wealth more fairly across society。 During the period from WW2 to 1980， wealth disparities were low。 But after 1980， the wealth gap started increasing， rising today to levels not seen since the 1920s。 Perhaps the appearance of Chayes's book， along with the resonance of populist political rhetoric from both Bernie Sanders and Trump himself may be signs that the trend is about to reverse。 At the end of the book， Chayes offers several ideas to help move the change along。 Some of her ideas appear up to the task， such as forming citizen groups to educate ordinary citizens on why billionaires are not their friends and how to rein them in。 "We reinforce better values by ceasing to assume that if someone is spectacularly rich， he must be smarter and more hardworking than the rest of us。 We should view such people with suspicion，" she writes。 "It is impossible to become a billionaire without bending the rules。 Most of the members of that class run their operations and live their lives in ways that injure our communities。 Most are trying to rig the system even further。 These are not upstanding citizens。 Thy are parasites and freeloaders--however they try to justify themselves。 We do not owe them deference。"Other ideas， such as consumers quietly trying to buy less stuff from Amazon or Walmart， seem underpowered to address the magnitude of the task of dethroning the rule of extreme greed across society。In the end， to dislodge the rule of money and corruption， our country will need real reform of campaign finance and then other reforms to make government work to protect people and the environment as Chayes and many others have suggested。Perhaps the most important insight for me was the danger of partisanship as well as identity politics。 Divide and rule is an old trick of elites， but it never grows stale because ordinary people always fall for it。 It's pitifully easy to pit middle class and poor Americans against each other using race， class， gender， religion， geography and attitudes about hot-button social issues。 Political parties do it all the time。 But keeping the rest of us apart from each other only benefits kleptocratic elites， whether Democratic or Republican。 Ordinary Americans must work hard to resist such tricks and build a new solidarity to demand that government benefit the 99%。Can this be done today in the absence of a war or economic collapse？ Chayes seems to think that the pandemic might offer a start and I hope that she's right。 。。。more

David ，

A must read！

Miguel ，

Sarah Chayes is a familiar voice for those weaned on NPR – she moved to Afghanistan shortly after the US invasion in the early 2000’s to assist in that country's rebuilding。 She presents a very wide ranging rumination on the topic of Corruption obviously having observed quite a bit of it in first hand from our ill-formed foray into South Asia。 She goes back in history and works her way back to the US about ¼ way into the book。 She uses the metaphor of a Hydra to describe how the tentacles of cor Sarah Chayes is a familiar voice for those weaned on NPR – she moved to Afghanistan shortly after the US invasion in the early 2000’s to assist in that country's rebuilding。 She presents a very wide ranging rumination on the topic of Corruption obviously having observed quite a bit of it in first hand from our ill-formed foray into South Asia。 She goes back in history and works her way back to the US about ¼ way into the book。 She uses the metaphor of a Hydra to describe how the tentacles of corruption weave their way into the fabric of society and how this has waxed and waned in the US over the past 200 or so years。 Overall it’s quite convincing for no other reason that one doesn’t need to be convinced of her assumption – she also doesn’t lay the blame on any one political party or ideology （the Clintons， Blair， and Schroeder all representing the left-of-center of their respective parties all are called out for justifiably withering criticism）。 In the last part she proposes several approaches to solve this， none without merit but some more worthy than others。 Overall decent overview on this topic。 。。。more

Heather ，

This is a highly readable and illuminating book。 The author’s experience in Afghanistan， Nigeria， and Central America empowers her to recognize the workings of corruption， impunity， graft， self-dealing， money-laundering， nepotism， trafficking， black markets， and profiteering here in the US。 Deeply depressing but indisputable。 I appreciated her mythic-archetypal frameworks: Midas’ golden touch; the money-changers in the Temple; the Hydra。A valuable companion to “Dark Money，” “The Shock Doctrine，” This is a highly readable and illuminating book。 The author’s experience in Afghanistan， Nigeria， and Central America empowers her to recognize the workings of corruption， impunity， graft， self-dealing， money-laundering， nepotism， trafficking， black markets， and profiteering here in the US。 Deeply depressing but indisputable。 I appreciated her mythic-archetypal frameworks: Midas’ golden touch; the money-changers in the Temple; the Hydra。A valuable companion to “Dark Money，” “The Shock Doctrine，” and “Democracy in Chains”。 Each of these identifies a different villainous mastermind: Charles Koch， Milton Friedman， FA Hayek， James Buchanan， and now Justice Powell， whose memorandum shortly before his elevation to the Supreme Court Chayes analyses as another blueprint for libertarian oligarchs in post-WWII America。 。。。more

Carl ，

Corruption - which she occasionally refers to as "methods" - from prehistory all the way to tRump & she names names too - altho not many from prehistory。 She talks about it in terms of a network or hydra （Greek mythology） & demonstrates how it cuts across what we usually think of as barriers such as nation & political party。 No one is spared but hell hath no fury like the author's for Bill Clinton。 Included is the Jeffrey Epstein saga or as much as we know of it。 Stay tuned！ BTW， this is a marve Corruption - which she occasionally refers to as "methods" - from prehistory all the way to tRump & she names names too - altho not many from prehistory。 She talks about it in terms of a network or hydra （Greek mythology） & demonstrates how it cuts across what we usually think of as barriers such as nation & political party。 No one is spared but hell hath no fury like the author's for Bill Clinton。 Included is the Jeffrey Epstein saga or as much as we know of it。 Stay tuned！ BTW， this is a marvelous book！！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0