When America Stopped Being Great: A History of the Present
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- Author：Nick Bryant
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Summary
'Nick Bryant is brilliant。 He has a way of showing you what you've been missing from the whole story whilst never leaving you feeling stupid。' - Emily Maitlis
'Bryant is a genuine rarity， a Brit who understands America' - Washington Post
In When America Stopped Being Great， veteran reporter and BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant reveals how America's decline paved the way for Donald Trump's rise， sowing division and leaving the country vulnerable to its greatest challenge of the modern era。
Deftly sifting through almost four decades of American history， from post-Cold War optimism， through the scandal-wracked nineties and into the new millennium， Bryant unpacks the mistakes of past administrations， from Ronald Reagan's 'celebrity presidency' to Barack Obama's failure to adequately address income and racial inequality。 He explains how the historical clues， unseen by many （including the media） paved the way for an outsider to take power and a country to slide towards disaster。 As Bryant writes， 'rather than being an aberration， Trump's presidency marked the culmination of so much of what had been going wrong in the United States for decades - economically， racially， politically， culturally， technologically and constitutionally。'
A personal elegy for an America lost， unafraid to criticise actors on both sides of the political divide， When America Stopped Being Great takes the long view， combining engaging storytelling with recent history to show how the country moved from the optimism of Reagan's 'Morning in America' to the darkness of Trump's 'American Carnage'。 It concludes with arguably the most dramatic year in recent memory， in an America torn apart by a bitterly polarised election， racial division and the national catastrophe of the coronavirus。
'Bryant is a genuine rarity， a Brit who understands America' - Washington Post
In When America Stopped Being Great， veteran reporter and BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant reveals how America's decline paved the way for Donald Trump's rise， sowing division and leaving the country vulnerable to its greatest challenge of the modern era。
Deftly sifting through almost four decades of American history， from post-Cold War optimism， through the scandal-wracked nineties and into the new millennium， Bryant unpacks the mistakes of past administrations， from Ronald Reagan's 'celebrity presidency' to Barack Obama's failure to adequately address income and racial inequality。 He explains how the historical clues， unseen by many （including the media） paved the way for an outsider to take power and a country to slide towards disaster。 As Bryant writes， 'rather than being an aberration， Trump's presidency marked the culmination of so much of what had been going wrong in the United States for decades - economically， racially， politically， culturally， technologically and constitutionally。'
A personal elegy for an America lost， unafraid to criticise actors on both sides of the political divide， When America Stopped Being Great takes the long view， combining engaging storytelling with recent history to show how the country moved from the optimism of Reagan's 'Morning in America' to the darkness of Trump's 'American Carnage'。 It concludes with arguably the most dramatic year in recent memory， in an America torn apart by a bitterly polarised election， racial division and the national catastrophe of the coronavirus。
Reviews
Jennifer （JC-S）
，
‘For anyone trying to make sense of the present， the question always is how far to reach back。’The Trump presidency， according to Mr Bryant， is the culmination of several different factors， and had its beginning in the Reagan era: ‘Though Ronald Reagan took 16 years to achieve what Donald Trump managed in little over 16 months， America’s first movie-star president laid the path for America’s first reality-TV-star president。’Leaving aside the issue of how ‘great’ America is （or was） and when tha ‘For anyone trying to make sense of the present， the question always is how far to reach back。’The Trump presidency， according to Mr Bryant， is the culmination of several different factors， and had its beginning in the Reagan era: ‘Though Ronald Reagan took 16 years to achieve what Donald Trump managed in little over 16 months， America’s first movie-star president laid the path for America’s first reality-TV-star president。’Leaving aside the issue of how ‘great’ America is （or was） and when that period of greatness began （and ended）， I found this book provided an interesting look at how the path was laid for Donald Trump’s ascendancy。 Hindsight is a wonderful thing。 Mr Bryant writes about how Donald Trump learned from the mistakes made by his predecessors and was able to capitalise on an increasingly polarised democracy。‘The double paradox of the Clinton impeachment， then was that it made is harder for his wife to shatter the glass ceiling and easier for Donald Trump to become president。 Hillary Clinton became a repeat victim of her husband’s infidelities。’Sigh。Healthy democracies， Mr Bryant writes， have always relied on a prosperous middle class。 So， what happens when the middle class shrinks？ In America， as in other developed economies， the divide between rural and metropolitan areas increases。 Job opportunities change and shrink。 Manufacturing jobs move offshore， unemployment grows。 Global economic factors cause local economic pain， and people want their governments to do something to reduce that pain。 Enter Trump with his （recycled） ‘Make America Great Again’， tapping into the anger， concerns and fears of so many。And now the Trump presidency is over， and President Biden has been elected。 What will happen next？Jennifer Cameron-Smith 。。。more
Karina Pineda
，
A concise analysis of the interplay of modern politics and culture that gradually， and inevitably， led to the Trump presidency， starting with the still-very-much-beloved （among Republicans） Ronald Reagan。 As someone who was not alive during the Reagan years and lacks memory of any presidency prior to Clinton， I found this book to be very insightful。 It also transformed some thoughts I had of these presidents， especially that of Reagan and Bush Sr。 The author supplements his narrative by includin A concise analysis of the interplay of modern politics and culture that gradually， and inevitably， led to the Trump presidency， starting with the still-very-much-beloved （among Republicans） Ronald Reagan。 As someone who was not alive during the Reagan years and lacks memory of any presidency prior to Clinton， I found this book to be very insightful。 It also transformed some thoughts I had of these presidents， especially that of Reagan and Bush Sr。 The author supplements his narrative by including statistics and poll data to show how America's transformation was headed towards the direction it is now。 Highly recommend for people wondering "How did the two political parties becomes so polarized？"。 。。。more
Janet
，
Date reviewed/posted: February 10， 2021Publication date: March 9， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us， AND it is a loverly minus 26 degrees， snowy and icy where I am currently stuck living， so superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Date reviewed/posted: February 10， 2021Publication date: March 9， 2021When life for the entire galaxy and planet has turned on its end， you are continuing to #maskup and #lockdown to be in #COVID19 #socialisolation as the #secondwave is upon us， AND it is a loverly minus 26 degrees， snowy and icy where I am currently stuck living， so superspeed readers like me can read 300+ pages/hour， so yes， I have read the book … and many more today。I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley， the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review。 From the publisher， as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews， I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸。In When America Stopped Being Great， veteran reporter and BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant reveals how America's decline paved the way for Donald Trump's rise， sowing division and leaving the country vulnerable to its greatest challenge of the modern era。 Deftly sifting through almost four decades of American history， from post-Cold War optimism， through the scandal-wracked nineties and into the new millennium， Bryant unpacks the mistakes of past administrations， from Ronald Reagan's 'celebrity presidency' to Barack Obama's failure to adequately address income and racial inequality。 He explains how the historical clues， unseen by many （including the media） paved the way for an outsider to take power and a country to slide towards disaster。 As Bryant writes， 'rather than being an aberration， Trump's presidency marked the culmination of so much of what had been going wrong in the United States for decades – economically， racially， politically， culturally， technologically and constitutionally。'A personal elegy for an America lost， unafraid to criticize actors on both sides of the political divide， When America Stopped Being Great takes the long view， combining engaging storytelling with recent history to show how the country moved from the optimism of Reagan's 'Morning in America' to the darkness of Trump's 'American Carnage'。 It concludes with some of the most dramatic events in recent memory， in an America that is torn apart by a bitterly polarised election， racial division， the national catastrophe of the coronavirus and the threat to US democracy evidenced by the storming of Capitol Hill。There has been a whole lotta stupid going on lately in regards to politics - enough to make me question whether the USA is sane 。。。 but then again， with a new leader， it cannot get worse， right？ （I mean compared to the deranged orange Cheetoh that is currently on trial！） No president has ever been perfect but this dissects them deftly and wisely and in an entirely entertaining manner。 I will recommend this book to friends， family， patrons and book clubs alike as politics is always a great dinner conversation among close people 。。。 lol。 （I still remember the jerk at a book-related gathering in the USA who said that he didn't understand why the US didn't annex Canada 100 years ago as we were a "useless entity"。。。 hubby had to stop me from climbing over the table to pound some sense into him！！ Maybe I should send this book to him and remind him that not all American politicians were useful， either！）As always， I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I simply adore emojis （outside of their incessant use by "🙏-ed Social Influencer Millennials/#BachelorNation survivors/Tik-Tok and YouTube Millionaires/snowflakes / literally-like-overusers etc。 " on Instagram and Twitter。。。 Get a real job， people！） so let's give it 🗽🗽🗽🗽 。。。more
Keen
，
“When the president does it…that means that it’s not illegal。”Starting off with Reagan， Bryant goes through all the presidents of the US up to the Donald， charting its grim and ongoing decline， and at times this can make for quite dispiriting or disheartening reading。 Thankfully he writes well and this is an easy enough read， but still manages carry much substance and depth to make it worthwhile for those looking for something a bit more serious too。We see that Reagan became the first candidate “When the president does it…that means that it’s not illegal。”Starting off with Reagan， Bryant goes through all the presidents of the US up to the Donald， charting its grim and ongoing decline， and at times this can make for quite dispiriting or disheartening reading。 Thankfully he writes well and this is an easy enough read， but still manages carry much substance and depth to make it worthwhile for those looking for something a bit more serious too。We see that Reagan became the first candidate that the NRA would endorse in 1980， other low-lights in the 80s like Contra， Grenada， Panama， Nicaragua， AIDS etc are not really explored to any great degree， but he does make a point of talking about the Citizens United case in 1988， which permanently altered and poisoned the already dubious well of American politics with unlimited access to dark money from home and abroad， making a total mockery of the democratic process。What is terrifying is the man who proudly displayed his anti-intellectualism like a trophy is still regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the history of America。 Remember this is the man who once claimed that trees emitted more pollution than cars and during a call with Nixon described African delegates at the UN as “monkeys” who were “still uncomfortable wearing shoes。” Though we do hear of some of the positive action he took too， like his anti-nuclear stance and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 which granted amnesty to over 1 million illegal immigrants。We see that during the Clinton years the US spent more on defence than the rest of the world combined。 He got got rid of the Glass-Steagall at the end of 99 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in Dec 00， both which played a significant part in the global financial crisis。 We see that Facebook and Google were exempt from the Communications Decency Act in 96， granting them a license to run riot on their way to evading a phenomenal amount of tax。And of course Clinton’s crazy 3 strikes law， inevitably led to mass incarceration of largely low-level criminals， and he oversaw the biggest increase in federal and state prison population in US history and by the end of his time the US would enjoy the highest rate of incarceration in the world。We are told of Bush’s $1。4 trillion deficit and how 20% of government spending went on the military。 Of course Bush’s foreign policy became the most successful incentive and enduring recruitment campaign for Muslim extremism and terrorism in the world。 Nearly two decades on the rest of the world still gets to pick up the tab and clean up the mess， as the man who used to enjoy playing soldiers now plays cowboy in a ranch somewhere in Texas。There is a long list of shame to tie to Bush and his time in office， Abu Ghraib， the Haditha massacre， Guantanamo Bay and of course the various black sites used around the world to torture many other suspects。 And let’s not forget the Patriot Act。 Or that over 10 years， his tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 took $3。2 trillion out of the economy。What we also see in here is that how often the Democrats are so accomplished at doing what the Republicans want to do， it’s almost like they can’t stop themselves from betraying their electorate as they criminalise whistle blowers， escalate rates of incarceration， bail out banks at the expense of millions of tax payers， or escalate drone use。 Between 2009-2013 95% of income gains went to the 1%。 The Nobel Peace Prize Winner， Obama sanctioned the murder of thousands in some of the poorest parts of the world， including the killing of more than 300 civilians through his drone warfare campaign。 As these various men passed through the White House what we saw was the emergence of feelings over facts and security over liberty。 Self-congratulation， self-delusion and self-enrichment， appear to be the only constants。There are just too many examples to list concerning how dreadful and woeful the situation is in the United States of America， but personally I think you would do well to think of a more depressing or heart breaking reflection of what America and its politics is really about， when the world saw just how low it could sink in the aftermath of Sandy Hook and how difficult it was for so many people to show humanity or compassion when they were asked to change laws to protect the most vulnerable in society and those people showed the rest of the world just what was really important to them。This book could easily have been called “Just How Awful American Politics Can Be” but that doesn’t really have a ring to it， does it？。。。But the childish， petty， awful lengths these people go to get their own way is breath taking， all of these dumb， desperate， dangerous and destructive people who will seemingly do or say anything against almost anyone if they think that it will get them closer to what they want。 。。。more
Nick Cook
，
An interesting historical overview of what lead to 2016 election result。 Author certainly doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the future of America。
Alison
，
I’m not big on these types of books - going down the rabbit warren of a country divided is not my idea of a good read as a rule of thumb。 This was an exception - Bryant is a wonderful writer who knows his stuff and articulates it beautifully。 Pin pointing where America began to take the wrong turn was enlightening - I learnt so much about the political system， the players and the current state was cast many decades ago。 As a non-American it is truly sad to watch what is happening there， and it’s I’m not big on these types of books - going down the rabbit warren of a country divided is not my idea of a good read as a rule of thumb。 This was an exception - Bryant is a wonderful writer who knows his stuff and articulates it beautifully。 Pin pointing where America began to take the wrong turn was enlightening - I learnt so much about the political system， the players and the current state was cast many decades ago。 As a non-American it is truly sad to watch what is happening there， and it’s perplexing to feel that no one seems to know how to turn things around。 I hope they do。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Rosalie
，
DNFNICK BRYANT: WHEN AMERICA STOPPED BEING GREAT I was expecting a balanced assessment of the situation that America is facing now （I am writing this on 12th January 2021）。 However， I found that the book got bogged down in detail and only seemed to concentrate on the negative aspects of the Presidents that it covered （Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump）。 After I had read the introduction and the first two chapters Ronald Reagan and George H。 W。 Bush）， I skimmed the next two chapters （Bill Clinton and DNFNICK BRYANT: WHEN AMERICA STOPPED BEING GREAT I was expecting a balanced assessment of the situation that America is facing now （I am writing this on 12th January 2021）。 However， I found that the book got bogged down in detail and only seemed to concentrate on the negative aspects of the Presidents that it covered （Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump）。 After I had read the introduction and the first two chapters Ronald Reagan and George H。 W。 Bush）， I skimmed the next two chapters （Bill Clinton and George W。 Bush）。 I then decided to go to the last two chapters （Donald Trump） and the conclusion。 Certainly， Nick Bryant makes a clear case for the fact that a line can be drawn from the Reagan Presidency to the Trump Presidency and how that happened， but I felt that there was just too much emphasis on the negatives。 For example， George Bush senior was instrumental in helping Helmut Kohl get a unified Germany accepted on an international scale。 This was in the face of much European opposition to a unified Germany。 Most notably from Britain。 Another example， which is only mentioned briefly， is that both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama for a significant part of their presidencies faced a hostile （re3publican Senate） which meant that they struggled to get legislation through。 As this book was published before the election， it would be difficult to even begin to think that Trump would take suck extreme measures to ensure that he stayed on as President。 If Nick Bryant felt that the Republican Party had to do a lot of hard work to redeem themselves， it is certainly a lot more urgent and necessary now。Perhaps with a bit more of a balance between the bad stuff and the good stuff that each president and a little less unnecessary detail I might have read more of this book。 。。。more
Sam Still Reading
，
When I asked for this book for Christmas， the US 2020 election hadn’t even occurred。 Who knew that this book was going to become even more relevant after the election and in the last days of the current presidency？Like many Australians， I have a fascination for US politics because it all seems so different and like many things American， on such a grand scale。 Super Tuesday， rallies， slogans， T-shirts， music， the Electoral College…it’s all so different。 Everyone seems so passionate and invested （ When I asked for this book for Christmas， the US 2020 election hadn’t even occurred。 Who knew that this book was going to become even more relevant after the election and in the last days of the current presidency？Like many Australians， I have a fascination for US politics because it all seems so different and like many things American， on such a grand scale。 Super Tuesday， rallies， slogans， T-shirts， music， the Electoral College…it’s all so different。 Everyone seems so passionate and invested （while in Australia， the main dilemma is what sauce to put on your democracy sausage or travesty if the local polling place dares not to have a sausage sizzle）。 When America Stopped Being Great looks at how American politics has changed since Ronald Reagan was elected and how it hasn’t always been for the better。 There are chapters on each president – Bush x 2， Clinton and Obama。 Then， the book focuses on Trump’s campaign and his presidency up until mid-2020 in more detail。 The premise is that Trump inherited a number of problems from previous presidents and the choices of Congress and the House。 Bryant definitely doesn’t excuse Trump for all his choices but the book shows how previous politics has impacted on each presidency， often not in a good way。The book describes how each president put his own spin on things – Reagan made the presidency a show， while Bush Senior tackled the end of the Cold War with a new show of force in Iraq。 Clinton made things more personable， right down to boxers or briefs （and then some）。 George W。 Bush took on the War of Terror， while Obama didn’t use force to claim America’s superiority in the world。 And Trump – well， we’re living that right now。 I didn’t always agree with Bryant’s statements about Obama – I commend him for not trying to solve every problem with force – but it was a fascinating read， particularly about presidents before my time。 Along the way， Bryant shows the disparity between the Republicans and Democrats in their determination to chase those elusive voters who may be wandering away from the party and gain new followers。 Over the past 40 years， the parties （G。O。P。 in particular） have split into different factions， which has made governing difficult。 The way it’s painted by Bryant （and I don’t know any different because all I see is the Australian news and the New York Times） is that intra- and inter- party differences and alliances rule over what’s best for the country。 It seems near impossible to make any meaningful， lasting changes。When America Stopped Being Great is an interesting read， and it’s very readable。 It’s not dry at all and explains things in a way that it’s easy to understand if you’re not American。 It doesn’t leave you with optimism that Joe Biden’s presidency will change things dramatically， but hopefully recent events will refocus the government on governing rather than party politics。 A very worthwhile read。http://samstillreading。wordpress。com 。。。more
George Eraclides
，
A superb political analysis of our USA dominated present and the recent past， undertaken in order to work out how we arrived at Donald Trump and a declining USA。 Mr Bryant is an experienced BBC Foreign Correspondent with academic credentials as well as journalistic experience， having a PhD in American History。 He intersperses his historical analysis with personal recollections which adds to the interest for the reader。 This work is very up to date: Mr Bryant writes about the Covid-19 epidemic wi A superb political analysis of our USA dominated present and the recent past， undertaken in order to work out how we arrived at Donald Trump and a declining USA。 Mr Bryant is an experienced BBC Foreign Correspondent with academic credentials as well as journalistic experience， having a PhD in American History。 He intersperses his historical analysis with personal recollections which adds to the interest for the reader。 This work is very up to date: Mr Bryant writes about the Covid-19 epidemic with personal experience having contracted the disease with his wife while living in New York。 He has first-hand experience of many key events in the recent political life of the USA。 He reminds us of what the American presidents from Reagan to Trump actually said and did （and in passing， covers key aspects of other presidents such as Eisenhower， JFK， Nixon et al）， the changing world in which they lived and much more which we may have forgotten or insufficiently understood。 He joins up all the dots to show how the USA was on course to produce the current shambolic mess with its polarised polity， functional decline， the rise of Trump and what appears to be an inevitable descent into second or third rate status。 I am writing this review having just witnessed in horror， as has most of the world， the attack on the Capitol Building in Washington by Trump supporters， egged on （incited） by the President himself， unable to accept his electoral defeat。 Can the USA stop its horror ride into decline and fall？ The author is hopeful but he fears the worst and that was before the recent events in Washington。 If you want to understand your political reality in this age， read this book。 It features high level analysis， insight， revelation and is extremely well written。 It reads like a political thriller， as it should。 This is the time we are living through。 。。。more
Christine Williams
，
i listen to a lot of American politics with a morbid fascination， and this book was really interesting describing the lead-up over decades to the no-so-surprising debacle that the States finds itself in now。 Includes 2020， although of course not the election and post-election。
Steven
，
This is a very thorough overview of the last several US presidencies and their particular culpabilities in helping create the current cult of Trump。I grew up during Reagan， and it was not until I was older that I began to learn about the myriad ways in which his presidency re-shaped the public understanding of the office - mostly for ill， all told。There isn't a lot of good covered in this book， though I think George H。W。 Bush gets the best coverage overall。 While I understand the book is sort of This is a very thorough overview of the last several US presidencies and their particular culpabilities in helping create the current cult of Trump。I grew up during Reagan， and it was not until I was older that I began to learn about the myriad ways in which his presidency re-shaped the public understanding of the office - mostly for ill， all told。There isn't a lot of good covered in this book， though I think George H。W。 Bush gets the best coverage overall。 While I understand the book is sort of an answer in search of a question， the author could have devoted more time to giving more of a balance to the various administrations。 Instead， we focus mostly on the negative， "performative" aspects of the presidencies。The author assumes the reader has more than a just a passing familiarity with the events of 1980 onwards in US politics - this is very much a high-level， highlights-reel type of assessment （though we do go into more depth on occasion）。 Still， if you are not well-versed in US presidential politics， some things may come off as making less sense/having less import than I think the author would have intended。There is a claim made near the end of the book that the US hasn't had a fully functioning government （or at least executive branch） in 25 years。 Given the book was published in 2020， I don't fully understand or see how 1995 was the time given as the last "functioning" government。。。 this was an odd assertion that seems to come out of nowhere， and it certainly is not foreshadowed by anything in the text。 I believe， as with many books， the introduction and final chapter were written extemporaneously from the body of the work， which may explain the discrepancy。Overall， however， this book's thesis aligned with my thinking， as I have been for several years now making the point that this particular decline of the US executive office really began with Reagan， and you can draw almost a straight line through him， GWB， and now Trump。 While I think the GOP have been the worst offenders， the book certainly does not spare either the Clintons or Obamas from their fair share of the blame， though in Obama's case， I found some of the items to be a bit of a reach （the Obama White House's use of the internet doesn't presage Trump's use of Twitter as an actual vehicle of policy and personnel announcements）。 Whereas we've now lived long enough to have better assessed the pros/cons of the Clinton White House， the proverbial jury is still out on much of Obama's legacy。Highly recommended for anyone trying to make broader sense of the root causes of Trump's rise， from the standpoint of the impacts of the previous occupants of the Oval Office。 。。。more
Carly
，
A great primer on modern American history and the rise of Trumpism。 More reflective than most。
Greg Cobcroft
，
As a book it's about as close to perfect as you can get - readable， interesting， analytical， detailed but not too detailed。 Explores the Trump phenomenon and How it came to be。 How Reagan and Sarah Palin paved the way， how， how the Republican Party machine failed to keep trump out， how American politics became so partisan， etc。 Bryant is a British journo who has been covering American politics for many years and lived in the US for a long time。 I'm keen on a foreigner's perspective of a As a book it's about as close to perfect as you can get - readable， interesting， analytical， detailed but not too detailed。 Explores the Trump phenomenon and How it came to be。 How Reagan and Sarah Palin paved the way， how， how the Republican Party machine failed to keep trump out， how American politics became so partisan， etc。 Bryant is a British journo who has been covering American politics for many years and lived in the US for a long time。 I'm keen on a foreigner's perspective of a country especially if they have lived there for many years。 Usually more insightful than the perspective of a citizen who has never lived elsewhere。 。。。more
Ronald Ng
，
Confession time; this is the first book I've managed to read since April with everything going on in the world; COVID， recession， lockdown， BLM and the US election some people have found it great for reading books but I've been engrossed with what's happening in the world and found it hard to focus on reading anything longer than a Reddit thread。This is an excellent book by the BBC journalist Nick Bryant on everything that has gone wrong in America that lead to the Trump presidency。 In a way tho Confession time; this is the first book I've managed to read since April with everything going on in the world; COVID， recession， lockdown， BLM and the US election some people have found it great for reading books but I've been engrossed with what's happening in the world and found it hard to focus on reading anything longer than a Reddit thread。This is an excellent book by the BBC journalist Nick Bryant on everything that has gone wrong in America that lead to the Trump presidency。 In a way though， it very much feels like the polarisation in politics is only half the story; the other half being what is happening on the ground that would cause 70 million Americans to think Trump deserving of a second term。Flicking between CNN and Fox News most nights for the last few months as COVID spiralled out of control in the US and the election approached， I can't underscore how important it is that we understand why America's democracy has come undone and what lessons other liberal democracies can take from this。 。。。more
Stan Fleetwood
，
Makes the case convincingly， and depressingly， that Trump is not the cause， but a symptom of a growing problem in American political life that started in Reagan’s time。 While Trump has accelerated the trend， it will continue after he is gone。
Martin
，
I am typing this review whilst watching trump （lower case intended） brandishing his inane dangerous inarticulate crap 'don't be scared of the virus' on the steps of the white house and shake my head。My last visit to the States was about four years ago and its demise was evident then。。。I presumed USA hegemony would have abated by 2040-50s; trump and the pandemic has only exacerbated the process。In a word America is fucked。 No magic wand POTUS' will have in the future to remedy the malaise 。。。。NB' I am typing this review whilst watching trump （lower case intended） brandishing his inane dangerous inarticulate crap 'don't be scared of the virus' on the steps of the white house and shake my head。My last visit to the States was about four years ago and its demise was evident then。。。I presumed USA hegemony would have abated by 2040-50s; trump and the pandemic has only exacerbated the process。In a word America is fucked。 No magic wand POTUS' will have in the future to remedy the malaise 。。。。NB's assertion that the United States of America is an anomaly is correctThe States are NO longer united。 ON trump and citing Salena Zito “The press takes him literally， but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously， but not literally。” And not without humor either。。。" the lesser known members {of the trump 'barbie' family}。。。could have stepped from the set of falcon crest。”An insightful read to anyone who has an interest in politics。 。。。more
Scott Handsaker
，
Good for a history of US politics over the last 50 years， albeit told by an author with very little good to say about it！
Jillx27
，
A great book that puts American politic over the last 70 years into prospective。 Bryant has lived and worked in the States for many years but is able to stand back and take an outsiders view。 The scene is not pretty。 All of the presidents have had good and bad sides but Bryant believes Reagan was the clear start of showmanship over ability。A movie star that ran on looks， sound bites and lack of political acumen paved the way for Trump。 None of the presidents except Bush senior who had the politi A great book that puts American politic over the last 70 years into prospective。 Bryant has lived and worked in the States for many years but is able to stand back and take an outsiders view。 The scene is not pretty。 All of the presidents have had good and bad sides but Bryant believes Reagan was the clear start of showmanship over ability。A movie star that ran on looks， sound bites and lack of political acumen paved the way for Trump。 None of the presidents except Bush senior who had the political skills but was not a great showman looks great。 This could be the beginning of the fall of the United States of America as a world leader if Bryant is true that nothing they have done over the last 70 years shows greatness。 。。。more
Diane
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Couldn't put this book down。 In voting for Reagan the way was paved for the Presidency of Donald Trump。 So revered today， a lot of problems started with Reagan's reign - seeing tax cuts as a cure for every economic ill and the oldfavourite beloved of Conservatives and yet shown， at the end of Reagan's presidency， to actually widen the divide between rich and poor - trickle downeconomics！！ From then on the GOP seemed to have been slowly overtaken by the religious fundamentalist right （much like w Couldn't put this book down。 In voting for Reagan the way was paved for the Presidency of Donald Trump。 So revered today， a lot of problems started with Reagan's reign - seeing tax cuts as a cure for every economic ill and the oldfavourite beloved of Conservatives and yet shown， at the end of Reagan's presidency， to actually widen the divide between rich and poor - trickle downeconomics！！ From then on the GOP seemed to have been slowly overtaken by the religious fundamentalist right （much like what is happening in Australia） and the reason for Obama's later malaise is that he was continually being pummeled by Republican senators who opposed his bills not because they were not worth considering but because they were Democratic creations。 Obama had his problemsas well - Bryant feels he was too laid back and standoffish， thinking that by the timehis Presidency finished Hillary would take over。。。。 no one reckoned on Trump！！A Vanity Fair article "Of the 1%， By the 1%， For the 1%" written by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Sliglitz seems to sum up the plight of America at the moment。 。。。more
Allison Adriansz
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Very challenging and an uncomfortable read。 The author certainly opened my eyes to the many reasons why the USA is currently in the state it is in。 A highly recommended read
David
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