Description
In a trenchant work of nonfiction, the #1 New York Times bestselling author identifies a series of self-inflicted wounds on our body politic that have led to the current moment, and shows us how we can undo the harm
“A modern-day Tocqueville, Richard North Patterson marshals an immense amount of research to show, incisively and readably, why we are now in danger of losing our democracy—and how we can recover from our current malaise.” —Max Boot, author of Reagan: His Life and Legend
In a trenchant work of nonfiction, the New York Times bestselling author identifies a series of self-inflicted wounds and destabilizing societal trends that have led America to the precipice of autocracy, and lays out a program or reversing the harm. From politicized Supreme Court decisions to wrong-headed policy initiatives and toxic political maneuvers, Richard North Patterson—whose novel on presidential politics, Protect and Defend, was a #1 New York Times bestseller—combines fifteen fateful moments in the past quarter-century with an immersive narrative of the underlying economic, cultural, and political developments that made these tripwires so profoundly consequential.
Starting with the Supreme Court intervention that awarded George W. Bush the presidency, Patterson examines the often under-appreciated turning points that helped undermine our polity, from the accidental accession of John Roberts as Chief Justice and the ruin wreaked by America’s subprime mortgages, to Donald Trump’s demand to see Barack Obama’s birth certificate, Marco Rubio’s sabotage of his own immigration reform bill, and Mitch McConnell’s refusal to convict Trump for his attempted coup—culimating in the ultimate betrayal of our constitutional democracy: the Roberts Court’s invitation to unbounded presidential power.
Patterson’s near-encyclopedic knowledge of recent U.S. history along with his political acumen and training as a trial lawyer allow him to distill cause and effect in a deeply synthetic way, building to a comprehensive account of the perverse compound of ignorance, corruption, racism, religiosity, plutocracy, and authoritarianism wrought by Trump’s return to power. He concludes with a detailed program for establishing a truly equitable and democratic society, offering hope for America’s future.
Author Bio
Richard North Patterson is the author of twenty-three novels, sixteen of which have been New York Times bestsellers, as well as a nonfiction narrative of the 2016 presidential campaign. A former trial attorney, he is a political commentator whose regular columns and articles have been published in The New York Times, The London Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Bulwark, and elsewhere. The author lives between Jacksonville, Florida, and Martha’s Vineyard.
Praise
Praise for Tripwires:
“From the Roberts Court’s transformation into a rubber stamp for right-wing billionaires, to corporate-backed Republicans’ repeated refusals to hold a lawless president to account, Richard North Patterson rightly identifies many of the forces that cast a lengthening shadow over the three branches of American government.”
—Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, author of The Scheme
“In his inimitably readable and invariably informative style, the bestselling author Richard North Patterson hits a homer yet again. Everybody should read his fascinating take on our troubled times. And for anyone who hasn’t totally given up hope, Tripwires offers wise advice on how best to reclaim the democracy we’re now in imminent danger of losing.”
—Laurence Tribe, professor emeritus, Harvard Law School, and author of Uncertain Justice
“This brilliant tour de force draws upon Richard North Patterson’s unique career, combining his astute analysis as a lawyer and celebrated political commentator with his captivating prose as a bestselling novelist. Beyond his illuminating assessment of our descent from democracy—for which he fairly distributes blame among many actors, of both major political parties—he compellingly lays out the path back.”
—Nadine Strossen, former national president, ACLU
“Richard North Patterson is a gifted storyteller, a civic dynamo, and a wise student of politics and history. Tripwires is a brilliant, step-by-step explanation of how American democracy reached this point of crisis. Many things had to go wrong to get us here, and Patterson identified them all. And he doesn’t leave us hanging. He also offers a path forward and administers a strong dose of hope.”
—E.J. Dionne, Jr., professor, Georgetown University, and co-author (with Miles Rapoport) of 100% Democracy
"Richard North Patterson's Tripwires answers the two most important questions that face the country in this perilous moment of rising authoritarianism: How did we get here? How do we escape it? With a deep grasp of recent historical events and how they have built into a rising crescendo of distrust and dissatisfaction, he guides us to a better understanding of the rise of Trumpism. But even more important, he provides a path forward out of this darkness with a plan to make the country work again for all of us. It's a tour de force of history and policy that will make you more hopeful for the future."
—Neera Tanden, CEO of the Center for American Progress
“A modern-day Tocqueville, Richard North Patterson marshals an immense amount of research to show, incisively and readably, why we are now in danger of losing our democracy—and how we can recover from our current malaise. Tripwires makes sense of the past quarter century and charts a path forward. It is required reading for anyone who cares about the future of democracy in America.”
—Max Boot, author of Reagan: His Life and Legend
“Richard North Patterson, one of my favorite novelists, bring both his literary skill and his sharp insight into recent American history to deliver a sobering wake-up call about the forces that have pushed the nation ‘to the edge of the abyss.’ From the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000, through Republican efforts to downplay Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, to the Supreme Court’s sweeping grant of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, Patterson incisively examines the developments that led to what he calls ‘Trump’s American Autocracy.” Reassuringly, he also offers a path forward from the country’s current predicament. ”
—Allan J. Lichtman, professor of history, American University, and author of Conservative at the Core
