edited collection of essays published in The Atlantic during the Trump presidency. contributing historians include David Blight, Ibram Kendi, and Clint Smith, and contributing journalists include Anne Applebaum and Megan Garber. I found essays on college admissions, Ivanka Trump, and poverty to be the most engaging, but all are solid. 500 pages- would skip some of the moderate white men. I guess the most useful part (for writers) is to absorb the structure of the essays. this was one of my first Netgalley requests, and the one I fell behind on most severely- better late than never!

A healthy mix of pragmatism, history, and non-biased analysis of the current political climate. The quintessential read for anyone trying to understand these polarized times.

This book left me enlightened, frustrated, and depressed. I would like to say that it allowed me to see a way forward for a United States of America, but it didn't. With the benefit of hindsight, writing this review a day after Biden has been declared winner of the 2020 presidential election to become the 46th president, I can see the division of the country in the close race to the 270 votes in the electoral college. Most of the rest of the world looks at the US in flabbergasted disbelief, wondering how Donald Trump has gotten more votes (70+ million) than any past president in US history. The main reason behind this is in my opinion the American two-party system which in recent years has shown its severe limitations, as bipartisanship in Congress is virtually non-existant. Two-party systems has been replaced by multi-party systems in most other Western democracies.
The book deals much with the absence of bipartisanship in the US but offers few viable solutions to the problem and focuses very little on alternatives to the US two-party system. Maybe because the two parties are such strong factors that additional parties are doomed from the outset.
The book's different essays/chapters are written by brilliant writers and they offer many important insights into the power struggle that is taking the US hostage through division and strife and will continue to do so in the year to come. The weakest chapters are the last ones in the book about what has been done to overcome crisis in the US in the past; applying New Deal solutions from the 1930s is simply not a viable solution almost 90 years later. I struggled to get through those parts of the book which ends up costing the fifth star in my rating of this important book.

[An ARC of the book was generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]

I have regularly browse/read The Atlantic, so, when I saw this as available to read and review, I figured it would provide me a fairly good read about those things I find important. I was correct. Many of these articles were written during the early days of the current administration, and it was interesting to see just how spot on the authors were. The book covers a myriad of articles, taken from The Atlantic over the course of the past few years, and provides excellent background and information about who we are, where we came from to get here, and some good ideas of where we are going. Right now, with the election looming in front of us, I found most of the information interesting, informative, and more than able to help me make my choices this election. The book covers a lot of different areas, from background on evangelicals and even Paul Manafort, to Ivanka Trump and her father, to evangelicals. Of course, many will conclude that many of the articles are a slanted in one direction, but they are opinion pieces, after all. I think most readers who care about our country and where we are going as well as how we got to where we are will find this book interesting. However, keep in mind, that some of the topics/subject are serious and not to be taken lightly. As is the case with the magazine, this book is not really “light” reading, but should be read carefully and slowly, to fully understand and appreciate all the topics, insights and opinions put forth by the authors. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

Thank you for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of "The American Crisis." This book, a collection of essays, from The Atlantic is full of information and often insightful. The essays broke my heart in reliving these moments of his Presidency in much more detail than the press have given us. Each time I read about Donald Trump I am amazed at what I still don't know and question how much worse can it get. In the intro Jeffrey Goldberg tells a story about meeting with Jared Kushner. I won't go into detail because I think it is important to read the intro in its entirety. However, there is a comment made by the son-in-law that "No one can go as low as the President." "You shouldn't even try." We are better than this. All of the essays show there is nothing he hasn't or won't do for himself at the cost of anyone that has the temerity to disagree. There is a comment, by David Frum, stating the greatest threat to American Democracy is "public indifference." After reading this book I don't see how anyone can be indifferent and settle for less going forward.

Thanks to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and the fantastic contributors of The Atlantic for allowing me to read the ARC of this essay collection. Every American should read this book. I am familiar with The Atlantic although not a consistent reader, but after reading this (in fact before I was 1/3 through), I signed up for a paid subscription to the magazine. And I pre-ordered a hard copy boom to pass on to someone. Yes, some of these essays are demoralizing in our current climate, how could they not be? But overall the book left me feeling optimistic, energized, and I’d say patriotic. Highly recommended for everyone as it will give you a greater insight into our current situation.

An enlightening collection of essays from an array of brilliant minds. Great insight, sometimes prophetic, and often hopeful. I enjoyed taking these an essay at a time and then thinking about it for a while before moving on to the next. There was a lot of information to take in. Some of it confirmed what I already believe, some explained what I hadn’t fully understood, and the rest left me with so much more to consider. I wasn’t a subscriber to The Atlantic magazine prior to reading this collection, but I am now. I highly recommend this book. Very well done.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.