A comprehensive analysis of the political, economic, cultural and technological factors that contributed to America's decline and inadvertently paved the way for Trump's presidency.
A comprehensive analysis of the political, economic, cultural and technological factors that contributed to America's decline and inadvertently paved the way for Trump's presidency.
The presidency of Donald Trump is commonly seen as an historical accident. In When America Stopped Being Great, Nick Bryant argues that by 2016 it had become almost historically inescapable. In this highly personal account, drawing on decades of covering Washington for the BBC, Bryant shows how the billionaire capitalised on the mistakes of his five predecessors, Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and how also he became a beneficiary of a broken politics, an iniquitous economy, an ailing media, a facile culture, disruptive new technology and the creation of a modern-day presidency that elevated showmanship over statesmanship. Not only are we starting to see the emergence of a post-American world, Bryant fears we are seeing the emergence of a post-American America.
The history of Trump's rise is also a history of America's fall - not only are we witnessing America's post-millennial decline, but also the country's disintegration.
An elegant and insightful dissection of how a great nation lost its footing and the world’s respect. The tragedy is made all the more stark by the genuine love of America in Nick Bryant’s writing' – Leigh Sales
'Nick Bryant writes like a dream, and is one of those very rare things on TV – a man who makes you want to turn up the sound. His eye for description is sublime, and 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’ – The Washington Post
During a career spanning almost thirty years, Nick Bryant came to be regarded as one of the BBC's finest foreign correspondents and was described as 'the new Alistair Cooke'. He has been posted in Washington, South Asia, Australia and, most recently, New York, where he covered the Trump years. His writing has appeared in The Economist, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Monthly and The New Statesman. He broadcasts regularly on the BBC and ABC. Nick studied history at Cambridge and has a doctorate in American politics from Oxford. He now lives in Sydney with his wife and children. His book, When America Stopped Being Great- A History of the Present, currently resides on Joe Biden's bookshelf in the Oval Office.
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