Random House
September 2012
On Sale: September 11, 2012
592 pages ISBN: 1400069661 EAN: 9781400069668 Kindle: B007MEWAX2 Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smithβs new book is an extraordinary achievement, an eye-opening account of how, over the past four decades, the American Dream has been dismantled and we became two Americas.
In his bestselling The Russians, Smith took millions of readers inside the Soviet Union. In The Power Game, he took us inside Washingtonβs corridors of power. Now Smith takes us across America to show how seismic changes, sparked by a sequence of landmark political and economic decisions, have transformed America. As only a veteran reporter can, Smith fits the puzzle together, starting with Lewis Powellβs provocative memo that triggered a political rebellion that dramatically altered the landscape of power from then until today.
This is a book full of surprises and revelationsβthe accidental beginnings of the 401(k) plan, with disastrous economic consequences for many; the major policy changes that began under Jimmy Carter; how the New Economy disrupted Americaβs engine of shared prosperity, the βvirtuous circleβ of growth, and how America lost the title of βLand of Opportunity.β Smith documents the transfer of $6 trillion in middle-class wealth from homeowners to banks even beforethe housing boom went bust, and how the U.S. policy tilt favoring the rich is stunting Americaβs economic growth.
This book is essential reading for all of us who want to understand America today, or why average Americans are struggling to keep afloat. Smith reveals how pivotal laws and policies were altered while the public wasnβt looking, how Congress often ignores public opinion, why moderate politicians got shoved to the sidelines, and how Wall Street often wins politically by hiring over 1,400 former government officials as lobbyists.
Smith talks to a wide range of people, telling the stories of Americans high and low. From political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to CEOs such as Al Dunlap, Bob Galvin, and Andy Grove, to heartland Middle Americans such as airline mechanic Pat OβNeill, software systems manager Kristine Serrano, small businessman John Terboss, and subcontractor Eliseo Guardado, Smith puts a human face on how middle-class America and the American Dream have been undermined.
This magnificent work of history and reportage is filled with the penetrating insights, provocative discoveries, and the great empathy of a master journalist. Finally, Smith offers ideas for restoring Americaβs great promise and reclaiming the American Dream.
Media Buzz
Morning Edition - January 9, 2014 Diane Rehm Show - NPR - March 11, 2013 PBS News Hour - October 1, 2012
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