The Great Revolt

By: Salena Zito, Brad Todd

Narrated by: Bob Hess

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Standout syndicated columnist and CNN contributor Salena Zito, with veteran Republican strategist Brad Todd, reports across five swing states and over 27,000 miles to answer the pressing question: Was Donald Trump's election a fluke or did it represent a fundamental shift in the electorate that will have repercussions - for Republicans and Democrats - for years to come.

The history of the American electorate is not a litany of flukes; instead it is a pattern of tectonic plate-grinding, punctuated by a landscape-altering earthquake every generation or so. Donald Trump's electoral coalition is smashing both American political parties and its previously impenetrable political news media. The political experts called the 2016 election wrong, and in the wake of the 2016 election surprise, the experts have continued to blow it - looking to predict the coming demise of the president without pausing to consider the durability of the trends and winds that swept him into office.

The Great Revolt delves deep into the minds and hearts of the voters that make up this coalition. What emerges is a group of citizens who cannot be described by terms like "angry", "male", "rural", or the often-used "racist". They span job descriptions, income brackets, education levels, and party allegiances. What unites them is their desire to be part of a movement larger than themselves that puts pragmatism before ideology, localism before globalism, and demands the respect it deserves from Washington.

Zito and Todd have traveled on over 27,000 miles of country roads to interview more than 300 Trump voters in 10 swing counties. What they have discovered is that these voters were hiding in plain sight - ignored by both parties, the media, and the political experts all at once, ready to unite into the movement that spawned the greatest upset in recent electoral history. Deeply rooted in the culture of these Midwestern swing states, Zito and Brad Todd reframe the discussion of the "Trump voter" to answer the question: What next?

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Salena Zito and Brad Todd (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Salena Zito is unique: a truth-telling reporter who found the America that elected Donald Trump. She listened to them. Understands them. Respects them. Not only did she get the election right, but by employing the lost art of shoe-leather journalism, she uncovered an amazing national political realignment that was—and still is—completely invisible to the Wizards of Smart who inhabit our distant capital. Whenever I see her byline, I stop and read. I know it will be that good. You should, too. Don’t doubt me." (Rush Limbaugh)

"While Donald Trump's election shocked the Washington establishment, Salena Zito and Brad Todd show that his coalition was hidden in plain sight. Far from a 'basket of deplorables,' they're the forgotten men and women of America, people who work with their hands and on their feet, and who want a government that rewards their work and respects their communities. Zito and Todd tell their story, and anyone interested in American politics would do well to listen." (Senator Tom Cotton)

"Salena Zito picked up on a political phenomenon long before polls or pundits had any idea of what was happening. Her drives from Pittsburgh to Cleveland opened her eyes about the rise of Trump and her shoe leather reporting and skills as a journalist helped her understand why. Her voice channeling and explaining these voters is invaluable for the Trump era." (Jake Tapper)

"If you want a fuller understanding of the political moment we’re in, and you should, you read Salena Zito. I mean this both literally and seriously." (Peggy Noonan)

Very revealing to any

If you are a Trump voter, great fun to listen for which group you are in (if you are not a Trump voter this book may help you wake up) .
Still has a slight left till that must come from the classic journalist training of today. But more than made up for by some very intelligent insights.

Insight into 2016

The authors interviewed individuals and painted pictures of the small towns of America. The images and the descriptions of the characters reminded me of where I grew up. Very interesting to hear the results of exit polls. I highly recommend this book!

The Sound Bite that makes sense of ‘16, and since.

Fantastic book and audio experience. Well paced for the spoken word.
The book is based in statistics, surveys of Trump voters after the election and dissection of pre-election polls and studies, both right and wrong. But, it’s the individual stories and voices that make the numbers real. The 1-2% shifts in swing states were real people and not aberrations. I don’t think you can fully understand the news of the day in our Trump Era without reading (listening to) this book.

A truthful book on "What really happened"

I cant thank the authors enough for a true portrayal of how Trump became POTUS 45. During the 2016 elections, most of my friends, the kind Salena describes in the book always scratched our heads at the poll numbers but knew deep inside that he was going to win. This book clearly explains why and what really happened.
Its a shame that I dont see this book get more traction on the main stream media coverage because it speaks the truth.

Whats really great about this book, is not just the reason in 2016 but the entire background into the person and how long term democrats pulled the lever for Trump. Truly amazing.

I would titled this book ... "The Great Revolt (what really happened)"

Thanks Salena and Brad and excellent narration by Bob.

Explaining Trump's 2016 presidential victory

So how did a crass and crude lifetime New York City billionaire and reality TV star become the president of the United States? The simple answer is that he commandeered the Republican Party and ran against the elites of both major political parties running a populist campaign based on MAGA by bringing manufacturing jobs back, protecting Medicare and Social Security, putting conservative justices on the Supreme Court, and building a wall on the southern border. In doing so he attacked the rust belt blue wall of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Trump accomplished an incredible feat that few believed possible. Was it a work of genius or of accidental circumstance?

Pittsburgh based journalist and coauthor of this book Salena Zito wrote a column published on September 23, 2016 titled "Taking Trump seriously, not literally" which remains the best explanation ever of how Trump supporters viewed the candidate. Of course, she also explained that the virulent Trump opponents were taking him literally, not seriously. In the following weeks leading up to the November 8, 2016 election Zito went to to describe her perception of the Trump campaign's strategy of attacking the rust belt blue wall which was supposed to guarantee a Clinton victory. She was the only journalist I'm aware of who both predicted a Trump victory and explained before the election precisely how he would do it. I did not believe her prediction until the early morning hours of November 9 when I observed it becoming true on the TV networks. Of course other factors facilitated the Trump victory including the the dramatic move leftward during the Obama administration and the fact this his Democrat opponent was likely the worst retail politician ever.

I urge the potential listener to this book to download and read/study the associated PDF file before listening to the book. The audio book presents many anecdotal voting stories of individual families in the blue wall states while the PDF file deals with data.

2018 Election

what did the experts miss? Everything, and it was all there for the curious willing to look for it. This author put in the unglamorous work to peel back the conventional wisdom and weakness of long distance polling

Three stars because it's good audio, but not great

There are problems with this book, primarily because it doesn't fit the audio format very well. As a printed book, I would have rated it 4 stars. The problems are that it is very data-driven and has a large number of "characters" in the person of some of the people interviewed in their Great Revolt Survey. It's hard to keep them all straight. That's not essential to the main ideas presented in the book, but it could be distracting while you listen to it.

The PDF that accompanies the book is a partial solution to the drawbacks of the audio format. It should be helpful to read the 17-page PDF before listening, or even to refer to it while listening. I didn't do that, but I should have.

In a way, this is a book for nerds. It's full of details, which the authors seem to be trying to soften a bit with the also detailed reports of the personal interviews. It lays the foundation for the details by providing history, both of the interviewees and of the counties in which they live.

The best part I saved for last: There are all kinds of informational nuggets sprinkled throughout the book. Interviewees provide new insights into why they voted for President Trump, which of the issues mattered to them, and why and in what way. These are often very different from what has been put out as "accepted knowledge" about Trump voters, and the differences often are enough to make you think, "Aha, I hadn't expected that." They're anecdotal, of course, but you have to believe that they speak for thousands of other voters from the same area and background.

I recommend this book, even in the audio format. It delivers real information.

Update: As you can see, I upgraded my evaluation from three stars after some time passed. It simply deserved all four stars.

Exceptional

I highly recommend this thoughtful, comprehensive book. The varied stories of Trump supporters are fascinating whether the reader necessarily agrees with the authors’ labels and analysis. At the risk of being glib, the book’s title may easily have been ‘What Happened.’

informative

a very great. and in depth study about the changes taking place in the United States and presented in a fair and honest manor.

Great read!

How Trump became president from the people who made it happen. Great read from fly-over voters