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Identity Crisis
- The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Identity Crisis takes listeners from the bruising primaries to an election night whose outcome defied the predictions of the pollsters and pundits. The book shows how fundamental characteristics of the nation and its politics - the state of the economy, the Obama presidency, and the demographics of the political parties - combined with the candidates' personalities and rhetoric to produce one of the most unexpected presidencies in history. Early on, the fundamental characteristics predicted an extremely close election. And even though Trump's many controversies helped Clinton maintain a comfortable lead for most of the campaign, the prediction of a close election became reality when Americans cast their votes.
Identity Crisis reveals how Trump's victory was foreshadowed by changes in the Democratic and Republican coalitions that were driven by people's racial and ethnic identities. The campaign then reinforced and exacerbated those cleavages as it focused on issues related to race, immigration, and religion. The result was an epic battle not just for the White House but about what America is and should be.
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What listeners say about Identity Crisis
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Performance
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- EC
- 12-19-18
Fascinating Look at American attitudes
This book is for everyone who wants to know what happened in the 2016 election.
2 people found this helpful
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- Nick
- 11-26-18
Repetitive, tedious and not much new
Rehash of the 2016 election was probably fine if incredibly tedious for anyone who's been alive for the last 3 years. Does a good job dispelling a few election narratives that are already pretty tired but actual analysis of identity was pretty facile. There are countless better books released in the last few years regarding identity in the US and it's not worth the slog for a few not particularly original crumbs.
2 people found this helpful
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- William J Brown
- 11-07-18
Great review of 2016
A fantastic overview of how the national elections of 2016 unfolded — but delivered as if it was read by a monotone, male Amazon Alexa. The droll delivery really detracted from my experience with the audio, relative to other titles.
1 person found this helpful
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- Kim Kindred
- 07-12-22
Excellent required reading for school
Totally engaging material with stats and facts. I was "there" while it all happened and this book took a step back to give perspective without emotion. To see the stats behind all of the surveys after the outcome was really insightful.
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- K. H.
- 08-03-19
Great book, robot performance
Amazing book for politics nerds who want a good entertaining overview of what happened in 2016. Reader is a bit robotic though.
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- James
- 03-31-19
The definitive 2016 breakdown
All the best, most rigorous takes on the currents and forces underlying the 2016 election are contained herein. At this point, three years later, it's highly likely that most political junkies will have already absorbed most of these takes, making the book of marginal novelty, but in the event that one isn't fully up to speed, or needs disabusing of some of the more pernicious myths of 2016 (economic anxiety!) then this book is a one stop shop in a class of its own.
Paul Heitsch's narration is of that stock audiobook sort, but there are sporadic moments where the absurdity of the events of 2016 seems to bring out a little sparkle or chuckle in his delivery.
2 people found this helpful
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Story
Will progressives and moderates feud while America burns? Or will these natural allies take advantage of the greatest opportunity since the New Deal Era to strengthen American democracy, foster social justice, and turn back the threats of the Trump Era? In Code Red, award-winning journalist E. J. Dionne, Jr., calls for a shared commitment to decency and a politics focused on freedom, fairness, and the future, encouraging progressives and moderates to explore common ground and expand the unity that brought about Democrat victories in the 2018 elections.
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Misses the mark
- By Amazon Customer on 11-27-20
By: E.J. Dionne Jr.
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It Was All a Lie
- How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump
- By: Stuart Stevens
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Stuart Stevens spent decades electing Republicans at every level, from presidents to senators to local officials. He knows the GOP as intimately as anyone in America, and in this new book he offers a devastating portrait of a party that has lost its moral and political compass. This is not a book about how Donald J. Trump hijacked the Republican Party and changed it into something else.
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A party gone astray
- By Devin on 08-07-20
By: Stuart Stevens
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Merge Left
- Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America
- By: Ian Haney López
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2014, Ian Haney Lopez in Dog Whistle Politics named and explained the coded racial appeals exploited by right-wing politicians over the last half century-and thereby anticipated the 2016 presidential election. Now the country is heading into what will surely be one of the most consequential elections ever. Some want to focus on racial justice head-on; others insist that a race-silent focus on class avoids alienating white voters. Can either approach build the progressive supermajorities necessary to break political gridlock and fundamentally change the country's direction?
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Wow!
- By Morning Star Beth on 01-09-23
By: Ian Haney López
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Our Time Is Now
- Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America
- By: Stacey Abrams
- Narrated by: Stacey Abrams
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Celebrated national leader and best-selling author Stacey Abrams offers a blueprint to end voter suppression, empower our citizens, and take back our country. A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams chronicles a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack.
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Relevant civil inspirations fr. leg. knowhow
- By Lynne B. on 06-19-20
By: Stacey Abrams
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The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America
- The Thom Hartmann Hidden History Series
- By: Thom Hartmann
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 4 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Taking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann asks: What if the Supreme Court didn't have the power to strike down laws? According to the Constitution, it doesn't. From the founding of the republic until 1803, the Supreme Court was the final court of appeals, as it was always meant to be. So where did the concept of judicial review start? As so much of modern American history, it began with the battle between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and with Marbury v. Madison.
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A must read to understand why voting is essential.
- By Brandon WIlliams on 10-05-19
By: Thom Hartmann
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The Politics Industry
- How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy
- By: Katherine M. Gehl, Michael E. Porter
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Politics Industry, Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis - and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework - to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change - a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws.
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Must read
- By Komiljon A. on 09-08-20
By: Katherine M. Gehl, and others
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Rule and Ruin
- The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party
- By: Geoffrey Kabaservice
- Narrated by: Michael Bulter Murray
- Length: 21 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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The chaotic events leading up to Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 election indicated how far the Republican Party had rocketed rightward away from the center of public opinion. Republicans in Congress threatened to shut down the government and force a U.S. debt default. Tea Party activists mounted primary challenges against Republican officeholders who appeared to exhibit too much pragmatism or independence. Moderation and compromise were dirty words in the Republican presidential debates. The GOP, it seemed, had suddenly become a party of ideological purity. Except this development is not new at all.
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Kabaservice doesn't make the case
- By MJE on 01-22-16
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Brown Is the New White
- How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority
- By: Steven Phillips
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite the abundant evidence from Obama's victories proving that the US population has fundamentally changed, many progressives and Democrats continue to waste millions of dollars chasing white swing voters. Explosive population growth of people of color in America over the past 50 years has laid the foundation for a new American majority consisting of progressive people of color and progressive whites. These two groups make up 51 percent of all eligible voters in America right now, and that majority is growing larger every day.
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Essential progressive reading
- By Joel Bumol on 10-24-16
By: Steven Phillips
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Why the Right Went Wrong
- Conservatism from Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond
- By: E. J. Dionne Jr.
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Why the Right Went Wrong offers a historical view of the right since the 1960s. Its core contention is that American conservatism and the Republican Party took a wrong turn when they adopted Barry Goldwater's worldview during and after the 1964 campaign. Since 1968, no conservative administration could live up to the rhetoric rooted in the Goldwater movement that began to reshape American politics 50 years ago.
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Outstanding, refreshing, inspiring
- By James Adams on 03-19-16
By: E. J. Dionne Jr.
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The Conscience of a Liberal
- By: Paul Krugman
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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America emerged from Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal with strong democratic values and broadly shared prosperity. But for the past 30 years, American politics has been dominated by a conservative movement determined to undermine the New Deal's achievements. Now, the tide may be turning, and in The Conscience of a Liberal Paul Krugman, the world's most widely read economist and one of its most influential political commentators, charts the way to reform.
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Great Book!!!
- By carl801 on 12-04-07
By: Paul Krugman