First published 2008
Jonathan Alter opens his account from inside the collapsing Soviet Union, watching communism crumble around him. As Newsweek's star columnist, he has positioned himself at the center of two decades of American history. Alter moves from the smoke of Los Angeles riots to the tension of Clinton's impeachment proceedings. He stands in Florida during the chaotic 2000 recount, then at Ground Zero in the aftermath of September 11th. His journey takes him aboard aircraft carriers before the Iraq invasion and into the flooded streets of New Orleans after Katrina. Between major events, he conducts interviews with the era's power players. Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John McCain all sit across from him more frequently than with any other print journalist. His conversations extend beyond politics to figures like Paul McCartney and Richard Nixon. Alter weaves together public moments with personal struggles, including his own cancer diagnosis. The book captures recent American history through the eyes of a journalist who made it his mission to be present for the moments that mattered most.
Genres: 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, journalism, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: first-person-narrative, insider-perspective
Setting: Florida, Ground Zero, Iraq, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Soviet Union
Period: 2000 Recount, 9/11, Clinton Impeachment, Iraq Invasion, Katrina
354 pages · Hardcover · Borders Group, Inc.