First published 1996
Speaker Newt Gingrich storms into power in January 1995, promising to transform American government. His Republican troops rally behind the Contract with America, scoring early victories that seem to validate their bold agenda. But momentum shifts as the year progresses. Political miscalculations mount. Public support wavers. Internal conflicts fracture the leadership. Gingrich finds himself increasingly isolated, watching his carefully orchestrated revolution stumble. His own allies grow frustrated with his tactics and messaging. By December, the same Republicans who once celebrated their historic takeover are privately urging their leader to step back and stay quiet. Award winning Washington Post journalists David Maraniss and Michael Weisskopf chronicle this dramatic political collapse from the inside. They trace how initial triumph gave way to strategic blunders, personality clashes, and tactical errors that undermined the entire conservative agenda. This account captures the day to day reality of governing, showing how grand political ambitions crash against institutional resistance and human frailty.
Genres: 20th-century, political-science, politics, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, institutional-resistance
Setting: America, Washington
Period: 1995
224 pages · Paperback · Simon & Schuster