by Bob Woodward
First published 2012
President Obama sits across from House Speaker John Boehner, both men knowing that America's economic recovery hangs in the balance. The nation faces crushing debt and political gridlock as Obama struggles to work with a hostile Congress. Woodward takes readers inside closed-door meetings where tempers flare and compromises crumble. Obama pushes for his vision of fiscal stability while Boehner represents Republican resistance. Their relationship fractures under the weight of partisan warfare. Secret documents and private conversations reveal how personal animosity sabotages policy negotiations. The stakes escalate when Obama wins reelection but immediately confronts the fiscal cliff crisis. Neither side will bend, creating a dangerous stalemate that threatens the country's financial future. At its heart, this is a story about power, pride, and the human cost of political failure.
Genres: political-science, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, power-struggle
Setting: United States
Period: 2010s
380 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster