Dimensions
154 x 227 x 23mm
An engrossing account of a country on the edge
In July 2009, Michael Brissenden traded political reporting in Canberra for a job in Washington as US current affairs correspondent for the ABC
Here is his fascinating chronicle of an America in turmoil. From the desolate coal-mining hollers of West Virginia to Washington's ghettos and the Mormon communities of Utah, Brissenden travels the country with unprecedented scope to grapple with the issues and to tell the stories of the players, the hopeful true believers, the skeptics, the winners and the losers.
He follows the long and fractious political process that will either deliver Barack Obama a chance to be a truly transformative president or place him alongside one-term leaders like Jimmy Carter, and he watches the Republican Party tear itself apart to find a fitting opponent for Obama. Will American's first black president meet the enormous expectation of his voters, and the rest of the world?
With wry humour and cutting insights, Brissenden explores this extraordinary moment in US history and shares his tales of people, identity and culture – American stories of hope and anger.
