In this instant New York Times bestseller, America’s top historians set the record straight on the most pernicious myths about our nation’s past.“Outstanding … Wonderfully accessible.” —Washington PostThe United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Distortions of the past promoted in the conservative media have led large numbers of Americans to believe in fictions over facts, making co...

The dramatic confrontation between civil-rights activism and the establishment power of Lyndon Johnson that transformed the movement and national politics.In August 1964, at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, a Mississippi sharecropper, Fannie Lou Hamer, challenged Lyndon Johnson and the party establishment with the stinging question, “Is this America?” Hamer was a leader of the Freedom Democratic Party, the outgrowth of grassroots voting rights c...

"A gripping and troubling account of the origins of our turbulent times.” —Jill Lepore, author of These Truths: A History of the United StatesWhen—and how—did America become so polarized? In this masterful history, leading historians Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer uncover the origins of our current moment. It all starts in 1974 with the Watergate crisis, the OPEC oil embargo, desegregation busing riots in Boston, and the wind-down of the Vietnam War....

**A New York Times Notable Book!A New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceThe story of how Newt Gingrich and his allies tainted American politics, launching an enduring era of brutal partisan warfare**When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, President Obama observed that Trump “is not an outlier; he is a culmination, a logical conclusion of the rhetoric and tactics of the Republican Party.” In Burning Down the House, historian Ju...

The maverick politician from Georgia who rode the post-Watergate wave into office but whose term was consumed by economic and international crises.A peanut farmer from Georgia, Jimmy Carter rose to national power through mastering the strategy of the maverick politician. As the face of the "New South," Carter's strongest support emanated from his ability to communicate directly to voters who were disaffected by corruption in politics.But running as an outsi...

Leading historians provide perspective on Trump’s four turbulent years in the White HouseThe Presidency of Donald J. Trump presents a first draft of history by offering needed perspective on one of the nation’s most divisive presidencies. Acclaimed political historian Julian Zelizer brings together many of today’s top scholars to provide balanced and strikingly original assessments of the major issues that shaped the Trump presidency....

REVISED EDITION WITH A NEW CHAPTER AND EPILOGUETwo award-winning and best-selling historians explore the origins of a divided America in a new edition of Fault Lines.In this fully updated second edition of their masterful history, leading historians and best-selling authors Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer uncover the origins of our current moment, answering the question: When—and how—did America become so polarized? It all sta...

Leading historians offer the first look at Biden’s four years in the White HouseThe Presidency of Joseph R. Biden presents a first draft of history by providing insights into how this one-term president fits within the broader historical forces shaping the United States in the twenty-first century. Acclaimed political historian Julian Zelizer brings together some of today’s leading scholars to give balanced and strikingly original assessments of the major ...

The nation's top political scientists, historians, and legal scholars propose solutions for democracy's futureIn recent years, the sight of gun-wielding citizens patrolling ballot boxes and voting sites has become increasingly familiar. Major news corporations parroting false claims of election fraud, ballot stuffing, and faulty voting systems is the new normal. In an era of global anti-democratic movements, the sanctity of democratic electoral processes has become...

A majestic big-picture account of the Great Society and the forces that shaped it, from Lyndon Johnson and members of Congress to the civil rights movement and the mediaBetween November 1963, when he became president, and November 1966, when his party was routed in the midterm elections, Lyndon Johnson spearheaded the most transformative agenda in American political history since the New Deal, one whose ambition and achievement have had no parallel since. In just t...

“Contravening conventional wisdom, Zelizer offers a spirited defense of parties and partisanship.” —Frances Lee, Princeton UniversityPartisanship is a dirty word in American politics. If there is one issue on which almost everyone in our divided country seems to agree, it’s the belief that the intense loyalty within the electorate toward Democrats and Republicans is the source of our democratic ills—division, dysfunction, distrust, and disinformation. The possibili...

In a series of fascinating essays that explore topics in American politics from the nation's founding to the present day , The Democratic Experiment opens up exciting new avenues for historical research while offering bold claims about the tensions that have animated American public life. Revealing the fierce struggles that have taken place over the role of the federal government and the character of representative democracy, the authors trace the contested and dynamic evolution o...