From the former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, a must-read account of how America suffers from a "trust deficit" that has weakened its cornerstone institutions and divided our society.

AMERICAN BREAKDOWN dissects how, in the space of a generation, the pillars that sustained the once-dominant superpower have been dangerously eroded. From government to business, from media to medicine--the strength and security of the American experiment have been weakened by a widening gap between the elites who control these institutions and the public.

At the root of this breakdown is a precipitous fall in Americans' trust in their political, business and cultural leaders. As Baker writes, "This pathology of distrust across American society is eating the country away from the inside." Millions of Americans say they have little faith in their country's future, and no longer seem to have trust in their leaders, in their important social and civil institutions, even in their common values and ideals, or ultimately in each other.

America in fact hasn't failed. Americans have been failed--misled by inept and deceitful political leaders, deserted by predatory and cynical corporate chiefs, and, above all, betrayed by a cultural elite that has exploited the very freedom this country provided in order to destroy it.

AMERICAN BREAKDOWN is a deep analysis and thought-provoking account that explores the ways in which Americans have been let down and offers solutions for how we rebuild trust and reclaim purpose for a better future.

Author: Gerard Baker
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Twelve
Published: 09/12/2023
Pages: 288
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.20w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781538705704


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 08/07/2023

About the Author

Gerard Baker was Editor in Chief of the Wall Street Journal between 2013 and 2018. He is now the Journal's Editor at Large, writing the weekly "Free Expression" column for the paper and hosting a podcast of the same name. He also writes a weekly column for the Times of London, is a regular commentator on Fox News, and appears on a range of national and international media. In a career in journalism that spans more than three decades he has also worked for the BBC and the Financial Times.