Most Popular Books by David Corn

The real story behind the investigation of Iraq, and the basis for the MSNBC documentary of the same name hosted by Rachel Maddow Filled with news-making revelations that made it a New York Times bestseller, Hubris takes us behind the scenes at the White House, CIA, Pentagon, State Department, and Congress to show how George W. Bush came to invade Iraq--and how his administration struggled with the devastating fallout. Hubris connects the dots between Bush''s expletive-laden outbursts at Saddam Hussein, the bitter battles between the CIA and the White House, the fights within the intelligence community over Saddam''s supposed weapons of mass destruction, the outing of an undercover CIA officer, and the Bush administration''s misleading sales campaign for war. Written by veteran reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn, this is an inside look at how a president took the nation to war using faulty and fraudulent intelligence. It''s a dramatic page-turner and an intriguing account of conspiracy, backstabbing, bureaucratic ineptitude, journalistic malfeasance, and arrogance.

#1 New York Times bestselling author and investigative reporter David Corn tells the wild and harrowing story of the Republican Party’s decades-long relationship with far-right extremism, bigotry, and paranoia.u200b A fast-paced, rollicking, behind-the-scenes account of how the GOP since the 1950s has encouraged and exploited extremism, bigotry, and paranoia to gain power, American Psychosis offers readers a brisk, can-you-believe-it journey through the netherworld of far-right irrationality and the Republican Party’s interactions with the darkest forces in America. In a compelling and thoroughly-researched narrative, Corn reveals the hidden history of how the Party of Lincoln forged alliances with extremists, kooks, racists, and conspiracy-mongers and fostered fear, anger, and resentment to win elections—and how this led to Donald Trump’s triumph and the transformation of the GOP into a Trump personality cult that foments and bolsters the crazy and dangerous excesses of the right. The Trump-incited insurrectionist attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, was no aberration. American Psychosis shows it was a continuation of the long and deep-rooted Republican practice of boosting and weaponizing the rage and derangement of the right. The gripping tale in American Psychosis covers the last seven decades. From McCarthyism to the John Birch Society to segregationists to the New Right to the religious right to Rush Limbaugh to Newt Gingrich to the militia movement to Fox News to Sarah Palin to the Tea Party to Trumpism, the Republican Party has deliberately nurtured and exploited rightwing fear and loathing fueled by paranoia, grievance, and tribalism. This powerful and important account explains how one political party has harnessed the worst elements in politics to poison the nation’s discourse and threaten American democracy. "[Corn is] a great journalist. I love the way he thinks. I love the way he writes. I''m so glad he''s done a super-readable, modern history of the right...We just need smart, digestible history about this stuff right now...[American Psychosis] is perfectly timed...Relevant history for where we are right now." —Rachel Maddow, host, The Rachel Maddow Show "With American Psychosis, David Corn ''did the full homework to take us all the way back to where it really begins.’" —Lawrence O''Donnell, host, The Last Word

The incredible, harrowing account of how American democracy was hacked by Moscow as part of a covert operation to influence the U.S. election and help Donald Trump gain the presidency. " Russian Roulette is...the most thorough and riveting account." -- The New York Times Russian Roulette is a story of political skullduggery unprecedented in American history. It weaves together tales of international intrigue, cyber espionage, and superpower rivalry. After U.S.-Russia relations soured, as Vladimir Putin moved to reassert Russian strength on the global stage, Moscow trained its best hackers and trolls on U.S. political targets and exploited WikiLeaks to disseminate information that could affect the 2016 election. The Russians were wildly successful and the great break-in of 2016 was no "third-rate burglary." It was far more sophisticated and sinister -- a brazen act of political espionage designed to interfere with American democracy. At the end of the day, Trump, the candidate who pursued business deals in Russia, won. And millions of Americans were left wondering, what the hell happened? This story of high-tech spying and multiple political feuds is told against the backdrop of Trump''s strange relationship with Putin and the curious ties between members of his inner circle -- including Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn -- and Russia. Russian Roulette chronicles and explores this bizarre scandal, explains the stakes, and answers one of the biggest questions in American politics: How and why did a foreign government infiltrate the country''s political process and gain influence in Washington?

Getting to the truth behind a presidential assassination, aide Nick Addis faces a decision that imperils his own future--and that of the nation. "A page-turning thriller from first word to last."--Jim Lehrer.

“George W. Bush is a liar. He has lied large and small, directly and by omission. He has mugged the truth—not merely in honest error, but deliberately, consistently, and repeatedly.” —from the Introduction All American presidents have lied, but George W. Bush has relentlessly abused the truth. In this scathing indictment of the president and his inner circle, David Corn, the Washington editor of The Nation, reveals and examines the deceptions at the heart of the Bush presidency. In a stunning work of journalism, he details and substantiates the many times the Bush administration has knowingly and intentionally misled the American public to advance its own interests and agenda, including: * Brazenly mischaracterizing intelligence and resorting to deceptive arguments to whip up public support for war with Iraq * Misrepresenting the provisions and effects of the president’s supersized tax cuts * Offering misleading explanations— instead of telling the full truth — about the 9/11 attacks * Lying about connections to corporate crooks * Presenting deceptive and disingenuous claims to sell controversial policies on the environment, stem cell research, missile defense, Social Security, white-collar crime, abortion, energy, and other crucial issues * Running a truth-defying, down-and-dirty campaign during the 2000 presidential contest and recount drama The Lies of George W. Bush is not a partisan whine—it is instead a carefully constructed, fact-based account that clearly denotes how Bush has relied on deception—from the campaign trail to the Oval Office—to win political and policy battles. With wit and style, Corn explains how Bush has managed to get away with it and explores the dangerous consequences of such presidential deceit in a perilous age.

Based on once-secret government records and interviews with over 100 ex-CIA officers, Blond Ghost offers a fascinating portrait of Ted Shackley - a real-life George Smiley. It exposes the inner workings of the CIA and details the failure of the Agency''s most important covert enterprises. It reveals dozens of top-secret operations: how the CIA recruited children as agents in Vietnam: how it encouraged perjury before Congress; how it paid off a suspected drug dealer; how it tried to use sex to blackmail communist officials; how it uncovered a Soviet-bloc spy in the German parliament; and more. Washington journalist David Corn discloses that for decades, the CIA''s commitment to dirty tricks and secret wars compromised its ability to gather intelligence. Blond Ghost probes the CIA''s Cold War record and shows that the Agency''s efforts to penetrate the Iron Curtain in the 1950s were utterly unsuccessful, with an appalling and pointless loss of life: that the CIA tried to foment rebellion in Cuba, despite intelligence asserting no uprising was likely; that the CIA foisted on its Laotian allies unrealistic military operations that led to the death and displacement of tens of thousands of Laotians; that the CIA bungled miserably in Vietnam - ignoring intelligence collection for years and then suppressing information on the corruption and ineptness of the Saigon regime. Blond Ghost tells the tale of an important, decorated, and controversial spymaster, unveils the nitty-gritty of life in the Agency, and reveals the real job the CIA did in the Cold War.

The veteran political journalist and New York Times bestselling author goes behind the scenes at the White House to recount the dramatic tale of a pivotal period in the Obama presidency, from the game-changing 2010 midterm elections to the beginning of the critical 2012 campaign season—a tumultuous time that tested the president as never before and set the stage for a titanic clash over the future of the nation After Barack Obama''s first two years as president—during which he navigated the United States through its severest economic crisis since the Great Depression while managing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—he was faced with a bitterly divided nation and an emboldened political opposition dedicated to impeding his presidency. What followed was a year of political crises and fierce battles that would transform Obama and profoundly shape the terrain for the next election. In Showdown, astute political journalist David Corn chronicles and examines this crucial time in the Obama presidency and its impact on the nation''s future. Drawing on interviews with White House officials, Obama''s inner circle, members of Congress, and others, Corn takes the reader into the Oval Office and the back rooms on Capitol Hill for a fast-paced and gripping account of the major events as they unfolded: the controversial tax-cut deal with Congress in December 2010; the repeal of Don''t Ask/Don''t Tell; the passage of the New START treaty; the near shutdown of the government in early 2011; the revolutionary Arab spring; the killing of Osama bin Laden; the intense, high-wire debt-ceiling negotiations (in which intransigent House Republicans risked the nation''s financial standing); House Speaker John Boehner''s erratic maneuvers during the rise and fall of the grand bargain; and the face-off between Obama and congressional Republicans over how best to create jobs. Corn captures the dilemmas faced by a president assailed by disappointed progressives and defiantly obstructionist Republicans determined to see his defeat. Here is a chief executive trying to balance the cross-cutting demands of governance and politics while handling unending challenges at home and abroad. The book reveals a thoughtful leader with a cool head who is unafraid to take risks and make tough choices, a steely battler who successfully turned his enemies'' obstinacy to his advantage. Obama has often frustrated supporters, but Corn shows how the president, who often puts pragmatism ahead of partisan demands, has craftily operated within a hostile conservative political climate, looking to win the long game, achieve progressive goals, and, ultimately, win reelection. A vivid and powerful account of White House decision-making, Showdown offers a unique and enlightening look at the turbulent American political scene during one of the most consequential moments of the nation''s history, and explains the fascinating and complicated leader at the heart of this vortex.

From the reporter who broke the Romney video story, 47 Percent reveals for the first time the dramatic tale of how David Corn, Washington Bureau chief at Mother Jones, MSNBC analyst and author of the New York Times bestseller Showdown, learned of its existence, located the source, authenticated the video, and persuaded the source to let him release it. In 47 Percent, Corn recounts how the 47 percent video fit into the ongoing narrative of the 2012 election and greatly changed the course of the campaign. This instant, on-the-news book also features an astute review of the first debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate as they head into the final stretch of this historical election.

ROLETA RUSSA é uma história de manipulações sem precedentes na História dos Estados Unidos. Interliga relatos de intriga internacional, espionagem informática e rivalidades entre superpotências. Após o azedar das relações entre Estados Unidos e Rússia, enquanto Vladimir Putin tentava reafirmar o poder da Rússia no palco mundial, Moscovo treinava os seus melhores hackers e trolls em alvos políticos norte-americanos e aproveitava-se da WikiLeaks para disseminar informação que poderia afetar a campanha de 2016. Os russos foram bastante bem-sucedidos e a grande intrusão de 2016 não foi um «roubo de quinta categoria». Foi bem mais sofisticado e sinistro, um descarado ato de espionagem política com o objetivo de interferir nas eleições. No final, Trump, o candidato que tentava fazer negócios na Rússia, venceu. E milhões de americanos interrogaram-se: o que aconteceu? Esta história de espionagem hi-tech e disputas políticas é contada sobre o pano de fundo da estranha relação de Trump com Putin e sobre os curiosos laços entre membros do seu círculo mais restrito - entre os quais Paul Manafort e Michael Flynn - e a Rússia. ROLETA RUSSA relata e analisa este escândalo bizarro, explica o que estava em jogo e responde a uma das maiores questões da política americana: como e por que razão um governo externo se infiltrou no processo político do país e ganhou influência sobre Washington?

The definitive, sure to be headline-making, investigation into how Putin successfully mounted a decade-long covert war on the United States and how Donald Trump aided and abetted the operation and upended America and the world. How Russia Won tells the little-understood yet crucial story of how Vladimir Putin waged a secret campaign to subvert and weaken the United States—and how Trump, his MAGA movement, the Republican Party, and right-wing media have served as useful idiots for the tyrannical Russian leader, allowing him to succeed spectacularly. David Corn, a bestselling author and seasoned journalist expert in American politics has investigated the story from the beginning of the first Trump Administration through the beginning of his second term. Corn offers fresh reporting and analysis on: The direct contacts between Trump aides, including Rudy Giuliani, and Russian intelligence operatives. Republican legislators’ and Trump Administration officials’ use of Russian disinformation to defend Trump and smear Democrats. The extensive yet little-known Senate report produced by then-Senator Marco Rubio—Trump’s current Secretary of State—that blew apart Trump’s claim the Russia investigation was a hoax. The massive propaganda campaign Trump and MAGA Republicans pursued to cover up the truth about Putin’s clandestine intervention in US politics. The never-ending effort of Russian operatives to flood America with disinformation spread across social media that boosted Trump’s odds in both the 2020 and 2024 elections. The many ties between Trump’s second administration and pro-Putin advocates. The business enterprises of the Trump clan and their possible links to Russia. A compelling narrative with the verve and twists of a spy novel—yet it’s all true—How Russia Won makes crystal clear a truth hard to bear but necessary to see, and it explains a profoundly troubling reality: Putin has beaten America.

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