David Rothkopf - American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation

Rothkopf, host of the invaluable Deep State Radio podcast, pays a long-overdue tribute to the deep state that tried to keep Trump from doing more damage. In the process, he offers a powerful corrective to the negative stereotypes of bureaucrats that are all too deeply rooted in American culture. Even if you remember all the Trump scandals he chronicles (there are so many!), you will feel outrage all over again reading this bookalong with gratitude to all the dedicated public servants who tried to do the right thing and shared their stories with Rothkopf.

MAX BOOT , columnist, Washington Post , and senior fellow, the Council on Foreign Relations

One of the biggest debates during the Trump years concerned those who went to work for him in all branches of the government. Were they serving the public by saving the country from the worst of Trumps excesses? Or were they ambitious careerists taking the jobs available while pretending that their service was in the nations best interests? Rothkopfs fascinating, well-written, and carefully researched book is essential reading for those interested in how the deep state performed in the Trump yearsa topic that could well become worryingly relevant again.

ROBERT KAGAN , senior fellow, the Brookings Institution, and author of The Jungle Grows Back

Rothkopf has been a strong and thoughtful critic of Trumpism from the start because he cares passionately about democratic institutions. American Resistance turns the idea of the deep state on its head, using it to describe the committed civil servants and policy experts whoimperfectly, but also, in key moments, courageouslyworked to block or disrupt some of Trumps most dangerous initiatives. Rothkopfs provocative insight: the deep state is often the last line of defense against the dark state.

E.J. DIONNE JR. , coauthor of 100% Democracy and One Nation After Trump

With an almost unparalleled knowledge of the inner workings of our government, Rothkopf has written a sobering and at times harrowing account not simply of how bad things were but of how much worse they could have been during the Trump Administration. American Resistance is much more, and much more important than, a postmortem of the Trump years. Exhaustively researched and bolstered by eye-opening interviews with dozens of experts and former government officials, Rothkopfs book offers a clarion call for us to remain vigilant against anti-democratic forces and a long-overdue tribute to the often-maligned civil servants who saved us from the worst administration in modern history. In a very crowded field, what Rothkopf has written is not just compelling, it is essential.

MARY L. TRUMP , clinical psychologist and author of Too Much and Never Enough and The Reckoning

This deeply researched and finely written story of the Trump presidency functions as the ultimate political cautionary tale. Rothkopf has spent much of his life sailing the treacherous waters of Washington, and in American Resistance , he brings a sharply observed set of sensible observations and timely prescriptions to help us navigate the roiling waters of our dangerously turbulent republic. A necessary and riveting book.

ADMIRAL JAMES STAVRIDIS , US Navy (Ret.), former supreme allied commander, NATO

Rothkopf has written the Trump administration story that needs to be told: how close we came to losing our democracy and the public servants who saved us. In American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation , Rothkopf expertly explains how the much maligned deep state is actually a cohort of steadfast professionals committed to honoring the oaths they took to uphold the Constitution. This book offers essential insights into a vitally important world too few understand or appreciate.

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN , US Army (Ret.), author of Here, Right Matters

Traitor: A History of American Betrayal from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump

The Great Questions of Tomorrow

National Insecurity: American Leadership in an Age of Fear

Power, Inc.: The Epic Rivalry Between Big Business and Governmentand the Reckoning that Lies Ahead

Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making

Running the World: The Inside Story of the National Security Council and the Architects of American Power

The Price of Peace: Emergency Economic Intervention and US Foreign Policy

Cuba: The Contours of Change (co-editor)

The Common Market: Uniting the European Community (co-author)

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I.F. S TONE , proprietor of I. F. Stones Weekly, combined a commitment to the First Amendment with entrepreneurial zeal and reporting skill and became one of the great independent journalists in American history. At the age of eighty, Izzy publishedThe Trial of Socrates, which was a national bestseller. He wrote the book after he taught himself ancient Greek.

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R OBERT L. B ERNSTEIN , the chief executive of Random House for more than a quarter century, guided one of the nations premier publishing houses. Bob was personally responsible for many books of political dissent and argument that challenged tyranny around the globe. He is also the founder and longtime chair of Human Rights Watch, one of the most respected human rights organizations in the world.

For fifty years, the banner of Public Affairs Press was carried by its owner Morris B. Schnapper, who published Gandhi, Nasser, Toynbee, Truman, and about 1,500 other authors. In 1983, Schnapper was described byThe Washington Post as a redoubtable gadfly. His legacy will endure in the books to come.

Peter Osnos, Founder

Copyright 2022 by David Rothkopf

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