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Pulitzer Prize winner Hedrick Smith’s new book is
an extraordinary achievement, an eye-opening account of
how, over the past four decades, the American Dream has
been dismantled and we became two Americas.
In his bestselling The Russians,
Smith took millions of readers inside the Soviet Union.
In The Power Game, he took us inside Washington’s
corridors of power. Now Smith takes us across America to
show how seismic changes, sparked by a sequence of
landmark political and economic decisions, have
transformed America. As only a veteran reporter can,
Smith fits the puzzle together, starting with Lewis
Powell’s provocative memo that triggered a political
rebellion that dramatically altered the landscape of
power from then until today.
This is a
book full of surprises and revelations—the accidental
beginnings of the 401(k) plan, with disastrous economic
consequences for many; the major policy changes that
began under Jimmy Carter; how the New Economy disrupted
America’s engine of shared prosperity, the “virtuous
circle” of growth, and how America lost the title of
“Land of Opportunity.” Smith documents the transfer of
$6 trillion in middle-class wealth from homeowners to
banks even before the housing boom went bust, and
how the U.S. policy tilt favoring the rich is stunting
America’s economic growth.
This book is
essential reading for all of us who want to understand
America today, or why average Americans are struggling
to keep afloat. Smith reveals how pivotal laws and
policies were altered while the public wasn’t looking,
how Congress often ignores public opinion, why moderate
politicians got shoved to the sidelines, and how Wall
Street often wins politically by hiring over 1,400
former government officials as
lobbyists.
Smith talks to a wide range of
people, telling the stories of Americans high and low.
From political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Newt
Gingrich, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to CEOs such as
Al Dunlap, Bob Galvin, and Andy Grove, to heartland
Middle Americans such as airline mechanic Pat O’Neill,
software systems manager Kristine Serrano, small
businessman John Terboss, and subcontractor Eliseo
Guardado, Smith puts a human face on how middle-class
America and the American Dream have been
undermined.
This magnificent work of
history and reportage is filled with the penetrating
insights, provocative discoveries, and the great empathy
of a master journalist. Finally, Smith offers ideas for
restoring America’s great promise and reclaiming the
American Dream.
Praise for Who Stole the
American Dream?
“[A] sweeping,
authoritative examination of the last four decades of
the American economic experience.”—The Huffington
Post
“Some fine work has been
done in explaining the mess we’re in. . . . But no book
goes to the headwaters with the precision, detail and
accessibility of Smith.”—The Seattle
Times
“Sweeping in scope . .
. [Smith] posits some steps that could alleviate the
problems of the United States.”—USA
Today
“Brilliant . .
. [a] remarkably comprehensive and coherent analysis of
and prescriptions for America’s contemporary economic
malaise.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred
review)
“Smith enlivens his narrative
with portraits of the people caught up in events,
humanizing complex subjects often rendered sterile in
economic analysis. . . . The human face of the story is
inseparable from the history.”—Reuters
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