This book will alarm you, and it should. MacWilliams doesn’t pull punches. It’s not meant to be exhaustive. This small volume succinctly and bluntly makes the case that, frankly, we have problems. And the book seems to be intended for those who are perhaps less aware of our nation’s history. I hope that such an audience is actually reached.

MacWilliams front loads the text with a sort of state-of-the-union in which he shares some truly terrifying statistics. For example, he mentions that 42% of our population does not believe that all groups in America should have an equal chance at success. The list goes on and on.

He makes his point in 12 chapters, starting with the Lincoln-Douglas debates and concludes with the surveillance society that developed post-9/11, touching on the loss of a free press, our ever-crumbling belief in the value of truth, and how we treat immigrants.

I’m purposefully using first person because, like MacWilliams, I believe that we have to take ownership of the problems our nation faces. It’s time to stop claiming that “they”, the other side of the spectrum, are responsible for all of society’s ills. This book makes it clear that we have never had a perfect union. There were no ” good old days”. And we’re growing further and further from the ideals on which the country was founded.

St. Martins Press, Publish Date 9/29/20