Burning Down the House

Reviews

"Briskly entertaining . . . Zelizer writes about all of this with aplomb, teasing out the ironies and the themes, showing that what made Gingrich exceptional wasn’t so much his talent as his timing." —The New York Times

"Zelizer holds an endowed chair in history at Princeton but writes like a journalist. (A whisper to the faculty lounge: That is a compliment, not a disparagement.) His book has color and forward momentum. His story has drama and life lessons. His subject is, depending on your point of view, either heroic or odious. One way or another, no one can argue with Zelizer’s thesis that Gingrich changed American politics. . . a remarkable, riveting story." —Boston Globe
 
“We live today in the world Gingrich wrought, and the story of how he wrought it is the focus of Burning Down the House by Julian E. Zelizer . . .  his book provides an engaging, unsettling and, alas, timely look at the torch that Gingrich took to our system of self-government.” —Washington Post
 
“A lively and exceptional read.” –Los Angeles Review of Books

“Today’s hyperpartisan politics can be traced to Republican congressman Newt Gingrich’s 1989 ouster of Democratic House Speaker Jim Wright, according to this meticulously researched account. . . .  Zelizer’s witty, well-informed narrative . . . successfully presents this episode as a foretaste of congressional warfare to come. Political junkies will be thrilled.” —Publishers Weekly

“[A] compelling work of political history. . . . Zelizer’s accessible study of political behavior and leadership directly relates to today’s tumultuous political scene. Anyone interested in American politics will devour this book.” —Library Journal

“[A] thoughtful study of [Gingrich’s] politics in action. . . . Sharp, lucid. . . . A masterfully written political road map for anyone wondering how we got to where we are, a bad place indeed.” —Kirkus, starred review

“Newt Gingrich tied American politics to a rock and threw it down a well. That rock is still falling. Julian Zelizer’s new book takes readers to the edge of that well, not to listen for the splash, but to grab the rope, and pull.” —Jill Lepore, author of These Truths: A History of the United States

“With intensity and detail, Julian Zelizer recreates a drama that resounds in modern history. Most are well-acquainted with Newt Gingrich and his combative style, but here is the moment he transformed Congress and all of American politics.” —Steve Kornacki, author of The Red and the Blue

“In this essential history of Newt Gingrich, Zelizer shows that Donald Trump isn't so much an innovator as an imitator.  Zelizer argues that Gingrich wrote the modern Republican Party's destructive playbook, and the Democrats and the media have yet to figure out an effective response.”  —Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money and Chief Washington Correspondent, The New Yorker

"In this perfectly-timed book, one of America’s premier historians tells the story of how our present madness began—with a cunning, lying, hypocritical character assassin named Newt Gingrich. Zelizer offers a hugely important narrative of the 'evil wind' Gingrich brought to American politics by deposing the speaker of the House and casting the country into decades of bad feeling." —Jonathan Alter, author of The Center Holds

“How did we arrive at today's hyper-partisan, polarized, gridlocked and dysfunctional politics? In this rich and riveting tale of Newt Gingrich's rise to power, ace historian Julian Zelizer makes a compelling argument that the former House Speaker is to blame.” —John A. Farrell, author of Richard Nixon: The Life

“A gripping read about the rise of a ruthless, no-holds-barred Republican mode of politics and its main architect--Newt Gingrich. Anyone struggling to contend with our current political crisis--meaning, everyone--will be well served by reading this timely book by one of our leading lights on the history of the U.S. Congress.” —Joanne B. Freeman, author of The Field of Blood

“Newt Gingrich was one of the most consequential figures in American politics in the Twentieth Century, with major responsibility for our current political turmoil. A lot has been written about the rise and fall of Newt. It takes a good historian to provide insight, new material and context to what we already know. Julian Zelizer is a first rate historian, and even for those of us present at Gingrich’s emergence into national life, especially through his assault on Democratic Speaker Jim Wright, and throughout his career, Burning Down the House enlightens and enriches our understanding of a pivotal time in American life.” —Norman Ornstein, co-author of It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism
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