An interesting read - if you enjoy this kinda thing.
I wanted to be openminded and try to learn more about this.... it was ok.
Not my typical read but good nonetheless for what I knew it was.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please excuse my tardiness in posting my review as my TBR continuously grows and I keep finding so many book with so little time!

So much gratitude for this copy shared with me, always xo

I have not always been interested in politics so this book was shocking to say the least. It certainly discredits any history books from school that I was given. This book peels back the the layers of lies that have been sanitized, shining light on the people which are supposed to be have our best interests represented in Congress. Nothing can be further from the truth as the people we have elected in good faith have shown us in the past. They have the right to say shame on us for not holding them accountable in the unbelievable amount of lies, fabrications, conspiracy theories and down right hatred of the other side and it's people. It is amazing to me how much we have been lied to in an effort to push personal and party agendas, so thoroughly despicable it is surprising we have not impeached more Presidents and members of Congress. It also puts into sharp relief how much was/is really kept from the public, be it health conditions, slaves, womanizing, drummed up wars, and most recently the rantings of spoiled, petty, narcissistic man we now call President. This book shows us how little we really know about what actually has/is or will be occurring in our government. It is also apparent why foreign countries are not as fond of the US, since they have not always received our best treatment and clearly taken advantage. This book is definitely an eyeopener as to the past and the lies that were told "in the Country's best interest" more accurately someone's best interest. I had to read sections over and over to make sure I did not misread or to understand correctly the information. We have allowed "little white lies" to become acceptable and now are so ludicrous and outrageous we now faced with a conman who could not tell the truth because he knows no such thing. "Trust but verify" according to Ronald Reagan, he was telling us to do just that all the while he and all the others which have come before or after lied to us, we have not verified the lies we have been told.

While a very analytic, educational and insightful read, this was unfortunately not for me and I did not finish it. However, I will endeavor to purchase and try an audiobook version if there is one available on release.
It's clear to see an incredible amount of work and research went into this book.

Excellent analysis of how lying has shaped the American Presidency. Alterman examined how heads of state in the US have lied in office, why they went to these lengths, as well as the impacts on their mistruths on our nation.

Since 2016, Trump has told more than 10,000 lies in office. Many have an continue to ask how he's able to get away with this. Alterman views Trump's presidency as a product of a long history of deception being used as a political weapon for power, rather than some kind of fluke. The executive branch's powers have also been expanded significantly over the last 250 years of our nation's history, from FDR's deceptions about WWII peace agreements to his health, to Watergate, and the War on Terror, the increasing power of the Oval Office set the stage for a Trump presidency perfectly.

This is an excellent book on Trumpianism. I've read many of these kinds of books over the past four years and this is by far one of the best.

This book is right up my street. A fantastic mystery. One hopes that the terrible Trump days are soon far behind us. This book reminds me that this too shall pass.

Once I read that this book began as the author’s dissertation, it began to make sense to me. I enjoyed this book, but not the experience of reading it, and I think it was because quite frankly not many dissertations are meant to be read. I won’t let my dislike of the writing style keep me from recommending it; it’s a good history of presidential lying and the chapters on Trump are particularly interesting.