An interesting assessment of our political system as shown through the presidencies beginning with Reagan and 'paving the way' for Trump. Let's face it, no president in history has done it all right. I think it would be more accurate to blame the American people and the gross sense of privilege and entitlement, as the cause for many of the actions of our elected leaders. It's really sad. I think that Nick Bryant has done a careful and concise job of establishing the fact that each president, in recent years, have done some wrong. None have totally satisfied the American people's desires for wealth and superiority. Equality, all but ignored, token efforts made for political purposes. America may never have been 'great'. It has and will continue to be a work in progress. Hopefully, the people will wise up before it's too late and democracy is destroyed.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I expected WHEN AMERICA STOPPED BEING GREAT by Nick Bryant, a BBC senior foreign correspondent, to be a bit more of an even-handed analysis of America's changing role in the world. However, from the very beginning when in the introduction Bryant describes his first meeting with Trump, referring to "his unabashed boastfulness... the hyperbole... the inflated claims... blaming of others for personal failure... disregard for science," the tone is set. Bryant deserves credit for the copious amount of facts he employs in describing America's national politics from 1984 through present day. The content reflects his interest and education (he holds a doctorate in American politics from Oxford), but the writing at times feels surprisingly stilted and "preachy." One key point that Bryant documents: "The United States has always been a fight between liberal and illiberal forces, and an unending tug of war between the expression of individual rights and the encroachment of the national government." Increasingly (think of COVID vaccination patterns), that seems to be an accurate summary; see also the discussion of different Americas in Last Best Hope by George Packer.

A concise analysis of the interplay of modern politics and culture that gradually, and inevitably, led to the Trump presidency, starting with the still-very-much-beloved (among Republicans) Ronald Reagan. As someone who was not alive during the Reagan years and lacks memory of any presidency prior to Clinton, I found this book to be very insightful. It also transformed some thoughts I had of these presidents, especially that of Reagan and Bush Sr. The author supplements his narrative by including statistics and poll data to show how America's transformation was headed towards the direction it is now. Highly recommend for people wondering "How did the two political parties becomes so polarized?".