This Will Not Pass Audiobook By Jonathan Martin, Alexander Burns cover art

This Will Not Pass

Trump, Biden and the Battle for American Democracy

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

This Will Not Pass

By: Jonathan Martin, Alexander Burns
Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.49

Buy for $22.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The “blockbuster” (The Guardian) New York Times bestseller, a shocking, definitive account of the 2020 election and the first year of the Biden presidency by two New York Times reporters, exposes the deep fissures within both parties as the country approaches a political breaking point.

This is the authoritative, “deeply reported” (The Wall Street Journal) account of an eighteen-month crisis in American democracy that will be seared into the country’s political memory for decades to come. With stunning, in-the-room detail, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns show how both our political parties confronted a series of national traumas, including the coronavirus pandemic, the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and the political brinksmanship of President Biden’s first year in the White House.

From Donald Trump’s assault on the 2020 election and his ongoing campaign of vengeance against his fellow Republicans to the behind-the-scenes story of Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate and his bitter struggles to unite the Democratic Party, this book exposes the degree to which the two-party system has been strained to the point of disintegration. More than at any time in recent history, the long-established traditions and institutions of American politics are under siege as a set of aging political leaders struggle to hold together the changing country.

Martin and Burns break news on most every page, drawing on hundreds of interviews and never-before-seen documents and recordings from the highest levels of government. This “masterful” (George Stephanopoulos) book asks the vitally important (and disturbing) question: can American democracy, as we know it, ever work again?

©2022 Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
Democracy Politics & Government American Politics
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about This Will Not Pass

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    873
  • 4 Stars
    320
  • 3 Stars
    105
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    37
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    831
  • 4 Stars
    238
  • 3 Stars
    77
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    20
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    777
  • 4 Stars
    263
  • 3 Stars
    91
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    34

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Oh come on

The reader has no clue how to pronounce notable people's names: Daniel Inouye, Steve Scalise, even Kamala Harris and there are more than just those. It's extraordinarily distracting. The book is good if you can get past that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent and to the point on a seminal time

Loved it...authors got inside the political turmoil of this most difficult political transformation period...to the point...and quite revealing especially in the fractionation of the Democratic party.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The audio version Is awful

Pronunciations are so bad it confuses the story as you have to think about what the narrator is trying to say.
Most of the pronunciations are not complex but the narrator seems intent on making them incorrect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A thorough account of the Trump-Biden years

As a fan of political journalism, I expected this rather thick book to be compelling in its depth. Though I would have enjoyed more “scoops,” it did a fine job providing an insider’s view of politics in the era of Trump and the aftermath. A low point for me was the narration. Dennis Boutsikaris, in spite of having a pleasant voice and striking the right tone, seemed to misinterpret passages in the text so frequently that I found myself wincing at times for how little he seemed to either understand or prepare for the recording of this audiobook. With some frequency his delivery was the opposite of the authors’ intent, adding commas where there weren’t any, or overlooking them when he shouldn’t have, emphasizing words he shouldn’t have and delivering with no emphasis at all words that were critical to the understanding of the listener. He routinely forgot what he’d read in the previous sentence, reading the next as though he were delivering surprising new information, when it was merely a recap or alternative take on something the listener already knew. I could’ve written pages of notes about where he misread what was in the text. It seemed Boutsikaris’ only standard for quality was whether his diction was clear, which it unfailingly was. Perhaps I’ve grown too comfortable with narrators who take the time to understand what they’re reading before beginning a recording, but I’ve never listened to an audiobook so rife with errors of inflection. I should hope I won’t encounter another otherwise desirable audiobook with Boutsikaris’ name associated, because it will mean I miss out on hearing it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

More political gossip posing as journalism

Parts were fascinating but most of it was just rehashing what has been said on cable news for years. I thought the hour-long epilog probably said it best, and I wholeheartedly agree with Malcolm Turnbull...the ideological idea of America died in 2016 & when we say "this isn't who we are" it's completely delusional. We are this kind of country who elects these BSC's by either voting for them, or not voting at all. If you voted for them, you got what you wanted. If you didn't vote (not from suppression tactics meant to keep you from it) but out of laziness... then you have no one to blame but yourself. And the state of American click-bait, profiteering, gossipy journalism from the "papers of record" is embarrassing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well researched and easily digestible

Great research into key players and some tough topics surrounding the Jan 6th events

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Behind the Scenes recordings.

Good information about both political parties. Probably leans a little pro-left. Good actual recordings. Narration was good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly well reported retelling of events that will be part of American history

It’s difficult for me to assess if my own biases account for my appreciation of this book. I want to believe I am able to view historical events objectively and that the reporting of those events in much greater details with the perspectives of people involved that have a variety of their own biases is also objective. I certainly hope so because this book is excellent as what I believe is an objective account of a crazy period of our history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Instructive

I was expecting more audio tape excerptd.. But no excerpts, however listening to the news I hear more audio of Kevin McCarthy is released. Perhaps share the tales wiinstructiveth ithe 1/6 Select Committee.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent presentation with great references released to the media!

Excellent, though the audio released to news outlets would have been great in this audio presentation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful