When America Stopped Being Great Audiobook By Nick Bryant cover art

When America Stopped Being Great

A History of the Present

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.

When America Stopped Being Great

By: Nick Bryant
Narrated by: Ben Chapple
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.00

Buy for $25.00

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

About this listen

The presidency of Donald Trump is commonly seen as an historical accident. In When America Stopped Being Great, Nick Bryant argues that it was almost historically inescapable.

In this highly personal account, drawing on decades of covering Washington for the BBC, Bryant shows how the billionaire capitalised on the mistakes of his five predecessors - Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama - and how also he became a beneficiary of a broken politics, an iniquitous economy, an ailing media, a facile culture, disruptive new technology and the creation of a modern-day presidency that elevated showmanship over statesmanship.

Not only are we seeing the emergence of a post-American world, Bryant fears we are witnessing the emergence of a post-American America. The aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, when Donald Trump refused to accept defeat and incited his supporters to storm the US Capitol, revealed the country's chronic state of disunion.

The history of Donald Trump's rise is also the history of America's fall.




©2020 Nick Bryant (P)2020 Penguin Random House Australia
Americas Geopolitics International Relations Politics & Government United States American History Socialism Capitalism Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle east Iran Liberalism
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

'An elegant and insightful dissection of how a great nation lost its footing and the world's respect. The tragedy is made all the more stark by the genuine love of America in Nick Bryant's writing' - Leigh Sales

'Nick Bryant writes like a dream, and is one of those very rare things on TV - a man who makes you want to turn up the sound. His eye for description is sublime, and he has a way of showing you what you've been missing from the whole story, whilst never leaving you feeling stupid' - Emily Maitlis

'Bryant is a genuine rarity - a Brit who understands America' - The Washington Post

All stars
Most relevant  
This is a thoughtful narrative about recent USA history. It threw light on many issues in the fascinating country.
The only drawback was the reading. The accent was a weird mixture of Australian and American. The pronunciation of some fairly basic words seem to escape him entirely.

Great book, grating reader.

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

Nick Bryant demonstrates why British journalism will always endure more than US journalism. Crisp succinct language versus hyperbole and overuse of adjectives.
Interestingly, it is the reader who is the most interesting: clearly he is Australian but pronounces vowels with a US taint. Was he forced to do this?

Great exposition of US politics

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