When America Stopped Being Great

A history of the present

By: Nick Bryant

Narrated by: Ben Chapple

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.

'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

Great book, grating reader.

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 exposition of US politics

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?