The Alcazar audiobook

   I went into this book really only knowing the title. I had no idea who the author was (I didn’t even notice the ‘author of…’ on the bottom of the front cover picture!), but if he could help enlighten me in any way as to the workings, inner and outer, of the democratic country I live in, I was ready to give it a chance. I wanted to know more, and this book promised to tell me not only more about the structure of the US government, but where it tripped and ways to fix it.   It delivered.   By barely a quarter through it, I had decided I’d be buying a copy of it for myself. Besides, I was already pulling facts and figures out of it in conversations with my family.   By the halfway point, I clicked “Checkout” and pre-ordered two copies – one for me, and one to give away.   By the end, I was glad I had made the decisions I did, and now I look forward to them arriving in my mailbox after it is released on June 16th.   Mr. Litt takes a step-by-step, piecemeal approach to breaking down how US government functions. He starts with the majority: us voters – who can vote, and how voting rights have been an issue since the Constitution was drawn up. From there he steps up to whose votes matter in electing the Representatives in the House, the senators in the Senate, and the President, with an important section on the Electoral College. With the voters and legislators in place, he proceeds to detail a bill’s pathway to becoming law, and all the hurdles it must overcome through the House, the Senate, the Presidency and yes, even the judiciary branch – hurdles which have changed since our country was founded, and which have an alarming tendency to move around considerably.   Throughout this whole process, he keeps a largely neutral view. It is worth noting that in the first third he does provide clues about his personal political leanings; in the second third he confirms his leanings; and in the final third his political leanings area little more outspoken, though far from unjustifiably so.* More importantly, he has endeavored, and I would say succeeded, in writing a book valuable for both sides of the aisle and anyone in between or around it about the democracy of our republic. He took care to show the evolution of different actions and ways of thought and their influence on how our system of government has grown from what it was when the Founding Fathers wrote it to how we use and interpret it today. He uses many examples from history to illustrate his points, and is not afraid to show both the good and the bad – that which casts both positive and negative lights on the parties involved as appropriate – which has influenced the US over the centuries. By doing so, he offers a balance to his book, one where above all, the facts of history are meant to stand sturdy, if not always tall and proud.   His writing is quite accessible, especially considering how complicated politics seems to be. He lays everything out quite plainly, and provides a good amount of additional reading/reference resources at the back. There is a little bit of him inserted in it, but more for the effect of framing and providing some context to events and explanations – nothing that truly gets in the way of learning what he has to relate to us. After all, an informed populace makes informed decisions, and in a world which seems more complicated by the day, it is at least as important as ever before, to take in new information and gauge it carefully against what we already know, to be informed about what is going on but also what went on, and to use everything we learn to make informed decisions which will guide us in shaping our country to be the best it can be. A republic, a democracy, and one which is of the people, by the people, and for the people.   All in all, it is an engaging, fact- and history-filled read, and should be read by anyone and everyone, regardless of political leanings, who wants to know not only how, as the subtitle says, our democracy works, and why it doesn’t, but also how we can go about fixing it.   Normally I would also include favorite quotes – and I highlighted a lot in my digital arc copy! – but I will wait, and maybe add them later after I have had a chance to pull them from the final published copy. There were many lines which were striking in their frankness, in their truth, in how succinctly they explained this or that aspect of the American governmental system.   I received a free eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not affected the contents of my review or rating.   Side note: there were only a couple typos in the beginning, but the final third, and especially the last two chapters, suffered quite a few more typos (usually missing or extra words), which I hope will be corrected for the final printing.*The true test will be to see if someone who is very much a right-wing conservative will make it through the entire book. I have one such person in mind. I might update this review later with how it goes with this person.

It was an informative book that spoke on the American government, how people think it works, how it actually works and why, and how it can be more responsive to the people it is supposed to represent. However, I think it takes a somewhat conservative approach to the issue and does not connect it to organizing, advocacy, and economic democracy. It was already 500 pages, but I do think it is at least somewhat folly to not look at the very economic system that upholds the status quo that created the needs for these reforms in the first place. That would be a separate, second book though, I suppose. It is a good start in one's journey to learning about democracy in politics and government. Overall a very interesting and humorously written read!

For a political book, this book was very easy to read. David Litt explains how democracy should work and why our system is messed up. He talks about everything that interferes with our system working of the people, by the people and for the people. He even says which party did what to get us that way, including the Libertarian party. Very informative book that should be read by all Americans before they vote.

A super interesting history of how we got to where we are today

Definitely an interesting read - lots of facts and theories about what's been happening to our government, with some interesting ideas about how to fix things. Alert - from a Democratic point of view; if you're a Trump supporter, you'll hate this book.

Motivational, although, in parts, a little dryer than I was expecting. The exposé of voter suppression is pretty terrifying. I was slightly concerned that I had no at-hand way of fact-checking some of the claims. But overall this is a book with the potential to make our troubled country better.

David Litt has written a masterpiece. This is an entirely readable, witty, intelligent analysis of our political process today along with the historical perspective and the forces that impact how everything works. Not only does Litt provide a thoroughly entertaining description but he also presents ideas on ways to improve our political process. The approach he uses in each section to use a relatable person or a Congressional bill, named “Belle,” as his jumping off point is really engaging and novel. I was actually a political science major in college and in my first freshman course we were assigned to read Plato and John Locke. Needless to say, my freshman brain could retain none of it. This book is so well done, even a freshman could understand it. I just wish I could remember every detail of the book, it’s that good. We would be a better country if everyone read this book! The only downside is that with each inefficiency that he describes, I felt myself becoming more and more frustrated with where we are today and our overall inability to make any progress through our legislative process. However, I think that Litt ended the book with an optimistic outlook.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. When was the last time that you laughed out loud while learning about campaign finance reform? For me, it was in chapter 7 of this book, which is hilarious, informative, infuriating, and inspiring, all at the same time. I really enjoyed this author's first book, a memoir of his time working in the Obama White House, so I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed! I like to think that I know a decent amount about our country's government, but I learned so much from this book, and all of the information was presented in an engaging, easy-to-understand way. I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand why our government lets us down so often and how we can fix it.

Everyone in The League of Women Voters should read this book. While I'm still angry about the chapter on the Judiciary, I want to think there is hope. 'To inherit a republic in peril, and to pass on a republic in peril, is no failure. It's quite literally the best we can do."

If you want to understand how our government works (or sometimes doesn't), this would be a good place to start. It's an engaging read.

Timely, needed.

I jumped to purchase this book after hearing David Litt's MOTH story about his time working with President Obama. The sense of humor he displayed is on full effect throughout this fun read, along with an impressive grasp of historical precedents and common-sense solutions to problems that are detrimental to our country's future. Litt does a very impressive job explaining both the purposeful cruelty and the almost accidental ineptitude within many of our dysfunctional systems. Anecdotes about renegade voter registration drives in Texas and Congressional mishaps will stick with me for a long time. When this book was written (in what seems like an almost immediately pre-Covid world), perhaps the "we can fix it together" message felt more genuine and authentic. Today, the book's (all valid!) suggestions are just a little too West Wing hope-and-changey to meet the moment.