Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country

by Adam Kinzinger, Michael D'Antonio

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Adam Kinzinger made the difficult decision to turn against his party at a critical time in American Democracy. This is his tell-all, examining his decision and the full scope of that fateful day in January.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Adam Kinzinger captures one of the most transformative periods in recent political history in a riveting, personal account from inside Congress, including the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol and his vote to impeach Donald Trump.

AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER

On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to storm the US Capitol in attempts to overturn the presidential election. It was a betrayal of our Constitution, and one of the darkest days in recent history. Yet to former congressman Adam Kinzinger it was also the culmination of a cultural and political rupture he’d long seen coming. Constructive criticism from within the Republican Party was no longer enough. It was time to stand up, even if it meant betraying his own party.

In Renegade, Kinzinger tells his story of faith, service, and political duty in a democracy under siege. From the small Illinois county board where he got his start, to his years in the Air Force flying tanker missions over Iraq, to his final tumultuous term in Congress as one of the few Republican members to vote to impeach Trump and join the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Kinzinger takes readers inside the most critical moments and pivotal decisions of the last years. The result is both a searing examination of the rise of extremism and the GOP’s subsequent descent into a dysfunctional and destructive force, and a rousing call to return to unity.

Raw, provocative, and clear-eyed, Renegade captures one of the most transformative periods in recent American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593654163
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/31/2023
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	27,886
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Adam D. Kinzinger served in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2023, representing Illinois’ Sixteenth Congressional District. During his tenure, he served on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, as well as the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Prior to being elected to Congress, Kinzinger served in the Air Force in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard and a Senior Political Commentator on CNN.

Editorial Reviews

2023-10-31
The former Republican representative from Illinois reflects on the abhorrent fanaticism of the current GOP.

When Kinzinger was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010, his conservative religious upbringing and distinguished service in the Air Force were assets that propelled him forward as a rising star within the GOP. However, due to his decision not to support Trump’s candidacy in 2016 and subsequent condemnation of Trump following the 2020 election, his standing within the Republican Party was severely diminished, leading him to not seek reelection in 2022. “I had dedicated my working life to becoming a kind of star within the GOP and for a time, that was who I was,” writes the author. “Now, to my surprise, all that effort has led me to the point where, instead of acting as a GOP champion, I am required to act as its critic.” Kinzinger’s book joins a spate of other works by Republican leaders condemning the escalating destructiveness within the party. The author delivers a compelling insider’s view of the chaos of Congress, from the partying (“think of Animal House but with expensive whiskey instead of beer, aged steaks instead of pizza, and no cash required”) to the laborious, often failed efforts to get measures approved on the floor. He offers piercing critiques of the most damaging obstructionists, headed by Jim Jordan, Mick Mulvaney, and Kevin McCarthy (“a political windsock”), and he shines a favorable light on John Boehner, praising him for his ability to get things done. The author is at least respectful of many of his Democratic counterparts, with positive remarks grudgingly applied. Kinzinger’s outspoken crusade culminated in his participation in the Jan. 6 hearings, and he provides an in-depth perspective on the details involved in that investigation.

A sharp assessment of the dark threat to democracy posed by the Trump-controlled GOP.

Kirkus Reviews