Unprecedented: The Election That Changed Everything

by Thomas Lake, Jodi Enda (Editor)

Overview

Unprecedented's second printing features a new cover for the inauguration, with an exclusive portrait of the president-elect.

Packed with exclusive photojournalism and new revelations straight from the front lines, Unprecedented: The Election That Changed Everything chronicles the most hard- fought and newsworthy election of our time. The book tells the full story of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, as a Republican field of seventeen candidates battled it out until one remained: a blustery billionaire and reality TV star with no respect for the rules of politics and no fear of offending people. Across the aisle, Democrats witnessed a showdown between an unlikely populist hero in Sen. Bernie Sanders and the more well-known establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton, who was hobbled by scandal in her second attempt to become America’s first woman president.

The first-ever book from CNN Politics, Unprecedented unleashes new reporting on every jab between a major party’s first female presidential nominee and a political neophyte who many discounted. Featuring a foreword by CNN’s chief Washington correspondent, Jake Tapper, and an introduction by historian Douglas Brinkley, Unprecedented reveals new insight and emotion while telling a story that will change America forever.

Authored by top CNN writer Thomas Lake and edited by award-winning veteran political reporter Jodi Enda, Unprecedented is filled with exclusive photos, commentary and insights from some of CNN’s greatest contributors, including author Carl Bernstein, correspondent Brian Stelter and Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer David Hume Kennerly. Together, their work makes this book the ultimate way to feel and understand the epic event it chronicles, an election like no other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595910967
Publisher:	Melcher Media Inc
Publication date:	12/06/2016
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,132,437
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 10.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Thomas Lake
Thomas Lake is one of CNN’s top writers. Recognized for his historic work in Sports Illustrated and in newspapers like The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, Lake is a skilled author adept at capturing characters on all sides of every story.

Jodi Enda
An award-winning political reporter, Jodi Enda has been specifically recognized for her investigative stories and coverage of the White House, gathering journalism awards from The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, the White House Correspondents' Association and the Society of Professional Journalists.

Contributor Residences

Thomas Lake
Atlanta, GA

Jodi Enda
Washington, DC

Editorial Reviews

A real-time, in-depth account of the 2016 presidential race.” – Fast Company
 
“At its core, Unprecedented is impressionistic, a contemplation of a country at an inflection point, when the paths before it—embodied by two profoundly flawed candidates—could not have appeared more divergent. In its bolder moments, the book aspires to the tone and sweep of a historical novel, and Lake’s accomplishments feel that much more impressive when you consider it was written not with the luxury and clarity of hindsight, but very much in the middle of the storm.” – Atlanta Magazine

“Captures all the highlights of the election year, from the primaries to the party conventions and debates to the election of Donald Trump.... CNN politics writer Lake's well-written narrative, interspersed with contributions by more than a dozen correspondents, analysts, and commentators, reflects the same "all in" approach the network took to its televised coverage.... An early, vivid re-creation.” – Kirkus

“The achievement of hammering this book together as well and as quickly as was obviously done is little short of stupendous... an impressive illustrated first draft of modern history, whatever your emotional reaction.”  – The Buffalo News

From the Publisher

2016-12-14
CNN's photo-and-text account of the 2016 presidential election.Appropriately oversized to embrace a larger-than-life, over-the-top story, this profusely illustrated, sometimes-insightful, blow-by-blow account captures all the highlights of the election year, from the primaries to the party conventions and debates to the election of Donald Trump. CNN politics writer Lake's well-written narrative, interspersed with contributions by more than a dozen correspondents, analysts, and commentators, reflects the same "all in" approach the network took to its televised coverage. "One of the things we did was to ‘event-ize' the major days and nights," writes CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker, with pride. "Whether it was a debate, a town hall, a primary night, or the conventions, our approach was the same. Cover them as big events to let the audience know they are important….That added a degree of energy and excitement to our programs, while never getting in the way of our news-gathering, our analysis, or our interviews." The same hyperbolic view of a surreal election permeates these pages, which read like a graphic portrait of a major traffic accident rather than the "ultimate keepsake" (as described by the publisher) of an election to remember. Fully exploiting the event's P.T. Barnum-esque aspects, the book offers few pleasing thoughts for remembrance: not Trump's "blunt, bigoted language," not Hillary Clinton's "predilection for secrecy," and not the other, dull members of the Republican primary field, who displayed "too much common decency." The election, says CNN presidential historian David Brinkley, was "an overproduced race to the gutter." Lake writes, "the media covered Trump relentlessly, because he was accessible, newsworthy and usually good for some outrage, which drove up clicks and ratings." The most revealing moments are downers, as when Asian-American reporter M.J. Lee described the "off-color remarks" she encountered about her ethnicity when covering Trump rallies.An early, vivid re-creation. Readers seeking great depth and understanding will have to look elsewhere.

Kirkus Reviews