I started reading Nick Bryant's The Forever War - America's Unending Conflict with Itself (2024) during the US election campaign in that strange period between the Biden-Trump debate, the attempted Trump assassination and Biden's drop out of the Presidential race. At the time I was feeling uninspired by the two candidates, a looming dread about the potential of a second Trump term, and overwhelmed by the chaos taking place in the campaign. I turned to Bryant to make sense of what was happening in America. I took a break from reading the book as the campaign gathered momentum under Harris, but picked it up again in November after the results were known, looking for clues as to how we got here.
Historian and journalist Nick Bryant is well placed to write about American political history and does so with the detachment of someone who deeply loves the country but can see it with an outsider's perspective. He takes readers on a crash course in American history to demonstrate how we should not be surprised by the rise of Trump and the MAGA movement. Bryant writes of Trump:Like previous American demagogues, he could tap into an unholy trinity of racism, religious fundamentalism and the mass media's partiality towards a ratings-winning rabble-rouser.
In many ways, then, Trump became an amalgam of this dangerous tradition. The raucousness of Andrew Jackson. The racism of Father Coghlin. The economic populism of Huey Long. The America First isolationism of Lindbergh. The conspiratorialism of McCarthy. The 'angry white man' rage of Wallace. The nativism of Buchanan. The billionaire chutzpah of Perot. The serial stupidity of Sarah Palin. Throughout history, Americans had always been susceptible to demagogues promising to make their country great again, whatever their qualifications for the job. (p108-109)
Essentially, The Forever War explains that what is happening now is not new, but a continuation of 250 years of conflict and disagreement about how the US should be governed.
Bryant looks at the history of America from its formation to the present day. He explains how the Constitution was formed and has been used by individuals and parties to serve their own purposes. He explores the three branches of government and how their influence has shifted over time. Bryant takes readers through the War of Independence, the Civil War, the civil rights movement, the January 6 insurrection and shows that America has always resisted a peaceful compromise.
In the chapter 'In Guns we Trust' Bryant covers America's obsession with weapons and how the country need not have gone down this path. The chapter on 'Toxic Exceptionalism' exposes the many uniquely American flaws, but also its potential to be the beacon of hope for the world. I was particularly interested in the chapter 'Roe, Wade and the Supremes' which explores reproductive rights and abortion. This was the subject of my undergrad thesis many decades ago and I am appalled that women are still having to fight for freedom over their own bodies.
Bryant's writing style is compelling as he distills meticulous research into lively, engaging prose. This is a thought-provoking and timely book and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to understand American politics or with an interest in history.