In a sweeping function of reportage arranged over the course of 2016, New York Moments bestselling author Ben Fountain recounts a surreal year of politics and an exploration of the 3rd American existential crisis

Twice before in its background, america has been faced with a crisis thus severe it was forced to reinvent itself in order to survive: first, the struggle over slavery, culminating in the Civil Battle, and the next, the fantastic Depression, which resulted in Leader Roosevelt’s New Deal and the on the subject of Beautiful Country Burn Once again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Trend establishment of America like a social-democratic state. In a series of essays that excavate the past while laying bare the politics upheaval of 2016, Ben Fountain argues that the United States may be facing another existential crisis, one that will require a “burning” of the old order as America efforts to remake itself.

Beautiful Country Burn off Again narrates a surprising year in American politics, moving from the first days of the Iowa Caucus towards the crystalizing moments of the Democratic and Republican national conventions, and culminating in the aftershocks of the weeks subsequent election night. Along the way, Fountain probes deeply into history, illuminating the makes and watershed moments of days gone by that reflection and precipitated today’s, from the hollowed-out notion from the American Desire, to Richard Nixon’s southern technique, to our weaponized brand-new conception of American exceptionalism, towards the cult of superstar that provided rise to Donald Trump.

In an urgent and deeply incisive voice, Ben Fountain has fused history and the present day to paint a startling portrait of the state of our nation. Beautiful Country Burn Again is a searing indictment of how we came to this aspect, and where we may be headed.