Regime Change

By Maggie Haberman
and Jonathan Swan

The authors take us inside the White House behind the scenes. I bought Regime Change for my book club. I knew about most of the events Haberman and Swan cover, though their reporting on Maduro, a South American beef packing executive, and Iran filled in details I had missed. What surprised me most was the feeling of reading it. Has it really been only a year and a half? It feels like ten.

Reading the book brought back the pain and anxiety of living through these events. Then I finished it, turned on the news, and felt my blood pressure rise again. Reports about conditions in the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group, including suicide attempts, brought me straight back to the present. Some days, I wish I could go without hearing one more thing about Trump.

Now certain news outlets have been barred from White House access, too. I’ve worried about freedom of the press since Trump took office, and I’m grateful reporters are still getting the news out. But Regime Change also reminded me why I need more than a record of what happened. I want someone to ask what these decisions cost people—and to remember that they were made in our country’s name, without speaking for all of us.