Best Selling Books by The Washington Post

The Inside Story of the 2012 Presidential Campaign The presidential campaign of 2012 was one of the closest and most fierce, expensive, and unpredictable in our history, and Washington Post senior political correspondent Dan Balz chronicled every twist. Obama vs. Romney is a collection of 50 dispatches from the campaign trail, by one the preeminent political journalists of our times. Balz recounts the back-and-forth slugfest of 2012 in a single seamless narrative, including his hundreds of interviews with behind-the-scenes players who crafted both Obama’s scorched-earth re-election game plan and Romney’s audacious strategy for unseating a president. The result is a complete inside story of the campaign from the early days in both parties, through the dramatic ending that wasn’t written until the very last hours of the election.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Written and designed by the staff of The Washington Post and illustrated by artist Jan Feindt, The Mueller Report Illustrated: The Obstruction Investigation brings to life the findings of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III in an engaging and illuminating presentation. When it was released on April 18, 2019, Mueller’s report laid out two major conclusions: that Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election had been “sweeping and systematic” and that the evidence did not establish that Trump or his campaign had conspired with the Kremlin. The special counsel left one significant question unanswered: whether the president broke the law by trying to block the probe. However, Mueller unspooled a dramatic narrative of an angry and anxious president trying to control the criminal investigation, even after he knew he was under scrutiny. Deep inside the 448-page report is a fly-on-the-wall account of the inner workings of the White House, remarkable in detail and drama. With dialogue taken directly from the report, The Mueller Report Illustrated is a vivid, factually rigorous narrative of a crucial period in Trump’s presidency that remains relevant to the turbulent events of today.

Presidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. Rand Paul’s ability to sell himself as the most libertarian of the presidential candidates—defending civil liberties at home and opposing military adventurism and nation-building abroad—is what can set him apart. But those unconventional ideas could also box him in. Libertarians don’t win national elections, unless you count Thomas Jefferson in 1800 and 1804. In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.

Presidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. It’s Ted Cruz’s ramrod devotion to principle—or, its flip side, an unyielding insistence on getting his way—that could propel him to the front ranks of Republican contenders for president or render him unelectable. In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.

Presidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is a man in a hurry, whose dizzying political ascent—he has never lost a race—is a testament to his quickness to spot openings and go for them. The question now, as he aims for the White House, is whether voters ultimately see Rubio as refreshing and bold, the inspiring face of a new generation—or just a promising young pol getting ahead of himself. In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.

Presidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton’s won’t-back-down resolve is the quality that could make her America’s first female president if it doesn’t sabotage her first. She may have gotten her first campaign for the Democratic nomination wrong, but now she is doggedly determined to get it right. But that past campaign and her controversial years as first lady, while leaving her with more experience with the nuts and bolts of being president, have also left a trail of ethical questions that provide her challengers ample ammunition on the trail. In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.

Presidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. It was as a lifelong broadcaster that Mike Huckabee, the onetime “pastor on TV,” perfected the conservative amiability that helped him win the Iowa caucuses in 2008 and could again set him apart from an increasingly crowded field of Republicans. But in the GOP of 2016, when the sharp edge plays better than the soft smile, Huckabee enters the race facing a key question: Will the same “I’m not mad at anybody” on-air vibe that fueled his rise make him a non-starter for mad-as-hell early Republican voters? In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.

Presidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. Jeb Bush’s DNA string might as well be tied around his neck. It’s a twisting, double-edged lariat, this family inheritance, at once his greatest advantage and disadvantage. On the one hand, it makes him an immediate force in the crowded GOP presidential field. On the other hand, it saddles him with a problem of self-definition; people think they already know him, which means they see him as more of the same of something they already got. Twice. In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.

A Washington Post Best Book of 2021 The #1 New York Times bestselling investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public year after year about America’s longest war, foreshadowing the Taliban’s recapture of Afghanistan, by Washington Post reporter and three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Craig Whitlock. Unlike the wars in Vietnam and Iraq, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 had near-unanimous public support. At first, the goals were straightforward and clear: defeat al-Qaeda and prevent a repeat of 9/11. Yet soon after the United States and its allies removed the Taliban from power, the mission veered off course and US officials lost sight of their original objectives. Distracted by the war in Iraq, the US military become mired in an unwinnable guerrilla conflict in a country it did not understand. But no president wanted to admit failure, especially in a war that began as a just cause. Instead, the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations sent more and more troops to Afghanistan and repeatedly said they were making progress, even though they knew there was no realistic prospect for an outright victory. Just as the Pentagon Papers changed the public’s understanding of Vietnam, The Afghanistan Papers contains “fast-paced and vivid” (The New York Times Book Review) revelation after revelation from people who played a direct role in the war from leaders in the White House and the Pentagon to soldiers and aid workers on the front lines. In unvarnished language, they admit that the US government’s strategies were a mess, that the nation-building project was a colossal failure, and that drugs and corruption gained a stranglehold over their allies in the Afghan government. All told, the account is based on interviews with more than 1,000 people who knew that the US government was presenting a distorted, and sometimes entirely fabricated, version of the facts on the ground. Documents unearthed by The Washington Post reveal that President Bush didn’t know the name of his Afghanistan war commander—and didn’t want to meet with him. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he had “no visibility into who the bad guys are.” His successor, Robert Gates, said: “We didn’t know jack shit about al-Qaeda.” The Afghanistan Papers is a “searing indictment of the deceit, blunders, and hubris of senior military and civilian officials” (Tom Bowman, NRP Pentagon Correspondent) that will supercharge a long-overdue reckoning over what went wrong and forever change the way the conflict is remembered.

The Washington Capitals entered the 2017-18 season still stinging from their latest playoff disappointment months earlier after another dominant regular season. But the team retained its captain, Alex Ovechkin, and its core, including goaltender Braden Holtby and standouts such as Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie. After a solid if uneven regular season, the Capitals entered the postseason without the crushing expectations of years past but also no assurance that this year would be different, especially after losses in their first two playoff games. Then something special happened: Ovechkin led with both his play and emotion, Holtby rekindled his magic in net, rookies complemented veterans and the franchise found itself in unprecedented heights: hoisting the Stanley Cup. Relive the magical run through the images and words of The Washington Post photographers and reporters that followed the team every step of the way.

Heroes and icons. Athletes and entertainers. Trailblazers and game-changers. The world lost many brilliant women and men in 2015, but legacies live on. The Washington Post beautifully and comprehensively encapsulates some of the luminaries the world lost in 2015. Brilliant and beloved, fiery and controversial, these twenty-one lives live on through sheer influence. From legends like B.B. King, whose guitar-playing inspired musicians across all genres, to Julian Bond, whose tireless work on behalf of Civil Rights resonates to this day. From wildly exciting lives, like Elizabeth McIntosh, the spy who helped defeat the Axis, to more contemplative lives, like that of Oliver Sacks, who revolutionized the way we look at the human brain, the recounting of these twenty-one lives showcase the impact a human being can have on the world.

Presidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s immovability, his polite but firm determination to stay the course, both intrigues and frustrates Wisconsin voters. They acknowledge that Walker’s uncompromising stance helped him implement his policies in Wisconsin and win a standoff with unions over collective bargaining that gained him a national reputation. But they say the governor’s victories have come at a steep price: the polarization of a state with a long history of progressive politics and bipartisan civil governance. In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.

From one of the world''s most renowned novelists to a truth-telling comedian to a courageous warrior for civil rights, 2014 bid farewell to many great men and women who have changed the way we think about our world. In 22 LIVES OF 2014, THE WASHINGTON POST turns to its Pulitzer Prize-winning reportage to gather the obituaries of some of the greatest artists and icons. It honors memories and remembers legacies. This uplifting look at figures such as Gabriel García Márquez and path-breaking Olympian Alice Coachman acknowledges the mark they left on our world and on our lives.

This eye-opening report is the product of a year-long investigation into how the legal system in Indian country fails some of America''s most vulnerable citizens—and what is being done to begin to rectify an ongoing tragedy. Sari Horwitz, recipient of the ASNE Award for Distinguished Writing on Diversity, traveled to an Indian reservation in Minnesota to interview a Native American woman who had been sexually assaulted, as had her mother and daughter. In each case, the assailants, who were not Native American, were not prosecuted due to loopholes in the laws on jurisdiction of criminal prosecution on Indian reservations. This story set her off on a journey across the country, into remote villages and tribal lands where Horwitz uncovered the widespread failures of the American legal system and its inability to protect Native American women and children. This powerful call-to-action gives a view that is charged and insightful, exploring the deeply human consequences of a bureaucracy that has often done more harm than good. As President Obama''s administration sets out to close the loopholes and bring justice to survivors, Horwitz speaks to the people these new laws will impact, describes their hopes for the future and gives voice to those who have been silent for too long.

An in-depth profile of the digital native generation from the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper. For the generation after Millennials, technology has been the only way of life since birth. These children are the first group to have their formative moments chronicled on Facebook, to grow up surrounded by the ubiquity of smartphones, and most important, to navigate a social landscape ruled by the internet. With this lifestyle comes a host of issues that prior generations never dealt with, including cyberbullying, alienation from peers with greater access to technology, and an increasing vulnerability to online sexual predators. This series of articles from the Washington Post delves into the everyday lives of American kids and teenagers. With its exploration of the unique pressures and complications of living an online life (and most of life online), this collection is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of Generation Z.

A unique family reference guide to American history, featuring a timeline and newspaper-style articles that make you feel as though you are watching history happen! Experience the events that shaped the USA from earliest times to present day, as if it were all breaking news! Newspaper-style features bring history to life - from articles reporting events as they unfold to obituaries of key figures, recipes, inventions and even the wonderous debut of Mickey Mouse. A running timeline and special context boxes support readers'' understanding of how episodes of America''s past have influenced its present day and its future. Developed in collaboration with the Washington Post and with QR codes linking to Washington Post podcasts and archival resources, this book is a powerful and compelling commemoration of the 250th birthday of the USA.