Overview
In Secrets of the Temple, his acclaimed national best-seller, William Greider traced the inner workings of the Federal Reserve. Now Greider turns his investigative savvy and long Washington experience to a subject of even more vital concern: the failure of American politics and the faltering of the democratic process itself. Democracy is in deep trouble, trouble more serious than we realize. The very fabric of our system--the meaning of self-government, the values that have sustained us--is unraveling quickly, dangerously and perhaps irrevocably. Who Will Tell the People is a passionate, eye-opening challenge from a man determined to make us understand. Here is a tough-minded exploration of why we're in trouble, starting with the basic issues of who gets heard, who gets ignored, and why. Greider shows us the realities of power in Washington today, uncovering the hidden contours of relationships that link politicians with corporations and the rich and subvert the needs of ordinary citizens. He shows us how "modern methodologies of persuasion," often originating in the public relations firms, direct-mail companies and opinion-polling firms that line the streets of the capital, have created a new hierarchy of influence over government decisions. He shows us today's Capitol Hill, where a lone congressman who tries to represent the public interest can find himself aligned against an army of well-paid "authorities." The public's belief that government serves "a few big interests" is not mistaken. Greider explains exactly how this has come to pass. And where are the institutions designed to represent the people? Where are the unions? The political parties? The press? Gone, Greider writes, or transformed so radically that they no longer speak faithfully for the people. Citizen action is reduced to media stunts designed for shock value. Voters leave the traditional parties and dismiss elections as meaningless. Reporters write to please the people whose values they shareA bestselling expose of political power and public deception that reveals a government that ignores popular will and responds instead to the interests of major organizations and influential elites. A call to action that shows how readers can regain control and reinstate democracy.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
This provocative manifesto, an eight-week PW bestseller in cloth, charges that America's political parties, unions and media organizations have abandoned the citizenry, leaving powerful moneyed elites in control of politics and government. (June)From the Publisher
Christian Science Monitor Raises questions that every American who retains a faith in the self-correcting capacities of democracy ought to confront. Greider's assessment is a compelling one.New York Daily News One of those rare, essential books that should be not merely read but memorized.
Time Who Will Tell the People sets out to explain precisely how and why American democracy has washed up on the shoals of cynicism. The complaint may sound familiar, but such a brief précis does not do justice to either the freshness of Greider's argument or the ambition of his approach.
The Nation William Greider has given us the most subtle interpretation of contemporary American political culture yet to appear in print.
Houston Chronicle The real question for Greider and for us is what we can do to reclaim democracy, to take it back from the wealthy special-interest groups that control the national agenda....Who Will Tell the People is a call to action. He makes a good argument that we'd better get busy if we are to make government work for us.
The Washington Monthly Valuable...Inspiring...[Greider's] criticism is not only broad but deep.
Playboy [An] eye-opening expose of how government has become a game for lobbyists, lawyers and influence brokers....Stirring.
New York Newsday Greider knows Washington exceptionally well and is a fine guide to the pork-barreling and back-scratching that glue together the private welfare state.
San Francisco Chronicle Impassioned account of what has gone wrong with our democracy...[Greider] brings to his examination of the American political system an outsider's outrage and an insider's knowledge.
The Washington Post Greider has mastered the knack of being sweeping and meticulous at the same time....Greider makes it clear that the citizens' corrosive suspicions about their institutions, their parties and their government are well founded.