Only in America - Softcover

Frei, Matt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007248938 ISBN 13: 9780007248933

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2009

Synopsis

Matt Frei, the BBC's former Washington correspondent, goes under the skin of the nation's capital to unravel the paradoxes of the world's last remaining superpower.The paperback has been fully updated to provide a unique view into the weird, wonderful and totally bizarre workings of America’s political world and the 2008 Presidential election.

Imagine a city so powerful that the weapons commanded from its ministries could obliterate the globe many times over and yet so vulnerable that it cannot prevent a seventeen-year-old boy from killing half a dozen of its inhabitants in a shooting spree that lasts for a whole month. A city so rich that it spends 150 million dollars a year on corporate lunches, dinners and fundraisers and yet so poor that its streets are frequently as potholed as those of any forgotten backwater in the developing world. A city that deploys more armed officers per square mile than any other in the world but has earned the title of being its country's murder capital. A city where 565 elected Congressmen and Senators are chased, charmed, cajoled and sometimes bribed by 35,000 registered lobbyists; where the most illustrious resident travels with a fleet of planes and a small army of body guards but where the mayor for twelve years was a convicted crack addict who believed that every law in his own country was racist, 'including the law of gravity'. A city that plays host to seventeen different spying agencies, employing 23,000 agents, none of whom were able to discover a plot that involved flying civilian airliners into buildings, even though the plotters had littered their path with clues. Hard to imagine? Welcome to Washington DC: the Rome of the 21st century.

Matt Frei was the BBC’s Washington correspondent from 2002, and now presents BBC World News America. Now fully updated to cover the longest, most expensive and most fascintating election campaign in US history, including the astonishing ascent of Barack Obama, the first election of the internet age, the rise and fall of John McCain and Sarah Palin and the new First Family. ‘Only in America’ is a surprising and brilliant dissection of the most powerful nation on earth from its capital out.

About this title

Review:

‘The best correspondent of our generation.’ Jon Snow

‘If you are searching for a book to describe the current mood in America, look no further.You would expect Matt Frei to demonstrate his skill as a brilliant reporter, but “Only in America” is also surprisingly funny. He moves from high politics to daily life with an engaging confidence, and he almost convinced me that it is possible to understand what they are up to.’ John Sergeant

‘Frei navigates the capital’s “didactic” architecture, power-brokers and influential think-tanks with the same Bill Bryson-esque sardonic humour that he applies to the White House press etiquette...While cynical of Bush’s competence Frei clearly enjoys the razzmatazz that surrounds high office.’ Financial Times

‘An excellent, quirky guide to Washington life...it is also a memoir of America in the post 9/11 Dubya year. Frei has a felicitous turn of phrase and his observations are always insightful and sometimes extremely funny.’ Sunday Express

Synopsis:

Matt Frei, the BBC's Washington correspondent, goes under the skin of the nation's capital to discover the paradox of the world's last remaining superpower; a city that represents a nation where 30 percent of its citizens believe in the Second Coming but where more money is spent on pornography than college education. Imagine a city so powerful that the weapons commanded from its ministries could obliterate the globe many times over and yet so vulnerable that it cannot prevent a seventeen-year-old boy from killing half a dozen of its inhabitants in a shooting spree that lasts for a whole month. A city so rich that it spends 150 million dollars a year on corporate lunches, dinners and fundraisers and yet so poor that its streets are frequently as potholed as those of any forgotten backwater in the developing world. A city that deploys more armed officers per square mile than any other in the world but has earned the title of being its country's murder capital.A city where 565 elected Congressmen and Senators are chased, charmed, cajoled and sometimes bribed by 35,000 registered lobbyists; where the most illustrious resident travels with a fleet of planes and a small army of body guards but where the mayor for twelve years was a convicted crack addict who believed that every law in his own country was racist, 'including the law of gravity'.

A city that plays host to seventeen different spying agencies, employing 23,000 agents, none of whom were able to discover a plot that involved flying civilian airliners into buildings, even though the plotters had littered their path with clues. Hard to imagine? Welcome to Washington DC: the Rome of the 21st century. It is a place that inspires awe, revulsion or analysis, but rarely affection. Every newspaper editor tells his new Washington correspondent to travel outside 'the Beltway', to get under the skin of the real America beyond the 495 Interstate that snakes the city with its glutinous flow of traffic all day long. But after almost six years in Washington, Matt Frei has realised that the key to understanding America lies within the walls of the diamond-shaped District of Columbia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0007248938
• ISBN 13: 9780007248933
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304