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The Last American President

A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink

Author Thom Hartmann

Paperback

$24.95 US

Berrett-Koehler | Berrett-Koehler Publishers

6"W x 9"H x 0.65"D (15.2 x 22.9 x 1.7 cm) | 10 oz (278 g) | 26 per carton

On sale Sep 23, 2025 | 224 Pages | 9798890571847

Sales rights: World

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Nonfiction > History > U.S. History
Nonfiction > Politics > Domestic Politics

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Trump didn't break American democracy—he revealed how broken it already was.

In this urgent, deeply researched book, four-time Project Censored Award–winning, New York Times bestselling author Thom Hartmann argues that Trump is a symptom, not the disease. The real story is the ecosystem that built him: a childhood defined by cruelty, a mentor who weaponized shamelessness, a political party that sold its principles for power, and a donor class that used him to dismantle the guardrails on their own greed.

Inside, you'll find

a psychological portrait of how Trump was made—not born;
a clear-eyed account of how the Republican Party and billionaire networks enabled his rise;
global comparisons to Hungary, Venezuela, and Weimar Germany—because this pattern has a name; and
7 proven, history-backed strategies for defeating authoritarianism before it becomes permanent.

This is not a book about despair. It is a book about recognition—and resistance.

For readers of How Democracies Die and On Tyranny who are ready to move from understanding the crisis to doing something about it.

The choice, as always, is ours.

“As both a psychotherapist and a political scientist, Hartmann dives deep into the murky bilge of Trump’s brain and comes up with the detailed expose of a pathological narcissist who feeds on the easily bamboozled marks we call voters. It’ll make you sick and nauseated, but you’ll love it.”
—Greg Palast, bestselling author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

“This work expertly lays out how Trumpism has reshaped our understanding and reliance on democracy's most fundamental institutions. Now Americans must play the long game: defend our most valued principles to save our democracy.”
—Ali Velshi, Anchor, MSNBC, and Senior Correspondent, NBC News

“Hartmann understands that the attack on our democracy comes from the president but also an entire infrastructure of money and political power that was built over decades and that aims to turn America into an oligarchy.”
—David Sirota, award-winning journalist and bestselling author of The Uprising and Hostile Takeover

Thom Hartmann is a four‐time winner of the Project Censored Award, a New York Times bestselling author of over thirty books, and America’s #1 progressive talk radio show host for more than a decade. His show is carried on SiriusXM and radio stations nationwide and simulcast as television on Free Speech TV.

Thom Hartmann View titles by Thom Hartmann

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About

a psychological portrait of how Trump was made—not born;
a clear-eyed account of how the Republican Party and billionaire networks enabled his rise;
global comparisons to Hungary, Venezuela, and Weimar Germany—because this pattern has a name; and
7 proven, history-backed strategies for defeating authoritarianism before it becomes permanent.

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