Now with a new foreword by Harvard Law Professor and former Assistant Attorney General Jack Goldsmith, and with a new concluding chapter from the author on the unprecedented ethical challenges in the first year of Trump 2.0. Essential reading for anyone interested in modern American politics, get the book that former President Barack Obama on X calls "a deeply thoughtful book" and says, "couldn't be a more timely read." Part memoir, part rumination on the declining moral compass of the American political class, The Unraveling is the first book to place restoring political ethics at the center of the renewal of American democracy. Politics is a brutal game, but Bauer asks where does the line fall between the “hardball” of politics and attacks on the very foundation of democracy? Looking back on 46 years in the political arena, Bauer tries to better grasp what has gone wrong and to understand what shaped his own decisions and actions. He offers anecdotes, perspectives, and insights that are vitally relevant in our world today, including efforts in 2020 (and 2024) to defend our democratic system of elections from attack and distrust, and the struggles with social media, such as Meta, to combat disinformation in a post-truth politics. The expanded paperback edition includes a new concluding chapter highlighting the ethical failures of public institutions under the the second Trump administration-law firms, universities, and the media, as well as the Trump administration itself-and the imperative to do better in order to preserve the consent of the governed in American democracy. He writes about the various personal experiences along the way-the highs, the lows, and the absurd. Bauer presents a smart and serious look at our political culture and the role that he has played in shaping it. The Unraveling will be essential reading for anyone interested in American politics of the last 50 years--and the next. “ The Unraveling by Bob Bauer is a deeply thoughtful book that includes reflections on his decades-long career in politics and gives insight into the ways we can work to strengthen our democracy. It couldn't be a more timely read.” ― President Barack Obama “Bob Bauer brings a unique combination of practical, on-the-ground expertise and deep intellectual rigor to the complex intersection of politics and ethics-a topic never more important, but seemingly never more hopeless, than today. In this sober, and sobering, update to The Unraveling , Bauer charts the dangerous new reality, in Donald Trump's second term, of 'a politics devoid of ethical as well as legal constraints.' He poses the unsettling question of whether private entities-from law firms to media organizations to educational institutions-will summon the fortitude to stand up to relentless, and lawless, bullying. Bauer's real-time assessment, including the performance of my own former employer, The Washington Post , is far from comforting-and the stakes are nothing less than 'the vibrancy and durability of American democracy.'” ―Ruth Marcus, contributor to The New Yorker “A man of the arena, Bob Bauer is remarkably candid about his own role in defining and in deploying the law of politics-or, sometimes, the politics of the law-in recent decades. In these pages he takes honest account of the conflicts and compromises of an inherently complex sphere of life.” ―Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian “Bob is one of the few people who has had a front seat to history through two Presidents and a first hand knowledge of the weight and responsibilities that sit on their shoulders. Through engaging storytelling and candor about his own experiences, Bob reminds us of the responsibility every public servant has to weigh ethics and morality in decision making not just in the age of Trump but well beyond.” ―Jen Psaki, Former White House press secretary, Host of Inside with Jen Psaki on MSNBC “Too many foxholes over too many years with Bob Bauer. His good advice is only rivaled by his good collegiality. Eager to dive into the Unraveling .” ― David Plouffe “With wit, insight, self-awareness, and humility, Bob Bauer reflects on his life as a leading political lawyer, making an urgent plea for a renewed commitment to political ethics. A must-read warning about how our existential politics has led to norm collapse, and how to bring us back from the brink.” ―Richard L. Hasen, author of A Real Right to Vote and Election Meltdown “There may be no lawyer in America today who has been more deeply involved than Bob Bauer in the major political controversies over many years. In this important memoir, Bauer takes us behind the scenes and into the rooms where some of the most consequential political battles played out. For that reason alone, his book makes for riveting reading. But more than that, Bauer takes a hard look at his own role in those events, asking whether he helped to strengthen democratic norms or whether he could have done more or bett