What do you think?
Rate this book
The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind
"No one gets today's Washington like Ben Terris…THE BIG BREAK is the definitive accounting of ‘how it works’ in this ongoing post-Trump (pre-Trump?) maelstrom. I just imbibed this book." ―Mark Leibovich, author of This Town
In this fascinating investigation into the real life inner workings of a post-Trump American government, uncover the odd and eccentric personalities grappling for their own bit of power in D.C.
The Big Break investigates how Washington works, and how different kinds of people try to make it work for them. Ben Terris presents an inside history of this crucial moment in Washington, reporting from exclusive parties, poker nights, fundraisers, secluded farms outside town and the halls of Congress; among the oddballs and opportunists and true believers. This book is about the people who see this moment as an opportunity to bet big—on their country or maybe just on themselves. It will take a close look at Washington’s bold-faced names as they try to get their bearings on the post-Trump (and possibly pre-Trump) landscape. And it will introduce readers to the behind-the-scenes players — MAGA pilgrims and Resistance flamekeepers and shapeshifting veterans — who believe they know what Washington, and America, must do if they’re going to survive, or even thrive.
Trump’s arrival in Washington represented a big break in how the city operated. He surrounded himself with outsiders; power structures reorganized around those who knew him or his family and those who could flatter and influence his base. He changed the way the game was played, only it wasn’t actually a game at all. When pro-Trump elements both inside and outside of government plotted to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election, the Capitol became a combat zone, then a military fortress.
It was, to put it lightly, a destabilizing time. But how much did the Trump years really change Washington? Has Joe Biden’s presidency heralded a return to normal, as many had hoped? What did ‘normal’ mean before Trump, and what do people think it means now?
The Big Break will follow a cast of D.C. characters in search of answers to these questions. They are a diverse crew—a pollster with a gambling habit, an oil heiress with a big heart, a cowboy lobbyist, a Republican kingmaker who decided to love Trump and his right-hand man who decided he couldn’t any longer. They all share at least one thing in They had seen their country go through a Big Break, and they’d come to get theirs.
In this fascinating investigation into the real life inner workings of a post-Trump American government, uncover the odd and eccentric personalities grappling for their own bit of power in D.C.
The Big Break investigates how Washington works, and how different kinds of people try to make it work for them. Ben Terris presents an inside history of this crucial moment in Washington, reporting from exclusive parties, poker nights, fundraisers, secluded farms outside town and the halls of Congress; among the oddballs and opportunists and true believers. This book is about the people who see this moment as an opportunity to bet big—on their country or maybe just on themselves. It will take a close look at Washington’s bold-faced names as they try to get their bearings on the post-Trump (and possibly pre-Trump) landscape. And it will introduce readers to the behind-the-scenes players — MAGA pilgrims and Resistance flamekeepers and shapeshifting veterans — who believe they know what Washington, and America, must do if they’re going to survive, or even thrive.
Trump’s arrival in Washington represented a big break in how the city operated. He surrounded himself with outsiders; power structures reorganized around those who knew him or his family and those who could flatter and influence his base. He changed the way the game was played, only it wasn’t actually a game at all. When pro-Trump elements both inside and outside of government plotted to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election, the Capitol became a combat zone, then a military fortress.
It was, to put it lightly, a destabilizing time. But how much did the Trump years really change Washington? Has Joe Biden’s presidency heralded a return to normal, as many had hoped? What did ‘normal’ mean before Trump, and what do people think it means now?
The Big Break will follow a cast of D.C. characters in search of answers to these questions. They are a diverse crew—a pollster with a gambling habit, an oil heiress with a big heart, a cowboy lobbyist, a Republican kingmaker who decided to love Trump and his right-hand man who decided he couldn’t any longer. They all share at least one thing in They had seen their country go through a Big Break, and they’d come to get theirs.
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 6, 2023
96 people are currently reading
1040 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
Read
March 4, 2024I got anecdotes aplenty after reading The Big Break.
Aaron Schock embezzling campaign funds to go see Katy Perry (while somehow pretending to be straight)? Check. Matt Schlapp getting a bit Schlappy in a weirdly dudebro way with assistants? Check. The number of DC lanyard dorks absolutely zooted on drugs? Check. What can I say, let’s call it DC TMZ.
As Godspeed You Black Emperor used to say, “the car is on fire, and there’s no driver at the wheel.” This is the frantic, Regular Car Reviews style review of said car on fire.
Aaron Schock embezzling campaign funds to go see Katy Perry (while somehow pretending to be straight)? Check. Matt Schlapp getting a bit Schlappy in a weirdly dudebro way with assistants? Check. The number of DC lanyard dorks absolutely zooted on drugs? Check. What can I say, let’s call it DC TMZ.
As Godspeed You Black Emperor used to say, “the car is on fire, and there’s no driver at the wheel.” This is the frantic, Regular Car Reviews style review of said car on fire.
February 28, 2024
A fine bit of small-scale reporting from the heart of insanity that is politics. Pretty well-written, with a diverse and entertaining (if occasionally creepy) cast of characters - for me, the most illuminating were the bits on those who latched onto politics for personal profit, and how that played out for them. Still, kudos for Mr. Terris for making me care, at least a bit, for (almost) all of them. This book has a lot of heart.
Second reading - done & done.
Second reading - done & done.
June 26, 2023
3.5 stars
An interesting picture of politics today. I liked getting to read about the people Terris profiled, I thought he did a good job showing who they are and how they affected DC and it affected them.
I would occasionally get bored while reading this, but I think that’s more of something subjective since I don’t love nonfiction. It also took me a while to get used to seeing all the different names, and since stories about a single person were spread throughout the book (since it’s mostly chronological order) I would often forget the details of a particular person by the time it got back to them.
Overall this was pretty good and I think anyone into politics/political gossip would want to read.
An interesting picture of politics today. I liked getting to read about the people Terris profiled, I thought he did a good job showing who they are and how they affected DC and it affected them.
I would occasionally get bored while reading this, but I think that’s more of something subjective since I don’t love nonfiction. It also took me a while to get used to seeing all the different names, and since stories about a single person were spread throughout the book (since it’s mostly chronological order) I would often forget the details of a particular person by the time it got back to them.
Overall this was pretty good and I think anyone into politics/political gossip would want to read.
February 6, 2025
Nawet dla osób obytych i zainteresowanych polityką amerykańską ta książka będzie trudna. Czytając ją miałam wrażenie, że została napisana tylko dla waszyngtońskich elit, a autor mimo iż miał dostęp do ciekawych rozmówców i rozmówczyń nie chciał albo nie był w stanie pokazać szerszego kontekstu i pozostał na etapie plotek i intryg. Doceniam realizm opisu świata lobbystów, sondaży, politycznych zakładów i personelu z obsługi Kongresu. Niestety polskie tłumaczenie utrudniało czytanie :(
partial
July 10, 2023I listened to maybe 20% before giving up. The author is earnestly in search of some good stories to tell in DC in the wake of Trump but comes up way short, likely through no fault of his own. The grabby, sad, unpatriotic people he profiles here are not interesting and I didn’t learn much I didn’t already know about professional DC grappling with the Trump vortex.
August 20, 2023
Enjoyed the juice gossip about a shady “pollster” but not sure what the point of the book was.
July 31, 2023
A Review of the Audiobook
Published in June of 2023 by Twelve.
Read by Tim Andres Pabon.
Duration: 9 hours, 32 minutes.
Unabridged.
Ben Terris offers up a collection of stories about a few of the people that casual political observers have never heard of. I regularly watch the Sunday morning political shows and listen to political podcasts and I'd only heard of 4 of the people featured in this book, and only 1 of them by name.
That, of course, is the point of the book - a look at the movers and shakers below the obvious level of movers and shakers. Some move and shake a whole lot in the world of Washington politics, some barely do any moving at all, and some used to move and shake a whole lot but now have been sidelined by scandal.
Terris looks at people like Matt Schlapp, who is the head of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) - the travelling roadshow of right wing politics. Schlapp is an example of a hyper-connected mover and shaker in the book. But, he also looks at people with less influence like a person that runs a website for staff members on Capitol Hill who want to complain about pay and working hours, members of Congress that fart during staff meetings and some that are a little too grabby with the help.
Some of these are compelling stories, some are not. For example, I was not particularly impressed with one of the stories that he started with - a young, idealistic staff member who thought he would make a profound political statement by resigning and then sneaking back into his boss's office (Diane Feinstein) at night and smoking a joint in her chair while recording himself on video. I thought this was a fairly pathetic attempt at protest and I felt pity this young former staffer rather than being impressed by his actions.
The only person that I knew by name was Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster and advisor. Luntsz's specialty is coming up with more politically advantageous wording. He is credited with coming up with the renaming of the estate tax as the "death tax" and global warming as "climate change." Luntz used to do a lot on work on TV on CBS and Fox discussing his polls.
The first part of the book was okay (3 stars), the middle part drug a bit (2 stars) and the last part was pretty good (4 stars.) Do all of the math and that makes it a 3 star book for me.
Published in June of 2023 by Twelve.
Read by Tim Andres Pabon.
Duration: 9 hours, 32 minutes.
Unabridged.
Ben Terris offers up a collection of stories about a few of the people that casual political observers have never heard of. I regularly watch the Sunday morning political shows and listen to political podcasts and I'd only heard of 4 of the people featured in this book, and only 1 of them by name.
That, of course, is the point of the book - a look at the movers and shakers below the obvious level of movers and shakers. Some move and shake a whole lot in the world of Washington politics, some barely do any moving at all, and some used to move and shake a whole lot but now have been sidelined by scandal.
Terris looks at people like Matt Schlapp, who is the head of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) - the travelling roadshow of right wing politics. Schlapp is an example of a hyper-connected mover and shaker in the book. But, he also looks at people with less influence like a person that runs a website for staff members on Capitol Hill who want to complain about pay and working hours, members of Congress that fart during staff meetings and some that are a little too grabby with the help.
Some of these are compelling stories, some are not. For example, I was not particularly impressed with one of the stories that he started with - a young, idealistic staff member who thought he would make a profound political statement by resigning and then sneaking back into his boss's office (Diane Feinstein) at night and smoking a joint in her chair while recording himself on video. I thought this was a fairly pathetic attempt at protest and I felt pity this young former staffer rather than being impressed by his actions.
The only person that I knew by name was Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster and advisor. Luntsz's specialty is coming up with more politically advantageous wording. He is credited with coming up with the renaming of the estate tax as the "death tax" and global warming as "climate change." Luntz used to do a lot on work on TV on CBS and Fox discussing his polls.
The first part of the book was okay (3 stars), the middle part drug a bit (2 stars) and the last part was pretty good (4 stars.) Do all of the math and that makes it a 3 star book for me.
November 9, 2023
Terris's success here is following a bunch of DC grifters around who overestimate their own intelligence and simply letting them talk uninterrupted. This is wildly effective. The whole book is a giant exercise in schadenfreude, whether it's following right-wing Schlappland or following that friendless dweeb with an uncontrolled gambling problem, Sean McElwee. (McElwee's polls, by the way, have always been bad, and his outing as a hack took way too long.) The sentences these people vomited up to a reporter on-the-record are insane. The irony of McElwee saying "it's not illegal if you do it over the phone" and thinking it's such smart advice while he is actively saying it to someone who is going to print it in a book is almost too perfect. These are all very stupid people who think they're smart and their unfiltered thoughts are an entertaining read. There are also sincere, net good people interviewed which breaks up the cynicism just enough. I can't tell you what the point or purpose of this book is, but this is the rare instance where that's a positive, because it doesn't really matter.
October 29, 2023
Ben Terris decides to take on the modern world of Washington D.C. After the 2016 election, the shifty business dealings of a sleazy New York businessman weren't implemented by Trump alone. In his rise he drew on shady characters of all sorts to descend upon the capital in a sort of corruption goldrush. Since 2020, these practices may not be as prevalent as during the Trump years but yet they still persist (as if they weren't also prevalent pre Trump as well).
While politicians have always been corrupt, the Trump era definitely is a special case. There's more than enough justification to write a book like this, unfortunately I don't think it was the best effort that could have been made. This is no Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Maybe in time a future audience can look back at this time period with more information and analysis but as this book covers events of the last 5-7 years (focusing on the post covid era predominantly) I found it to be too fresh a course of events to really reflect on at this point.
Terris delivers a lot of information on a wide cast of colorful characters in Washington, almost to a fault. This book is filled with many brief chapters (most under 10 pages). that bounce from one event or person to the next. Throughout the book Terris circles back to various stories but ultimately I felt like a lot was mentioned and very little was said. This is kind of the case of any contemporary nonfiction book on a niche subject and I'd direct this issue more towards the editor or publisher, as I'd imagine Terris would want to tell things in more detail if he was given more liberties.
While there were sections I enjoyed in this book, I found most to be a bore. A lot of gossipy drama about shitty people. This book would go over well with those who enjoy reality TV show drama but these are real people who are running our government. It's just frustrating and frightening to have to keep focus on. My opinion on politics didn't change one way or the other reading this. Democrat, Republican they're all corrupt cretins who's only motivation is reelection and the all mighty dollar. I guess it was interesting to hear how they've updated their corruption in the modern era but beyond that there wasn't much new to glean from this.
I did find the sections on Sam Bankman-Fried to be interesting but it wasn't as if this story was given a proper framing to provide an audience with a decent context for his rise and downfall. Granted this isn't a book on SBF but that kind of context would offer a lot more to the overall narrative that was attempted here. I felt like I was able to follow along mainly due to my own previous knowledge of his story. I found the "dear white staffers" story around Jamarcus most memorable but that was mainly due to how outrageous it is and how surprised I was that I wasn't previously aware of it.
The ending has a very "the next generation will save us" tired message as it highlights young people as being some of the few to have a conscious in congress. As someone nearing retirement from the "young person" title I can tell you we are tired of hearing this. The young people who do get a chance to hold positions in politics are put through the ringer and pushed out before they even get a chance, mainly by the middle age fogeys who uphold the status quo whether they realize they are doing so or not.
It will be decades before we see a zoomer president and they probably won't be the Greta Thunberg revolutionary people imagine. If SBF is any indicator, people of any age can be corrupt, greedy, immoral, etc. Instead of waiting for the next generation to grow up and act exactly like the generations before them how about people of all ages realize something needs to change and make the steps to hold those in power accountable now?
While politicians have always been corrupt, the Trump era definitely is a special case. There's more than enough justification to write a book like this, unfortunately I don't think it was the best effort that could have been made. This is no Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Maybe in time a future audience can look back at this time period with more information and analysis but as this book covers events of the last 5-7 years (focusing on the post covid era predominantly) I found it to be too fresh a course of events to really reflect on at this point.
Terris delivers a lot of information on a wide cast of colorful characters in Washington, almost to a fault. This book is filled with many brief chapters (most under 10 pages). that bounce from one event or person to the next. Throughout the book Terris circles back to various stories but ultimately I felt like a lot was mentioned and very little was said. This is kind of the case of any contemporary nonfiction book on a niche subject and I'd direct this issue more towards the editor or publisher, as I'd imagine Terris would want to tell things in more detail if he was given more liberties.
While there were sections I enjoyed in this book, I found most to be a bore. A lot of gossipy drama about shitty people. This book would go over well with those who enjoy reality TV show drama but these are real people who are running our government. It's just frustrating and frightening to have to keep focus on. My opinion on politics didn't change one way or the other reading this. Democrat, Republican they're all corrupt cretins who's only motivation is reelection and the all mighty dollar. I guess it was interesting to hear how they've updated their corruption in the modern era but beyond that there wasn't much new to glean from this.
I did find the sections on Sam Bankman-Fried to be interesting but it wasn't as if this story was given a proper framing to provide an audience with a decent context for his rise and downfall. Granted this isn't a book on SBF but that kind of context would offer a lot more to the overall narrative that was attempted here. I felt like I was able to follow along mainly due to my own previous knowledge of his story. I found the "dear white staffers" story around Jamarcus most memorable but that was mainly due to how outrageous it is and how surprised I was that I wasn't previously aware of it.
The ending has a very "the next generation will save us" tired message as it highlights young people as being some of the few to have a conscious in congress. As someone nearing retirement from the "young person" title I can tell you we are tired of hearing this. The young people who do get a chance to hold positions in politics are put through the ringer and pushed out before they even get a chance, mainly by the middle age fogeys who uphold the status quo whether they realize they are doing so or not.
It will be decades before we see a zoomer president and they probably won't be the Greta Thunberg revolutionary people imagine. If SBF is any indicator, people of any age can be corrupt, greedy, immoral, etc. Instead of waiting for the next generation to grow up and act exactly like the generations before them how about people of all ages realize something needs to change and make the steps to hold those in power accountable now?
December 16, 2023
I would call this one entertaining if it wasn’t so horrifying! Slight exaggeration there, but Terris introduces us to a quirky circus (a quirkus?) of influencers and characters and shysters who are waaay closer to Washington decision makers than normal voters like you and me are. Are they fallout from the Trump years, or is DC always like this? You decide.
His writing style is exceptionally taut and amusing. Quite a trip!
His writing style is exceptionally taut and amusing. Quite a trip!
August 21, 2023
I was really intrigued by the title of this one, and I absolutely appreciate Ben’s journalistic talent, but this was a really weird read to me. I was hoping for a different angle on the political scene in DC and this had moments of great potential, but instead it came across as random stories and lacked a thread tying everything together. It felt like a podcast instead of a book.
November 16, 2023
thought it was well written but it got very very repetitive and seemed to lose any story halfway through.
makes me very glad i do not work in politics anymore.
makes me very glad i do not work in politics anymore.
January 3, 2024
What could be more fun than gossip about this powerful weirdos that inhabit DC?
June 8, 2023
Honestly, i hate reading about washington, but i couldn’t put it down?! turns out washington is really just like a bravo show. highly recommend for a fun summer read that also makes you smarter.
October 8, 2023
Medium strength tea, adequate temperature.
June 22, 2023
I'm biased (Ben is a friend and colleague), but this is the best book I've read about Washington. His eye is always keen, and though he's sometimes cutting, he's always compassionate in the ways that he interacts with and writes about his subjects.
June 20, 2023
Really gossy and not particularly substantive in a lot of ways; this is very much a high light if the kind of weirdos that have taken hold in the once stiff upper lipped halls of Congress.
Quite entertaining though, and it is very interesting to read about our nations politics through the lens of figures that otherwise would likely have gone unwritten about.
Quite entertaining though, and it is very interesting to read about our nations politics through the lens of figures that otherwise would likely have gone unwritten about.
March 15, 2024
This was so interesting, especially after having just visiting DC last summer. I had a hard time keeping track of all the “characters” since the book followed them chronologically and would go back and forth between them. But overall, it was an interesting and good read (and this is coming from someone who struggles to read nonfiction).
August 4, 2023
There was a lot to not like about this book but the question is if the ick factor was due to the people the author profiled or the fact he’s covering DC like it really is now. The latter I think is what’s true and it’s scary.
June 12, 2023
Terrific in-depth reporting of fascinating albeit sketchy DC characters.
July 22, 2023
Thank you, NetGalley, for granting me a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind follows a ragtag group of Republican and Democratic operatives who rose to power in Trump's America and are now trying to navigate their way through Washington after his 2020 loss. Most of these names will only be familiar to the extremely online, but their stories are as wacky and wild as the title promises: the wunderkind pollster whose gambling and crypto ties ruined his career, the failed mayoral candidate-turned-foreign diplomat, the beleaguered Diane Feinstein staffer who finally lost it, the billionaire progressive trust fund baby, and all those guys at CPAC clawing at each other's faces. For the first half of the story, author Ben Terris adopts a detached, almost whimsical tone that transforms him into a sort of modern day Forrest Gump: keeping his commentary mostly to himself, he is there to witness the zaniness of this bizarre era in American politics, and lets the antics of his subjects speak for themselves, making for an incredibly entertaining read.
Then something changes during the second half of the book. Terris--or more likely, his publisher--suddenly develops a fear that the audience may interpret this detachment as unspoken approval, and adjusts accordingly. Like, did you know that the MAGA capitol riot was really bad? And all of these former Trump acolytes, why aren't they self-flagellating more? I nearly spat out my drink when Terris assured us that the summer 2020 protests were "overwhelmingly peaceful" (newsflash: it doesn't matter if 90% of the protests were peaceful if the other 10% led to thousands of people being robbed/attacked/killed/or having their property set on fire). Because this book is focused purely on political power rather than cultural power, I can understand why some of the crazier figures on the left weren't mentioned, but even still, the narrative feels lopsided. (Terris might have pushed back just a tiny bit more, for instance, when the billionaire progressive activist lamented the struggles of being an heiress.)
But the biggest issue with The Big Break is its general lack of purpose. If this really was just a Forrest Gump-style "shit happens" travelogue, then perhaps this could be overlooked, but it isn't. The book lacks any sort of thesis statement beyond "hey, look at these assholes." There's no real analysis or reflection on what any of this means for the country. Maybe Trump will rise again--or maybe, seeing as he's pushing 80, he'll kick the bucket and the movement will stop in its tracks with no clear successor. Who knows? But Terris gives us no real reason for why we should care about any of the people profiled here beyond as a way to pass a slow afternoon. That's more fitting for an op-ed than a bestseller.
The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind follows a ragtag group of Republican and Democratic operatives who rose to power in Trump's America and are now trying to navigate their way through Washington after his 2020 loss. Most of these names will only be familiar to the extremely online, but their stories are as wacky and wild as the title promises: the wunderkind pollster whose gambling and crypto ties ruined his career, the failed mayoral candidate-turned-foreign diplomat, the beleaguered Diane Feinstein staffer who finally lost it, the billionaire progressive trust fund baby, and all those guys at CPAC clawing at each other's faces. For the first half of the story, author Ben Terris adopts a detached, almost whimsical tone that transforms him into a sort of modern day Forrest Gump: keeping his commentary mostly to himself, he is there to witness the zaniness of this bizarre era in American politics, and lets the antics of his subjects speak for themselves, making for an incredibly entertaining read.
Then something changes during the second half of the book. Terris--or more likely, his publisher--suddenly develops a fear that the audience may interpret this detachment as unspoken approval, and adjusts accordingly. Like, did you know that the MAGA capitol riot was really bad? And all of these former Trump acolytes, why aren't they self-flagellating more? I nearly spat out my drink when Terris assured us that the summer 2020 protests were "overwhelmingly peaceful" (newsflash: it doesn't matter if 90% of the protests were peaceful if the other 10% led to thousands of people being robbed/attacked/killed/or having their property set on fire). Because this book is focused purely on political power rather than cultural power, I can understand why some of the crazier figures on the left weren't mentioned, but even still, the narrative feels lopsided. (Terris might have pushed back just a tiny bit more, for instance, when the billionaire progressive activist lamented the struggles of being an heiress.)
But the biggest issue with The Big Break is its general lack of purpose. If this really was just a Forrest Gump-style "shit happens" travelogue, then perhaps this could be overlooked, but it isn't. The book lacks any sort of thesis statement beyond "hey, look at these assholes." There's no real analysis or reflection on what any of this means for the country. Maybe Trump will rise again--or maybe, seeing as he's pushing 80, he'll kick the bucket and the movement will stop in its tracks with no clear successor. Who knows? But Terris gives us no real reason for why we should care about any of the people profiled here beyond as a way to pass a slow afternoon. That's more fitting for an op-ed than a bestseller.
January 8, 2024
This book was on a very interesting topic and one that is not covered often - how the behind-the-scenes players work in Washington - staffers, lobbyists, pollsters, etc. It consists of a bunch of chapters focusing on different people who are followed throughout the book. It read more like a series of columns than a fully intertwined narrative, so I was not surprised when I learned that the author is a Washington Post Style page columnist.
There was a lot of focus on the players' personalities, which made it engaging and easy-to-read. But in the end I wanted a little more. I still don't really understand how they all work, although I do know a bit about thier conflicts with each other. I know the people he profiles agreed to be on the record, but there were a few things that made me uncomfortable because they seemed a bit invasive of the people profiled.
This book is a good introduction on how Washington "really" works. I would like to follow up with something more in-depth.
A couple of snippets I enjoyed: When Jennifer, a Tim Scott staffer, was discussing her job working on the tarmac at Dulles. She said that the job: "humbled me. . . Her coworkers at Dulles came from all over the world - people, she said, who truly believed they'd reached the land of milk and honey by getting this job - and it made Jennifer realize how much of a spoiled American brat she had been to think she was too good for it." (p. 81) - I can never be reminded of this too much as I get bogged down in my own problems.
Pablo Manriquez, who had a job killing rats in a DC bar before moving into a job of journalism, writing for the Latino Rebels. He said he liked to focus on the subaltern (people excluded from the hierarchy of power). "covering the subaltern meant writing about the cafeteria workers, the custodians, the immigrants around the country waiting for reform, and the underpaid and overworked junior staffers who make legislation happen (or more often, not happen). (p. 83) - I think about these people often as we face yet another possible government shutdown.
A reminder about how much the public is manipulated by practically everyone in politics, business and media. Example - Trump wanting to have TVs made in the US. "Samsung didn't start manufacturing televisions in the United States, but they happily allowed Trump to take credit for a new appliance manufacturing plant that had been in the works since before the 2016 election." (p. 123)
The human side of Kevin McCarthy, who was one of the only people to check in daily on pollster Frank Luntz and making sure Luntz was following doctors orders when he was very ill. (p. 197).
Sleazy Sean McElwee had a good point about pursuing more moderate objectives (or being modpilled, as his staff liked to call it) because "the most progressive thing you could do was actually make progress." - p. 243
There was a lot of focus on the players' personalities, which made it engaging and easy-to-read. But in the end I wanted a little more. I still don't really understand how they all work, although I do know a bit about thier conflicts with each other. I know the people he profiles agreed to be on the record, but there were a few things that made me uncomfortable because they seemed a bit invasive of the people profiled.
This book is a good introduction on how Washington "really" works. I would like to follow up with something more in-depth.
A couple of snippets I enjoyed: When Jennifer, a Tim Scott staffer, was discussing her job working on the tarmac at Dulles. She said that the job: "humbled me. . . Her coworkers at Dulles came from all over the world - people, she said, who truly believed they'd reached the land of milk and honey by getting this job - and it made Jennifer realize how much of a spoiled American brat she had been to think she was too good for it." (p. 81) - I can never be reminded of this too much as I get bogged down in my own problems.
Pablo Manriquez, who had a job killing rats in a DC bar before moving into a job of journalism, writing for the Latino Rebels. He said he liked to focus on the subaltern (people excluded from the hierarchy of power). "covering the subaltern meant writing about the cafeteria workers, the custodians, the immigrants around the country waiting for reform, and the underpaid and overworked junior staffers who make legislation happen (or more often, not happen). (p. 83) - I think about these people often as we face yet another possible government shutdown.
A reminder about how much the public is manipulated by practically everyone in politics, business and media. Example - Trump wanting to have TVs made in the US. "Samsung didn't start manufacturing televisions in the United States, but they happily allowed Trump to take credit for a new appliance manufacturing plant that had been in the works since before the 2016 election." (p. 123)
The human side of Kevin McCarthy, who was one of the only people to check in daily on pollster Frank Luntz and making sure Luntz was following doctors orders when he was very ill. (p. 197).
Sleazy Sean McElwee had a good point about pursuing more moderate objectives (or being modpilled, as his staff liked to call it) because "the most progressive thing you could do was actually make progress." - p. 243
November 6, 2025
Interesujące podejście do amerykańskiej polityki, chociaż zbyt często skręcające w kierunku ekscentrycznej ciekawostki, a nie realnej diagnozy sytuacji w Ameryce. Podoba mi się podejście Bena Terrisa, który krąży wokół grupy waszyngtońskich postaci, o których nie mówi się na codzień. To opowieść o lobbystach, administracji, sondażystach i ludziach odpowiedzialnych za zbieranie funduszy - wszystkich tych, którzy kształtują świat polityki, a którzy pozostają w cieniu. Autor sięga po dwie strony sceny politycznej, skupiając się na specyficznym okresie po prezydenturze Trumpa. Jego diagnozy są wyjątkowo trafne: o Demokratach mówi jako o tych, którzy nie potrafią znaleźć kierunku, skręcających w stronę umiarkowanych opinii, jednoczonych jedynie w walce z Trumpem; Republikanów jako zbiór prawdziwych oszołomów i po prostu cyników, którzy dali się podporządkować ruchowi MAGA. "Waszyngtońska gorączka" to z pewnością świetny kontekst dla współczesnej, amerykańskiej polityki, ale też nieszczególnie angażujący reportaż, taki, w którym chaotyczna, pocięta forma nie zawsze działa. Niektóre z postaci, które portretuje Terris, jak Schlappowie bądź Robert Stryk, są rzeczywiście fascynujące, inne nie do końca, przez co każdy kolejny rozdział to trochę loteria. Chyba wolałbym przeczytać trochę pełniejszy, bardziej skoncentrowany reportaż o tej tematyce, ale nie zmienia to faktu, że "Waszyngtońska gorączka" naprawdę mi się podobała i lubię ją jako uzupełnienie innych lektur dotyczących amerykańskiej polityki, jakie czytałem.
June 24, 2023
Ben Terris has an interesting project. The idea was that instead of focusing his attention on the main political players, he would instead look at the minor figures behind the scenes. What emerges is a set of loosely connected biographies about conference organizers, pollsters, political staffers, fundraisers, and similar folks. Terris is a skilled storyteller and has a knack for revealing the right details to provide insight into a person. You learn all about Frank Luntz's memorabilia and who is dating a cryptocurrency fan. If you're into that sort of gossip, you might find something to like in this book. However, if you're looking for any deeper political commentary, you definitely won't find it.
I might have been able to tolerate the "celebrity gossip" approach if he had included a wider range of subjects. However, with perhaps just a couple of exceptions, he has chosen to write about terrible people. One of his stories is about a Republican consultant running around the world attempting to get contracts from dictators. At one point, he details their "break up" over text, which is so detailed that it is almost embarrassing at moments. If you're going to write about terrible people, you need to combine that with some larger observations about our political culture. You can't write about some of the worst folks in Washington without offering any insight into what they reflect about the place.
I might have been able to tolerate the "celebrity gossip" approach if he had included a wider range of subjects. However, with perhaps just a couple of exceptions, he has chosen to write about terrible people. One of his stories is about a Republican consultant running around the world attempting to get contracts from dictators. At one point, he details their "break up" over text, which is so detailed that it is almost embarrassing at moments. If you're going to write about terrible people, you need to combine that with some larger observations about our political culture. You can't write about some of the worst folks in Washington without offering any insight into what they reflect about the place.
September 5, 2023
I’ll admit I am not 100% sure what this book is actually about — and the subtitle doesn’t really shed much light. And I’m not 100% sure why Terris decided to focus on the characters he did — a progressive pollster with a gambling problem, a zillionaire heiress who wants to fund progressive causes, a couple of folks who run CPAC, a lobbyist who runs afoul of numerous ethics concerns, and a idealistic staffer for Dianne Feinstein who thinks his boss has lost her marbles. I think he might be trying to show how Washington works in post-Trump America and it kinda works. And man, is it entertaining! Terris just gets to know these people and tells us what they tell him — including, and maybe this is a bit of the journalist putting himself in the story, when one of them becomes unhinged and unloads all over Terris for seemingly no reason. Again, I am not sure what point Terris is trying to make, or if there’s any actual point at all. But I’ve read a ton of reporting and memoirs on Washington DC and this is unusual and extremely compelling. This isn’t going to change your mind about whatever you feel about American politics and it’s not gonna reveal any huge secrets. But it will give you a better understanding of how people in Washington do what they do … and why they decide that there’s something they’d rather do instead.
Grade: A
Grade: A
October 4, 2023
Some reviewers downgrade this book as a gossipy collection of stories about the mostly unknown people a level or two down from the major political faces. The say the book doesn't really "have a point."
But getting to see and understand the workings and dysfunctions, the honorable and unsavory motivations of the people below the surface -- that's the point. It informs the critical thinking we can apply to hearing "the news."
It's pollsters, staffers, donors, advisors, PACs, and gamblers, all trying to influence policy, make money (which can mean switching sides), keep a job, be at the best parties, and even trying to do some good. It's people so deeply invested in Washington, that although it can be literally bad for their health, they can't leave it behind. It's progressives, moderates, and conservatives, who can still shape-shift.
The book is generally non-partisan with so many characters at times that it's hard to keep track of who we're hearing about. But several show up as threads throughout the book -- especially one conservative and one liberal, flaws and all, and these help tie it together.
The political analysis comes from learning about the people Ben Terris embeds deeply with to relay the essence of their thinking. For example:
-- The Trump era was proof that there was a version of Washington that an influencer could be taken seriously by people who were willing to spend serious money to advance their interests. You could potentially stay in the game forever. But another lesson of the Trump years was that no version of Washington was permanent and that finding your way to the main stage was no guarantee that you wouldn't end up in the sideshow.
-- Marcella Mulholland (Sean McElwee's number 2 at the Democratic polling organization Data for Progress) was part of a vanguard of young progressives that seemed to be the future of the Democratic party while also being part of its present. Maybe she had been mod-pilled as she put it, awakened to the benefits of moderating one's politics in the interest of making incremental, but real, change. Sean had made a compelling case that the most progressive thing you could do was actually make progress. And Marcella had seen the data about which ideas were popular and which were not.
If you're into politics and want to understand "the rest of the story" better, The Big Break is a GoodRead.
But getting to see and understand the workings and dysfunctions, the honorable and unsavory motivations of the people below the surface -- that's the point. It informs the critical thinking we can apply to hearing "the news."
It's pollsters, staffers, donors, advisors, PACs, and gamblers, all trying to influence policy, make money (which can mean switching sides), keep a job, be at the best parties, and even trying to do some good. It's people so deeply invested in Washington, that although it can be literally bad for their health, they can't leave it behind. It's progressives, moderates, and conservatives, who can still shape-shift.
The book is generally non-partisan with so many characters at times that it's hard to keep track of who we're hearing about. But several show up as threads throughout the book -- especially one conservative and one liberal, flaws and all, and these help tie it together.
The political analysis comes from learning about the people Ben Terris embeds deeply with to relay the essence of their thinking. For example:
-- The Trump era was proof that there was a version of Washington that an influencer could be taken seriously by people who were willing to spend serious money to advance their interests. You could potentially stay in the game forever. But another lesson of the Trump years was that no version of Washington was permanent and that finding your way to the main stage was no guarantee that you wouldn't end up in the sideshow.
-- Marcella Mulholland (Sean McElwee's number 2 at the Democratic polling organization Data for Progress) was part of a vanguard of young progressives that seemed to be the future of the Democratic party while also being part of its present. Maybe she had been mod-pilled as she put it, awakened to the benefits of moderating one's politics in the interest of making incremental, but real, change. Sean had made a compelling case that the most progressive thing you could do was actually make progress. And Marcella had seen the data about which ideas were popular and which were not.
If you're into politics and want to understand "the rest of the story" better, The Big Break is a GoodRead.
February 3, 2024
Again, audio only so not counting this as something I read. I'm glad I didn't buy this but I did find this to be a funny current-events sendup of a bunch of DC strivers during the micro-era of the early Brandon administration (I kid I kid) from 2021 to 2022. Basically a bunch of goofs, spoofs, and flim-flam operations went down between Jan 6 2021 and The Fall of the House of Bankman-Fried in November 2022. While a lot of these schemes are hilarious to read about their ongoing relevance is unclear to me. Ben Terris certainly could carve out a Mark Leibovich-esque career for himself, I don't mean that as an insult. Lastly I should say I LOVED the George Anthony "Kitara Ravache" Devolder Santos jump-scare at the very end. In some ways he is a better object lesson about contemporary DC than any of the goons in this book but hey, deadlines are deadlines, and people like Sean McElwee, Robert Stryk and Gabe Bankman-Fried are all pretty ridiculous on their own.
August 5, 2023
This book wasn't exactly what I'd expected. I'd expected an analysis of how the Trump era, and the Trump staff, had changed the culture in Washington and in how governance worked.
There was a little bit of that.
But more, it was a narrative of the dysfunctional political systems operating during that era, focusing on a few characters. And it felt like the stories that were being told were stories that could have happened during any administration, regardless of party.
Maybe that was the point. However, I also know (believe) that somehow, someway, the Trump administration (and its characters) were different...more self-absorbed....less interested in the common good...and I was hoping to hear how that perspective had changed (not for the better) how governance and Washington worked.
As it was, the characters and stories were not that compelling.
There was a little bit of that.
But more, it was a narrative of the dysfunctional political systems operating during that era, focusing on a few characters. And it felt like the stories that were being told were stories that could have happened during any administration, regardless of party.
Maybe that was the point. However, I also know (believe) that somehow, someway, the Trump administration (and its characters) were different...more self-absorbed....less interested in the common good...and I was hoping to hear how that perspective had changed (not for the better) how governance and Washington worked.
As it was, the characters and stories were not that compelling.
July 30, 2023
I wanted this to be better than it was, I think. Rather than a cohesive narrative, it's more of a character study of various people that Terris spoke to on all sides of the prism in Washington and how their lives have changed during the Trump/Biden transition. While the stories are interesting, I think I was looking for a little more analysis or "what is the point?"ism. Yes, Terris spoke to a bunch of people who are real characters on interesting missions, but I don't really know what I learned otherwise. Read if you're looking for a window into the type of capital C Characters who inhabit Washington (which is, I should say, very well written). However, if you're looking for a deeper meditation, that will be elsewhere.
October 8, 2023
Interesting and candid profile of some lesser-discussed Washington players. I appreciated that this book shined a light on people/places/industries that I haven't really had the chance to consider, like high-up lobbyists, campaign financing and polling, and conservative punditry.
The events of this book end as House Republicans were trying to elect a Speaker. And when I finished the book, said Speaker is no longer the Speaker (sorry Kevin!). So the relevance of this book will continue to diminish over time, but I found it a really helpful snapshot of the setup of this current Congress. Would recommend this to any staffers who are new to the Hill and trying to get a sense of the political activities that happen outside of Congress.
The events of this book end as House Republicans were trying to elect a Speaker. And when I finished the book, said Speaker is no longer the Speaker (sorry Kevin!). So the relevance of this book will continue to diminish over time, but I found it a really helpful snapshot of the setup of this current Congress. Would recommend this to any staffers who are new to the Hill and trying to get a sense of the political activities that happen outside of Congress.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews