American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Andrew M. Cuomo (Narrator)

Governor Andrew Cuomo tells the riveting story of how he took charge in the fight against COVID-19 as New York became the epicenter of the pandemic, offering hard-won lessons in leadership and his vision for the path forward.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Audiobook, Memoir, Autobiography, Biography

Audiobook

Published October 13, 2020

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live in California.
Gavin Newsom, our governor, issued a mandatory statewide ‘stay-at-home-order’ on March 19th, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I applaud our governor for taking quick action, when our Federal government wasn’t taking any.
Today is October 14, 2020. With over 221,559 deaths in the United States, and COVID-19 not even looking close to being a non-worry-issue yet, I’m still following the ‘stay-at-home’ guidelines.
During these pandemic-months, I never go a day without staying closely connected to the news...( New York Times, The Guardian, MNSBC, CNN, KGO radio,( our Bay Area local station), a little twitter, and a little Facebook. I’ve also read many political books.

One of my biggest daily ‘comfort-pleasures’ was watching Andrew Cuomo on TV during the early months of Covid-19. (as was for many Americans)
His daily Press Briefings on television was a blessing.
I became an instant Andrew Cuomo fan.
It was reassuring to feel as if we were getting crucial-truthful-needed information when trusted information, compassion, or leadership guidance certainly wasn’t coming from Trump or the White House administration.
Cuomo’s briefings were structured - informative - and personal.
This book had the same wonderful qualities that his briefings did:
structured, informative, truthful, personal.....and he was soooo darn comforting to listen to.

This Audiobook is outstanding and addicting ....it’s also the real deal....comforting and satisfying.
It should prove to be timeless and educational in years to come.
Cuomo is truthful - real - down-to-earth - and a refreshingly truthful politician.
He also claims to be controlling, emotional, vulnerable, a work-a-holic, and sometimes grouchy. He says he is funny, too ( I think he and his brother, Chris, enjoy their ‘funnies’ together more than we get to see when he is the acting governor)....but his funny-bone was imagined and occasionally felt with a smile by me.

While guiding New Yorkers, the rest of America, many of us couldn’t get enough of Cuomo’s leadership in his briefings. Just listening to him felt more soothing than not during the start of a new unknown reality - (daily living was and still is drastically shifted).
And how do we mourn so many people who have died is a question I’ve been sitting with.

Cuomo doesn’t shy away from any topic - or his opinions about Trump. He shared how New York was ambushed by the federal government; sabotaged by Trump himself.

Cuomo explained the extraordinary problem from taking a fragmented approach to managing covid, in the United States. Trump passed his responsibility to each of the governors around the country to make independent choices....rather than mandate a country-wide-shelter-in-place. No other country managed the coronavirus this way. We are still hurting from the horrific federal government’s mis-management.

Cuomo stepped up to the plate — brilliantly - when New Yorkers and the rest of America were craving truthful and helpful leadership.
He covers the day-by-day details of ‘everything’ covid in New York from the start of its threat in New York....(which became the epicenter of the pandemic)...to June, 2020.

There is so many reasons to applaud this book. It’s all in writing - - documented facts about the best ways to monitor our public health....and the failings of our crisis.
The safeguarding of the American people is clear: just look at the number of infections and deaths.

Cuomo talks about the need for unity, science facts, a competent government, and a unified community/country. American people are smart. We know this....and we still want to hear it.

Cuomo also shares about his father, mother, brother, sister, three daughters, *Captain*, ( his dog), his passion for fishing, ‘The New York Clean’, ( free hand sanitizers), seniors in nursing homes, ( the devastation loss of lives), a bus driver who died ( and Cuomo blames himself for making bus transportation ‘essential-work’)...

My heart continued to break and feel inspired ( both), throughout this book. The truth helps.

Cuomo shared about the many families hurting from being separated ( showing their love by ‘not’ visiting each other). Many things we already know and feel.....but hearing them acknowledged does something for our souls.
Mother’s Day was an example of the separations,....and we continue to hurt all these months later...( many people are still separated from loved ones).
The borders are closed, for example, between the U.S. and Canada ( for a few more days)....soon to be re-evaluated.... and we have a daughter living in Canada that we’ve been blocked from seeing. Understandable ....but not desirable.

Hearing ( again), about the failings of the unfolding of needed medical supplies and protective gear from the federal government, was and is still infuriating.

Trump wasn’t a picnic to work with, but Cuomo made wise choices dealing with him. He had to for pure survival needs.

Watching this type of history unfold in front of our eyes is MIND-BOGGLING. Reading this book was comforting ....even more so since watching Cuomo’s briefings. .....and living this life we all live.

Andrew Cuomo’s dedication, leadership, and contribution ( even with this book), is a remarkable gift.
He not only addresses Trump’s maddening wrongdoings....but shares solutions of what is needed to begin to flatten-the-curve of the Covid pandemic for our ‘entire’ country.

Andrew Cuomo.....is a Covid-American hero. Not because he didn’t make mistake, ....( there was no solution manual with clear steps to follow).... but he could be counted on to work as hard as humanly possible ‘for-the-people’......
......unlike Trump who only cares about self-serving himself.

“New York is living proof that LOVE wins”
.....Andrew Cuomo

Nov.3rd, Election Day, is around the corner. It’s countdown time....
May love prove to win over the evil we’ve seen the past 4 years....
And begin to heal our country.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is this fiction? It's written through such a skewed, psycho viewpoint, a book-length excuse and rationale for a shifty narcissist trying to cover up his tragically wrong decisions that led to the deaths of thousands. It's such a "sign of the times" that horrible NY Governor Cuomo would put out a book that paints himself as the hero of the Covid-19 panic instead of a murderer.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, I didn't read it. Just wanted to give this pile of shit a star rating. Fuck Cuomo and his so called "leadership" ... awful decisions after decisions have decimated NY. The fucking nerve of this guy to write a book and claim victory. Cuomo is proof that NY needs term limits for governor (currently in his third term and will be running for a fourth).

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

In case you were wondering how someone like Cuomo managed to crank out some drivel for personal profit after his poor handling of the coronavirus resulting in 33k covid-related deaths - more capita deaths than any other state in the US - 11k of those deaths in nursing home-related deaths due to his state directive that put virus-infected patients into nursing homes and compromised our most vulnerable. It becomes clear within the first chapter, he’s stoking his ego and distorting what actually took place in NY in early 2020 to present. The accounts presented in this book are no way near as factual as experienced by New Yorkers, such as myself. At one point, I was hoping he would admit fault on his poor governance that led to the nursing home deaths, but that never comes - all blame is deflected. Instead, it reads like Cuomo’s deranged diary, one with the tact and prose of a sociopath, who in no way should be patting himself on the back while a boarded up New York continues on the decline due to lack of governance and a draconian lockdown resulting 1 million and counting unemployed New Yorkers, skyrocketing homicide rates and the steady decline of a once great city.

[Sanjana Kumar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Delusional analysis from an idiot that severely mismanaged this crisis.

[Antigone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two questions arose in the minds of many Americans upon the publication of this book.

The first: Why crow about your success in managing New York's coronavirus outbreak when the pandemic isn't over yet? To some this seemed a bit precipitous. Governor Cuomo responds with his trademark pragmatism: Because there are things we learned then that you need to know now, while the surges are raging. However, if you were glued to his daily press conferences during that difficult time, as most of us were, then you already know the steps he took and why he took them. Here's where full transparency is a double-edged sword; it leaves you short of new wisdom to impart.

The second question is one that is often screamed, and sincerely thorny. Paraphrased: How could you even entertain the idea of profiting off the decisions you made - including the one that put senior citizens in harm's way by sending Covid patients back into nursing homes? The governor eventually addresses this, but again it's the same response he gave in those press conferences. And it's an inadequate response. It was then, it remains so now. No one cares that this was a policy practiced by the federal government. That path stinks of posturing, and this man - this pragmatic, transparent, successfully managing man - has to know it. If he has a better take on that moment in time, this was certainly the place to provide it. It is possible he does not.

The rest of Governor Cuomo's account is a long finger pointed at Donald Trump. It's addictive, this finger-pointing. Everyone's doing it. Still, it makes me sad to read it coming from him. Because this man gave me so much hope and so much information and so much emotional structure for the one hundred and eleven days he made it his business not to forget his constituency in lockdown. I kept looking and looking and looking for that man.

I couldn't find him here.

[Tiffani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost finished and all I can say is JANICE DEAN and NURSING HOME MURDERS DUE TO COVID IN NEW YORK. Reads like typical liberal, narcistic socialist mantra. Before anyone reads this, they should research all the people Cuomo mandated back to nursing homes with covid which infected and killed thousands of innocent elderly patients.

[Vader · Rating 1 out of 5]

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish

[Jessie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll say up front I didn't read this and am reviewing it anyway. I live in New York and with almost 5000 new cases in the state today, it's absolutely absurd that our governor wrote an entire book about how successfully he handled this while people were still dying. It's such an inappropriate thing to do.

[Bob Nolan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Considering the newly released information by Cuomo's aide who admitted that they hid the nursing home data so the feds wouldn't find out, I'm disgusted that Andrew Cuomo knew he sent many of our elderly to their deaths at the same time he was writing this book to brag about how great a job he had done on Covid.
Cuomo should be in prison, not collecting money from sales off of this book.

[Arthea J. Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the audio version of this so I could enjoy Andrew Cuomo’s voice. It was a reminder of the daily briefings I took a great deal of comfort in during the early days of the pandemic. I really don’t care if Gov. Cuomo is tooting his own horn. It’s helpful to hear how an organized attack on something so overwhelming could be waged. I live in the midwest and have watched 50 different approaches to handling the pandemic. So far, New York’s has been the most comprehensive and able to make adjustments just where/when needed. I’m happy to have Gov Cuomo document this even if it is self-congratulatory.

[Sami · Rating 1 out of 5]

Update 2/15/21: After the Cuomo nursing home cover-up, how did he have the audacity to tout his so-called leadership??? How absurd....

This book was, to be frank, okay. Perhaps this book will be revered a century from now when people are curious about this mysterious COVID-19 pandemic that rattled the world; people will, no doubt, love to read a memoir of a governor battling COVID-19 in the great state of New York. However, reading this in 2020 I feel like the book does not live up to its expectations. I was expecting lots of leadership lessons I can take away and apply to my life. That is not the case, however. I skimmed through much of the book since, for someone who is currently living through the pandemic, the events he mentioned are still fresh in the mind. (Though I'll admit that March 2020 doesn't even feel like it occurred in the same year. What is time?) Moreover, as it gets tedious reading about Trump's failures, I wish there was something we can take away like: how to deal with difficult people? Perhaps, I am being too harsh, but when the title states "leadership lessons" explicitly I want to read about leadership lessons.

I would not recommend this book.

[Dez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having lived through the events in TriBeCa NYC I find this an accurate account. There is no way to capture what it was really like but this book is A crucial historical record.

I watched the daily briefings and remember vividly thinking, he is talking to one person in particular. I even tweeted it. Turns out I was right.

[William Readey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Plastering his face on a book about how good he managed the crisis after killing thousands of senior citizens shows you the level of narcissism of this loser. His state is not even out of the woods and he wants make a fortune self-promoting. Disgusting.

[Zoë Hoffman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finally, I’ve written a review that SOMEWHAT sums up my thoughts about this DISASTER of a book. It’s far from perfect, but it will do.

In the past few months, I have come to the realization that so very often the people that claim to be the world’s biggest heroes, usually turn out to be the ones causing the most damage to society. You might think of Donald Trump. I think of Andrew Cuomo.

It’s no secret that this pandemic has exposed the unfortunate fact that so many of our nation’s leaders lack exactly what it requires to govern: leadership. We’ve been given a mixed bag when it comes to governors during this pandemic: some of them have shown a total abuse of power (Whitmer), some of them being hypocrites every chance they get (Newsom), and some of them have acted as if nothing is going on at all (Noem). Whether you agree or disagree with these leaders, I think we can all agree that New York governor Andrew Cuomo has perhaps proven himself to be the most controversial of them all. He’s been given the most coverage since March, thanks to New York being COVID’s favorite spot, and it seems that he’s certainly been enjoying the attention.

Despite the fact that New York has been dealing with, according to state officials and the mainstream media, an overwhelming death count, along with a dying economy and a largely depressed and jobless pack of citizens, Mr. Cuomo had plenty of time to write a 300+ page book. Honestly, the audacity this man has to act like he’s working day and night to provide for his citizens, and then proceed to destroy their lives AND all the meanwhile write a self-praising puff piece is... shocking.

American Crisis is nothing but a couple hundred pages of Cuomo praising his ‘efforts’ and babbling on about how horrible Trump is. We get it, everyone hates the president and you’re the savior of the world. I think my main issue is how much of a hero this man tries to make himself out to be. He never admits failure. Out of all of the pages he wrote, not one contains a sentence where he genuinely takes responsibility for some of the MAJOR mistakes that New York has made regarding COVID and the economy. Instead it’s just constant blaming the federal government. Yes, Trump has made some pretty stupid and ignorant decisions. But acting like everyone else is doing so much better is just intellectually dishonest.

This book does nothing to help me understand what went so wrong with COVID in New York and why they have been the ‘model state’. It’s instead a giant puff piece written to say ‘look at ME, I was the ONLY person who did ANYTHING that was REMOTELY right this year’. No offering solutions. Just talking the same old shit that Democrats have said this entire pandemic.

Anyways, enough with the rant. This book was a complete waste of 30 dollars, it might be the first political book I’ve ever bought that will go directly into the garbage instead of on the bookshelf. At least it can boast that much.

EDIT: after the new sexual harassment scandals that have come out about this man, I’m all the more disgusted by this book.

[Alex Wymore · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cuomo is perhaps the dumbest governor currently serving. I'd be surprised if he can even dress himself, let alone write a book. I have to assume most of this was ghost written. I could sum up the book as follows: kill tens of thousands of old people through incompetence, blame Trump, be a Democrat, bask in the free pass the media gave you.

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe if he had actually spent time governoring the state instead of writing a book on how "wonderful" he thinks he is the state of New York wouldn't be in a state of crisis. And just because he's an attorney doesn't give him the right to threaten those around him. Responsibility. Time to take some Mr. Coumo.

[O.V. Jayaram · Rating 1 out of 5]

The gall of this self-righteous, narcissistic loser to self-promote after killing thousands of nursing home residents, and amidst a huge resurgence of cases in his, is appalling. Pure drivel and delusional analysis of how he managed this crisis.

[Kim]

Though we’re still very much living through the COVID-19 pandemic, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is distilling the lessons he’s learned about leadership while navigating the crisis thus far. In his new book, he offers readers an in-depth look at his decision-making process as the pandemic first unfolded. Cuomo also shares what it has been like to interact with the White House in this time of catastrophe.

[These Violent Delights (Robin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*DISCLAIMER: I AM A PROUD NEW YORKER, JUST A CITIZEN NOT A F***ING PUBLICIST. I WAS NOT PAID/ASKED/TOLD/ETC TO GIVE THIS REVIEW*

*BEFORE YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT NEW YORK'S NURSING HOME DEATHS, DO SOME RESEARCH FIRST SO YOU DON'T SOUND LIKE AN IDIOT.*

Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Maryland, Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Indiana, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Illinois & California all have more Nursing Home deaths than New York. What Cuomo did wasn't perfect, and he has learned from his mistakes (So why hasn't all the rest of these governors learned from Cuomo's mistakes? They have had ample time to do something!) At the time Nursing Home patients who were recovering from COVID were released back to their homes, bed space was urgently needed for people who needed them.

I really enjoyed this immersive almost day-by-day look at the timeline of the COVID-19 Pandemic up to around June. What I really love about this book and Cuomo in particular is that credit is given where credit is due. Although Cuomo and Trump (not to mention his entire administration) disagree on nearly everything politically, whenever Trump, Pence or even Kushner did something good, Cuomo outright acknowledged it. Throughout the entirety of this book, it was made crystal clear that Cuomo loves New York. I am proud that Cuomo is my governor, even though I may not agree with all of his actions.

Overall, Cuomo's actions saved so many lives, while the Orange Turd desperately trying to destroy our democracy did absolutely nothing to help the country.

Ultimately I was surprised and grateful that this book focused on the facts and what needed and still needs to be done instead of being a 308 page essay on how Trump & his administration wanted to let people die. I'm really glad I listened to the audiobook, of which I highly recommend!

[Khemlita · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a New Yorker, living in New York City during this pandemic, Governor Cuomo was my rock. His daily briefings were the only news I watched because of his hard truths and honesty. To gain an in depth view into his life and the actions he took to protect us during this horrible time and for the rest of the pandemic. Every day during the briefings when he would say the “new cases, hospitalization, and deaths” I would mute the tv and turn away because it was too heartbreaking and to hear it now at the beginning of each chapter I was in tears. Andrew Cuomo deserves everyone’s deepest gratitude because without his actions I fear our numbers would have been higher. This book also highlighted a very interesting disparity between our working class immigrants in the over populated outer borough Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx who all were majority essential workers and the millionaires living in Manhattan who fled from New York.


WE ARE NEW YORK TOUGH

[Don Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written. As I read the text I could hear the familiar voice of Governor Andrew Cuomo that pulled back the curtain of certain death that faced New York State and the nation for much of 2020. It was his calm and reassuring voice that helped America and the world in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to recording the day to day events he has provided a blue print for dealing with future pandemics.

[Dkt2299 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty sure his handling of the corona virus in NY will be his last act as governor. He should be in jail.
Cuomo killed over 13000 seniors with his lethal orders to place infected seniors back into their nursing home. That’s probably not something to brag about in a book. Criminal!!! Egotistical!!

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is quite spectacular to read the nerve of the Masked Mobster: the heroism of making everything possible to have the worst numbers for his own state. Sadly, the entertainment wears off quite fast. I speculate Cuomo had to pay the publishing from his own pocket and he chose a cheap ghost writer. Oh, the damages done by Austerity! The guy could have made it for the Nobel!

[Chaitanya Rajan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This tone-deaf losers killed thousands of old people in his city and has the gall to brag about his amazing handling of the crisis as his state is going through a huge resurgence in cases. His self-enriching approach is disgusting.

[Matrao Khan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Governor of the most devastated city in 🇺🇸 by the COVID-19, who covered up nursing homes deaths by 50 percent, is talking about leadership?🤔
The perks of being a Democrat 😨

[Gabby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who writes a book during a pandemic when writer is essentially a mass murderer? God help New York. I didn’t read it. Nobody who kills so many people should profit so I’m rating it. Edit: When is Amazon going to ‘cancel’ this book?

[Matthew McCardy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love to count my chickens before they hatch then burn down the coop in a blatant act of insurance fraud.

[Anthony Caruso · Rating 2 out of 5]

When it was announced that Governor Andrew Cuomo was releasing a book on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in October of 2020 I was a bit confused. Not only were we in the midst of a second wave, but according to all of the experts, things were only going to get worse. This is even more evident today, February 2nd 2021, upon the announcement that January 2021 was the deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic yet, and with experts like Dr. Fauci warning about mutations of the virus that could cause even more trouble worldwide. On top of which, while Cuomo was praised for his daily press briefings and ended up doing right by New York eventually, he got off to handling the crisis on the wrong foot; facts and history matter.

Well, my bafflement over this decision on Cuomo's part turned out to be the emotion I felt the entire time I read this book. While there are some entertaining personal anecdotes, there is no self-reflection on his handling of the virus - or, should I say, no critical self-reflection. While this tends to be a trend in political autobiographies, Cuomo's flat writing makes it appear even worse, and add in the fact that we're still in the midst of the pandemic and this entire thing seems like a poorly timed, tone-deaf endeavor. So much so that, while I breezed through the first quarter of the book, it took me forever to read the next 3/4s - as evidenced by how long it took me to finish the entire thing, which should have been a brisk 300 page read.

Maybe, one day, in another year when we're truly out of the woods and we're far enough away from the pandemic as a whole to look back on how we dealt with it in a more objective fashion, Andrew Cuomo can take another crack at telling the more realistic and historically accurate story of his leadership throughout this crisis - maybe add onto this book and edit what's already out there. Until then, however, I'd recommend skipping this one. That's why I'm giving it a 2 out of 5 stars.

[Dorel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 1st book I read by Andrew Cuomo. I really enjoyed this book 📒. I really liked the layout of this book 📒. I really enjoyed how informative this book 📒 was. Most of all I loved ❤ how Governor Cuomo is handling Covid-19 in New York City 🗽.