Moses > Status Update

So many weird little errors in this book! In a map (p156) that shows line graphs for each state's vote totals over time, Minnesota goes red three times in the past half-century. In reality, while Minnesota has had several close results, it hasn't voted for a Republican president since Nixon in 1972. I'm confused about how this error even happened - the data is correct on other maps in the same book.

Gosh, this is a sloppy book! The snake chart (p134) ranks Utah as bluer than WI in 2016, sorting the states by GOP vote % rather than margin of victory. Trump got 46% of UT votes, but won by 18 points due to a strong 3rd party showing. Not only does the author fail to note this peculiarity, he even describes Utah as one of "the states with the most marginal results that went Trump's way," which is simply inaccurate.

I was really excited for this book, but it's been a letdown so far. A lot of surprisingly poorly designed maps, dry/clunky text, and poor editing. The map on page 113 (which I'm currently on) is shockingly inaccurate - nearly every state is the wrong color based on the key. Nevada and Pennsylvania, for instance, are shown as having margins of victory above 30% in 2016. Disappointing.