Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele are America’s most honored team of investigative reporters. They have won two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Magazine Awards and a total of more than fifty national reporting awards. Since they first worked together at The Philadelphia Inquirer, their writing has appeared in Time, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and The Washington Post. They have written nine books, including two national bestsellers. Their newest book is America: What Went Wrong? The Crisis Deepens.

NEW!

In this updated and expanded edition of their New York Times #1 bestseller, Barlett and Steele vividly reveal how Washington and Wall Street are launching a new assault on the middle class.

Long before Covid-19 ravaged the economy, millions of middle-class Americans were struggling with another crisis—stagnant earnings, unaffordable health care and the prospect of an impoverished retirement. This is no accident: Barlett and Steele vividly reveal how Congresses and presidents of both parties repeatedly make decisions that favor the few at the expense of most Americans. But the authors show that this need not be. To make the American dream a reality for all Americans, our government must reassert itself on behalf of all the people—with regulatory oversight that balances public safety with business interests, more equitable tax policies, and programs that assure all Americans of basic health care and a decent retirement.

Middle-class Americans know that their way of life is under attack. This new book explains what is happening and how we can make it right.