Praise for John MacArthurandrsquo;s Second Front:

andldquo;A treasure-trove of evidence of official deception.andrdquo;andmdash;The New York Times Book Review

andldquo;Wonderfully readable.andrdquo;andmdash;The New York Times

andldquo;A brilliant piece of investigative journalism.andrdquo;andmdash;The Globe and Mail

andldquo;A devastating exposandeacute;.andrdquo;andmdash;The Nation

andldquo;A provocative, well-honed polemic.andrdquo;andmdash;Newsweek

After the debacle of the 2000 presidential election, many Americans were asking themselves if their vote really counted anymore. Yet does the problem go even deeper than that? Is America really a democracy anymore?

In a rollicking piece of reportage based on years of reporting, Harperandrsquo;s MagazinePublisher John R. MacArthur examines how the system really worksandmdash;and doesnandrsquo;t workandmdash;nowadays. Why is it that all the major candidates seem to be rich Ivy-Leaguers? Why is there so little difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on so many key issues? Does an outsider really have a chance?

Covering the recent candidacies of Ned Lamont and Ralph Nader, reporting on local efforts to effect change, and examining funding and influence in our electoral system in general, MacArthur presents a clarion call to restructure electoral politics.

"A blistering indictment of the political and social forces that muffle the voice of the people in our beleaguered democracy grows into an invigorating wake-up call for real change."andmdash;Shelf Awareness

John R. MacArthur, president and publisher of Harperandrsquo;s Magazine, is an award-winning journalist and author of the acclaimed books The Selling of andldquo;Free Tradeandrdquo;: NAFTA, Washington, and the Subversion of American Democracyand Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War.

"Alexis de Tocqueville is a guiding spirit for this wide-ranging text, which advances a familiar argument: that moneyed and privileged interests, rather than the needs and opinions of ordinary citizens, dominate contemporary American politics. MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's magazine, begins by lamenting the 'lack of basic comprehension of the Constitution' and American government on the part of the political and media elite. From there, he proceeds thematically, considering the influence of the Republican and Democratic parties, the effects of social class and education, among other topics. Detours into local politics, including an extended account of a dispute over the construction of a Target store in Portsmouth, R.I., feel digressive, as do the author's occasional forays into history, in which he takes aim at targets on both sides of the political aisle from Joseph McCarthy to Woodrow Wilson and James Polk. MacArthur's book will likely inspire like-minded political progressives, despite his harsh criticism of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but its crossover appeal may be limited. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

John R. MacArthur, president and publisher of Harper's Magazine, is an award-winning journalist and author. He is the author of two books: The Selling of "Free Trade": NAFTA, Washington, and the Subversion of American Democracy; and Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War.