Synopses & Reviews
"Explosive... A blistering tell-all." — Washington Post
"People should sit up, take notes and change things." — Ace Smith, Los Angeles Times
"Brazile most certainly has a story to tell.... Vivid." — The Guardian
From Donna Brazile, former DNC chair and legendary political operative, an explosive and revealing new look at the 2016 election: the first insider account of the Russian hacking of the DNC and the missteps by the Clinton campaign and Obama administration that enabled a Trump victory.
In the fallout of the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee — and as chaos threatened to consume the party's convention — Democrats turned to a familiar figure to right the ship: Donna Brazile. Known to millions from her frequent TV appearances, she was no stranger to high stakes and dirty opponents, and the longtime Democratic strategist had a reputation in Washington as a one-stop shop for fixing sticky problems.
What Brazile found at the DNC was unlike anything she had experienced before — and much worse than is commonly known. The party was beset by infighting, scandal, and hubris, while reeling from a brazen and wholly unprecedented attempt by a foreign power to influence the presidential election. Plus, its candidate, Hillary Clinton, faced an opponent who broke every rule in the political playbook.
Packed with never-before-reported revelations about what went down in 2016, Hacks is equal parts campaign thriller, memoir, and roadmap for the future. With Democrats now in the wilderness after this historic defeat, Hacks argues that staying silent about what went wrong helps no one. Only by laying bare the missteps, miscalculations, and crimes of 2016, Brazile contends, will Americans be able to salvage their democracy.
Review
"[Brazile] does have a story to tell that the Democrats shouldn't dismiss, if they intend to win the White House in 2020.... The book is a fun read... The conjunction of Brazile's indiscreet book ... suggests that talking bluntly about the Party's mistakes might not be a hindrance. A dose of [Brazile's] Dolores might even help."
Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker
Review
"Donna Brazile is one of the truly brilliant minds in the Democratic Party, and she's venting her frustration on the way she was treated and frankly she has every right to do so.... And frankly people should sit up, take notes and change things instead of carping about it."
Ace Smith, Los Angeles Times
Review
"Explosive... Perhaps not since George Stephanopoulos wrote All Too Human, a 1999 memoir of his years working for former president Bill Clinton, has a political strategist penned such a blistering tell-all."
Washington Post
Review
"The former DNC chair's memoir of election defeat has it all... Brazile most certainly has a story to tell.... An easy and vivid read, everything one expects in a first-person campaign narrative — except for its detailed discussion of Russia's hacks, WikiLeaks, and threats to Brazile herself. On that score, the book is down-right alarming."
The Guardian
Review
"With bracing honesty, enchanting self-awareness, and a wonderful storyteller's voice, Donna Brazile recounts the fascinating inside story of the 2016 campaign and what it was like being hacked. It is a deeply emotional story, but she tells it with great humor and insight. Her book is filled with urgent history and vital lessons for living in this age of cyber warfare and political discontent. This book is a triumph."
Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Steve Jobs, The Innovators, and Leonardo da Vinci
About the Author
Donna Brazile is the former Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and a contributor to ABC News. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Brazile worked on every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2000, when she served as Al Gore's campaign manager. In 2014, Brazile was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on to the board of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She is founder and managing director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy, and training firm based in Washington, DC.