Widely cited by journalists and bloggers as the man to read to understand the political races, New York Times Magazine writer Matt Bai has written a book about the Democratic Party that's as riveting as it is timely and vital. The Argument takes readers to the front lines of the grassroots progressive movement that is seizing power from the party's weakened D.C. establishment, capturing a colorful cast of donors and power brokers struggling to articulate a direction: an argument. The result is a fascinating, uniquely candid look at present-day politics.

An NPR Best Book of the Year
In May 1987, Colorado Senator Gary Hart a dashing, reform-minded Democrat seemed a lock for the party s presidential nomination and led George H. W. Bush by double digits in the polls. Then, in one tumultuous week, rumors of marital infidelity and a newspaper s stakeout of Hart s home resulted in a media frenzy the likes of which had never been seen before.
Through the spellbindingly reported story of the Senator s fall from grace, Matt Bai, Yahoo News columnist and former chief political correspondent for "The New York Times Magazine, "shows the Hart...