Bob Woodward's freshly reported, thirty-five-page Afterword to his national bestseller, The Price of Politics, provides a detailed, often verbatim account of what happened in the dramatic "fiscal cliff" face-off at the end of 2012 between President Obama and the Republicans.

Now it's happening again. In fall 2013, Washington faces a new round of budget and fiscal wars that could derail the American and global economies.

"We are primarily a blocking majority," said Michael Sommers, Speaker John Boehner's chief of staff,...