Whiplash

“A brilliant and penetrating inquiry into the titanic battles that Democrats and Republicans have waged over Obamacare, COVID and medical science. Written with analytic clarity and narrative vigor, Whiplash is an essential guide to the major achievements and crushing failures of twenty-first century American politics.”—Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era“U.S. Presidents do more than shape U.S. policy. In many ways, they embody America and its hopes and aspirations. Blumenthal and Morone’s riveting new book is for everyone who watched the wars over health care, from the Affordable Care Act to COVID-19, play out on their television screens. It takes you behind the scenes and helps make sense of how these policies were made. From academics to regular folks interested in how healthcare has changed over the past 15 years, this is a must read.”—Ashish Jha, Brown University“Whiplash is masterful in presenting life and decision-making within the offices of three successive and very different presidents through vivid storytelling that allows the reader to make an imaginative leap into those worlds. It offers both a zoom-in, detailed account of decision-making and a zoom-out, wide-angle perspective on how the decisions were shaped by broader, enduring currents in the American political psyche. The subject matter is gripping: momentous decisions on two issues of huge national significance.”—Carolyn Hughes Tuohy, author of Remaking Policy: Scale, Pace and Political Strategy in Health Care Reform

David Blumenthal is professor of practice of public health and health policy at Harvard University, and former national coordinator for Health Information Technology.

James A. Morone is the John Hazen White Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Public Policy, and Urban Studies at Brown University.