Richard North Patterson's 2007 thriller The Race presented a U.S. presidential election steeped in drama. Had that novel included the actual events of the 2016 United States presidential election, readers would likely have found it too far fetched to believe. Now, 10 years after the novel, Fever Swamp considers the unprecedented contest last year for the highest political office of the most powerful country in the world.
Throughout the 2016 race, Patterson published his essays online at the Huffington Post. With the combined experience of his years as an attorney and his copious research for many politically themed novels, Patterson is able to offer intelligent, perceptive commentary on what he terms the fever swamp--two years of political contagion "where lies blossomed, anger thrived, conspiracy theories mushroomed, and reason went to die."
Fever Swamp is the complete collection of Patterson's columns, supplemented with margin notes and section introductions that evaluate his thoughts and predictions. Patterson is unapologetically liberal and supports his words with evidence from reliable research, including data and historical precedents. Armed with facts and an insider's knowledge, he offers witty insights, sharp rebukes and shrewd analysis. Patterson covers it all: candidates, their platforms, their scandals and what they mean to the states, the political parties, the Supreme Court and, of course, the citizens, from the beginning of the primaries to the startling results of November 8, 2016. Fever Swamp is a primer for future generations to avoid the spectacle better known as the election of the 45th president of the United States. --Jen Forbus, freelancer