The Hill to Die On

The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump's America

By: Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer

Narrated by: Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer

Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER •

The inside story of Donald Trump’s first two years in Washington as viewed from Capitol Hill, a startling account that turns “Congress into a Game of Thrones book” (Trevor Noah, The Daily Show).

Taking listeners into secret strategy calls and closed-door meetings from the House to the White House, Politico Playbook writers Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer trace the gamesmanship and the impulsiveness, the dealmaking and the backstabbing, in a blow-by-blow account of the power struggle that roiled Congress. Moving from the fights for advantage between Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer; to Mitch McConnell’s merciless, Machiavellian handling of the sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh; to Paul Ryan’s desperate, failed attempts to keep Mark Meadows from pushing Trump into a government shutdown over immigration, The Hill to Die On bristles with fresh news and tells the story of what really happened in some of the most defining moments our era. Like The West Wing for Congress, or Shattered meets This Town, The Hill to Die On tells an unforgettable story of politics and power, where the stakes going forward are nothing less than the future of America and the lives of millions of ordinary Americans.

Praise for The Hill to Die On

“[Sherman and Palmer] go deep inside the halls of Congress to document the deal making, backstabbing, power struggles, and political knife fights that have roiled the nation’s capital during President Donald Trump’s first two years in office.... Anything but boring.” (USA Today, “5 Books Not to Miss”)

“[The Hill to Die On] painstakingly chronicles the return to divided government and the restoration of an institutional check on a mercurial chief executive.... The book depicts a foul-mouthed president in love with his own reflection, a House GOP encased in the amber of self-delusion, and Nancy Pelosi’s unblinking focus on twin prizes: recapturing the House and returning to the speaker’s chair.” (The Guardian)

“If you are one of the many Americans who hates Congress, this book is for you. In the Washington depicted in Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer’s new book, there are no heroes - only winners and losers.... With these lawmakers, Sherman and Palmer get inside their heads and capture what they’re thinking in real time.” (The Washington Post)

©2019 Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer (P)2019 Random House Audio

Like Extended Playbook

There was a lot of extra info included that wasn’t in Playbook. It was like being on The Hill. Great look inside the workings of Congress and the relationship with the current administration.

Good material, mediocore narration

writing a book and narrating a book are 2 different talents. Thats the negative of many new books

Great overall but..

Great book. Very interesting and put together in a logical, structured way. The only criticism I have is regarding Jake Sherman’s narration- he seems to be constantly out of breath! Don’t get me wrong it’s not that bad really but definitely distracting! Still a great book that I recommend you read/listen to!

Insightful details of familiar events you have unfortunately lived through.

This is a for the record summary with useful
Insightful details. Meadows and Jordan are not forgiveable. Pot-stirrers for no good reason. Divisive and self-serving.

This Title May Be a Litttle Misleading

The title grabbed me. If I couldn't understand what was going on in Washington maybe seeing it through the eyes of Congress many help me come to terms with a president who shows a marked lack of concern for the consequences of his actions. The book shows a great number of details and the reaction of the congresspeople Not long though I got a sense this was more of an anthill with many ants going to and fro. The longing I had for a better idea of what Congress was up to was drowned in details. The Democratic party has given new power to those investigations into Trumps behaviors but it lacked an ability to use all these events to describe the true power of the Congress to keep the president in check, Because of that it was hard to finish his book and I felt no more enlightened as to the changes in the Federal government.

Great snapshot of 2016-2018 in politics, mediocre

A fascinating, timely story about contemporaneous politics. If you're fascinated by Trump-era Washington DC, it's a must-read. The narration is lacking, however: rushed and often fraught with mispronunciations.

Adam Schiff is a Treasure

History will remember Representative Adam Schiff as a voice of Reason, of Calm, of Temperance, of Bravery, of Integrity, of Intelligence, of Decency and on the side of Justice.

Decent, behind the scenes account. A couple of problems, though.

I’ve listened to many political books lately, mostly about the Trump presidency.
This book was informative from an insider report by journalists, but the sound volume varied and sometimes the readers seemed to get a little too excited about what they were reading.
My main gripes are with the overuse of the word “anathema”. How about changing it up with words like “abhorrent”, “abomination”, etc.
Also, when a credible journalist pronounces “nuclear” wrong (ala, George W. Bush) over and over, it makes you wonder how credible these two actually are.

good inside look at your government

I found it rather boring , although it is a good inside look of what goes on in the Congress

Very timely, detailed, enjoyable

This is a first cut at explaining the race of the 115th Congress and the first half of Trump’s presidency and Trump’s Washington. As an observer of Congress and politics I enjoyed the book and learned many interesting factoids and tidbits. It is far from a definitive or even completely coherent history - but the authors don’t claim it as such. As contemporaneous reporting mixed with gossip and spin - it’s perfect. Unlike other reviewers I enjoyed the author’s narration.