The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New AmericaThe Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America
Score Modern
What it's about
George Packer tells the story of America from 1978 to 2012 through a handful of lives: a North Carolina farmer's son chasing the new economy with a biofuel business, a factory worker in Youngstown, Ohio, a Washington insider, and the billionaire Peter Thiel. Between their stories come short portraits of famous Americans and snapshots of a country coming apart.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Award. It explains, through people rather than statistics, how so many Americans came to feel the system was failing them, and it reads like a novel.
You'll love it if you liked
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Dark Money
Behind the Beautiful ForeversGood to know
It's structured like a collage, jumping between stories and years. It ends in 2012, before the elections that seemed to bear out its warning.
By the numbers
- Readers68 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics70 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller29 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz1 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #14 of the 44 politics books we rank
- #88 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #232 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #463 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Award. It ranks #463 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 78.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America about?
George Packer tells the story of America from 1978 to 2012 through a handful of lives: a North Carolina farmer's son chasing the new economy with a biofuel business, a factory worker in Youngstown, Ohio, a Washington insider, and the billionaire Peter Thiel. Between their stories come short portraits of famous Americans and snapshots of a country coming apart.
How long does it take to read The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America?
About 11 hours (449 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America won?
National Book Award (Nonfiction) winner (2013).
What should I read after The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America?
If you liked it, try Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond, Dark Money by Jane Mayer or Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo.