How America Works...and Why It Doesn't

Twenty-first-century America isn’t working the way it’s supposed to.

This book explains why.

Americans in the twenty-first century are becoming increasingly untethered from both reality and the essential principles and traditions that have shaped the nation’s historic success. A big part of why America isn’t working is because far too many Americans neither know nor care how it’s supposed to work.

“William Cooper presents an insightful, sensitive, and accessible account of the trials that face American democracy in the twenty-first century. This fair- and broad-minded volume makes compelling reading for those who are looking to build a better democracy.” Alexander Yen, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford

“Partisanship fuels personal convictions more than ever in our society, and convictions fuel mysided thinking and other cognitive biases. At no time have we needed this discussion of bias and partisan thinking more than now.” Keith E. Stanovich, author of The Bias That Divides Us

“William Cooper logically and authoritatively takes you step by step through all the reasons a President Trump couldn’t imprison his enemies, pardon his friends, overrule judges, weaponize the Department of Justice, prosecute Joe Biden, or order the military to enforce his unconstitutional actions” Cleveland Plain Dealer

“William Cooper is an insightful and thought-provoking writer about US politics. He deserves to be widely read.” Thomas Plate, former Editorial Page Editor, Los Angeles Times

"In How America Works . . . and Why It Doesn’t, William Cooper gives a thoughtful, readable guide to what ails American democracy. Required reading for any student of political science.” Uri Kaufman, author of Eighteen Days in October

"A must-read. His well-written and brief book covers a lot of important ground in a learned but accessible manner. Probably most noteworthy, though, is his astute and fair judgment―the book is not a polemic for the left or the right, but rather a fair appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of both. I highly recommend reading it―it is an enjoyable tour of key aspects of history (as well as current events), ethics, political philosophy, constitutional law, environmental science, and cognitive psychology―all told in a lucid, efficient way." William O'Donohue, PhD, Professor, University of Nevada, Reno