The Storm is Here

America on the Brink

Luke Mogelson

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Paperback

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English

Hodder & Stoughton
13 September 2022

Reportage & collected journalism; History; History of the Americas; 21st century history: from c 2000 -; Politics & government; Political activism

The New Yorker's award-winning war correspondent returns to his own country to chronicle a story of mounting civic breakdown and violent disorder, in a vivid eyewitness narrative of revelatory explanatory power.

'This is a searing book, exquisitely reported, lyrically told, and so vivid it will make your heart stop-a dark journey into what ails America' Patrick Radden Keefe

On the morning of January 6, a gallows was erected on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. A little after noon, as thousands of Trump supporters marched past the structure, some paused to climb its wooden steps and take pictures of the US Capitol framed within an oval noose. Up ahead, the dull thud of stun grenades could be heard, accompanied by bright flashes. Several people carried Confederate flags. Others had Tasers, baseball bats, bear spray, and truncheons. 'They need help!' a man shouted. 'It's us versus the cops!' No one seemed surprised by what was taking place. There was an eerie sense of inexorability, mixed with nervous hesitation. It reminded me of combat: the slightly shocked, almost bashful moment when bravado, fantasy, and training crash against reality.

In early 2020, Luke Mogelson, who had been living in France and covering the Global War on Terrorism, returned home to report on the social discord that the pandemic was bringing to the fore in the US. Soon, he found himself embedded with militias descending on the Michigan state capitol. From there, the story swept him on to Minneapolis, then to Portland, and ultimately to Washington, D.C. His stories for The New Yorker were hailed as essential first drafts of history. They were just the tip of the iceberg.

The Storm Is Here is the definitive eyewitness account of how--during a season of sickness, economic uncertainty, and violence--a large segment of Americans became convinced that they needed to rise up against dark forces plotting to take their country away from them, and then did just that. It builds month by month, through vivid depictions of events on the ground, from the onset of the pandemic to the attack on the US Capitol--during which Mogelson was in the Senate chamber with the insurrectionists--and its aftermath. Bravely reported and beautifully written, Mogelson's book follows the tradition of some of the essential chronicles of war and unrest of our time.

By: Luke Mogelson
Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 232mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 459g
ISBN: 9781529418729
ISBN 10: 1529418720
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 13 September 2022
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print

Luke Mogelson has written for The New Yorker since 2013, covering the wars in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. During the pandemic, he reported on the social tumult in the U.S., including the uprising in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd and the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Previously, Mogelson was a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, based in Kabul. He has won the National Magazine Award and the George Polk Award.

Reviews for The Storm is Here: America on the Brink

We can now induct Luke Mogelson into that vital band of warrior storytellers-from Tim O'Brien and Michael Herr to Phil Klay and Elliot Ackerman-who, with great eloquence and moral courage, have labored, on both the battlefield and the page, to keep America honest about its foolish wars. -- Bob Shacochis Mogelson gives a nuanced, empathetic look into lives irrevocably altered by conflict . . . His writing is reminiscent of Hemingway's . . . The reader trusts Mogelson's steady, lucid prose to outline the inner lives of these men * The Nation (on These Heroic, Happy Dead) * Mogelson avoids dwelling on trauma but circles it constantly, carefully exploring its fringes. * New York Times (On These Heroic, Happy Dead) *