The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country Book

As much as I like Fineman on MSNBC shows like Countdown and Hardball, I just couldn't get into this book. He presents both sides of the arguments well, and I agree with his book's premise that our country's founding talent of civil political discourse is long gone. Now all we do is shout at each other instead of debate in the classic Lincoln/Douglas way.

However, this book needed a better editor. Fineman could have cut about 50-100 pages out of this book by sticking to the purpose of the book and the topics of each chapter. I understand the concept of background stories, but they felt more like history lessons. A chapter on presidential power does not need a 2-page summary of the 1980 election-it would have been better served by talking about the power of the executive branch under Presidents Carter and Reagan.