Wildland

More about the book

Evan Osnos moved to Washington, DC, in 2013 after a decade abroad, where he often defended America's foundational moral commitments despite its historical mistakes. Upon returning, he found these principles under attack. To understand this crisis, he explored three familiar places: Greenwich, Connecticut; Clarksburg, West Virginia; and Chicago, Illinois. Over six years, he reported on ordinary individuals navigating the complexities of twenty-first-century America. Through their poignant stories, Osnos uncovers the roots of the nation’s political disintegration. He highlights the rightward shift of the financial elite in Greenwich, the collapse of social infrastructure in Clarksburg, and the compounded effects of segregation and violence in Chicago. The essence of the nation's state lies not in political slogans but in the intricate details of individual lives and their connections. This examination of significant changes in American politics and culture spans two pivotal events: the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the January 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol. By following the lives of everyday Americans across two decades, Osnos reveals how the country lost the moral confidence to view itself as greater than the sum of its parts.