Publisher's Synopsis
Attorney General Eric Holder was among the closest confidants of President Barack Obama and the longest serving of his cabinet secretaries, and together they formed one of the most remarkable political partnerships--and friendships--in American history as they confronted challenges faced by no previous president or administration, from the War on Terror to the global financial crisis to the stain of mass incarceration. The book takes us through Holder's own rich and fascinating life before he met Barack Obama, and then gives us a dramatic inside look at the historic and controversial events that defined the Obama administration: how they dealt with the legacy of torture and other human rights violations left behind by the Bush Administration; how they struggled toward a still-controversial legal framework to kill terrorists and anticipate attacks through surveillance; how they pursued (or declined to pursue) bankers in the wake of the financial crisis; Holder's experiences on the ground and in the homes of grieving parents in places like Ferguson, Missouri, while massive protests roiled across the nation; the aggressive pursuit of civil rights cases and the battles to expand voting rights, LGBTQ rights, and the rights of undocumented immigrants; and the struggle to undo the stain of mass incarceration in America. More than a rich and inspiring personal narrative or an inside account of a historic Administration, this is a thoughtful and provocative book that boldly dramatizes the history, limitations, and possibilities of American justice in our time, through the story of one remarkable man's quest to change that history and grapple with his own ambiguous past.
