Irreparable Harm

Synopsis

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – AND CAN IT HAPPEN AGAIN?

It was the most tumultuous and uncertain transition of power in the history of the United States, and yet, to most Americans, what really happened in the 2000 presidential election remains unclear—something went wrong in Florida, but the Supreme Court cleared it up and then, er, everyone was happy . . . right? But who actually won the Florida vote recount? What, exactly, did the Supreme Court decide? Was there truly no dissent? What role did the mass media play? Melville House offers three hard-hitting books that take a close look at those very questions, based on three pieces of investigative journalism originally filed at the time, by three of the country's top journalists.

• In IRREPARABLE HARM, Renata Adler, the long-time star of the New Yorker magazine who is also an attorney and a life-long Republican, takes a blistering look at the Bush v. Gore Supreme Court decision, and uncovers numerous problems, including instances where the judges mis-cited their own previous decisions, or reversed them.

• In THE ROAD TO ILLEGITIMACY, Mark Danner, a staffer for both The New Yorker and New York Review of Books, goes to Florida to report on the final, tense counting and recounting of the actual ballots mandated after the Supreme Court decision.

• And in THE BIG CHILL, Dennis Loy Johnson provides a gripping first person account of the enormous protest on inauguration day, which included scenes of violence and the most massive police and military presence ever in the capital—and yet went largely unreported. These three insightful books are riveting history. But more importantly, as the next presidential race intensifies, they may help troubled Americans with one of the most pressing questions we face: Can it happen again?