The Inheritance

Every day President Barack Obama receives security briefings on the perilous state of the world he has inherited. Here's yours.During his seven years covering the White House for the New York Times, Chief Washington Correspondent David E. Sanger has had extraordinary and unrivaled access to presidents, world leaders and secretaries of state. Here, in The Inheritance, he gathers together all the evidence he has uncovered, both on and off the record, to offer us an insider's look at the many complex and oftentimes terrifying challenges that Obama now faces. Uncovering in fascinating detail the inner workings of the US military and intelligence communities, and describing the huge cost of the decision to invest so much of America, and Britain's, future on what once seemed like an easy mission in Iraq, Sanger talk us through a war gone bad in Afganistan, a power-hungry Iran on the brink of nuclear weapons, an unstable alliance with Pakistan, a rising China and a the worldwide economic crisis.Mapping the political landscape that Obama has inherited, this book examines the international arenas that will remain the focus of the entire western world throughout the years to come, and gives us a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Situation Room of the presidency. If you want to understand the world today in all its complexity, there's only one book for you- The Inheritance by David E. Sanger.

“Somehow David Sanger has broken through the secrecy and the government gobbledygook... He reveals inside stuff that we have never heard in detail that will surprise and sometimes shock, yet he has framed it all in language that the specialist will appreciate and the layman can understand. One of the most important books of the year.”

-- Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent CBS News
A frightening account of the dangers that America faces. Daily Telegraph
Journalism at its best: a slew of interviews, visits round the world, an approachable writing style, a dark and compelling tale. -- David Shribman Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Obama faces a Himalayan range of problems. Sanger does an authoritative and at times devastating job of capturing them... -- Edward Luce Financial Times
Advance warning of the international stories that will be all over the front pages in the next few years. The Herald

David E. Sanger has twice been a member of New York Times reporting teams that won the Pulitzer Prize. He has also been awarded, twice, the Merriman Smith Award for his coverage of national security, the Weintal prize for diplomatic reporting, a DuPont Award for the documentary, "Nuclear Jihad- Can Terrorists Get the Bomb?" Twice weekly he delivers the "Washington Report" for WQXR-FM programs.

EVERY MORNING BARACK OBAMA RECEIVES INTELLIGENCE BRIEFINGS ON THE PERILOUS STATE OF THE WORLD. HERE'S YOURS. A year into his presidency Barack Obama is still confronted with many of the problems he inherited from the Bush administration: a rising casualty rate and a deepening conflict in Afghanistan; an Iran whose secret facilities point towards a rapid drive for the bomb; a rising China and a resurgent Russia. Here, in The Inheritance , David Sanger, the chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times , takes us through the final years of a Bush administration that spent its time distracted with managing a war gone bad in Iraq. And whilst Washington looked away, the rest of the world moved on: North Korea obtained the fuel for eight bombs; China exploited the moment to buy up oil and influence around the world; and then came a global economic crisis of huge proportions. In this updated edition, Sanger evaluates how Obama has handled these complex and terrifying challenges in his first year - and what lies ahead.

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