Zohran Mamdani and the Remaking of American Politics

Preorder my book, out in October

I haven’t talked all that much about the fact that, from last November to this April, I wrote a book about Zohran Mamdani’s rise to power and early days as mayor. I spent several hours interviewing Mamdani and spoke with more than two dozen people, including intimates in his orbit, allies, and foes. I spoke to Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon. It was an effort I’m proud of, and one that took many intense days and nights. Now the edits are (almost) done and the book, The Revolutionary, is headed to bookstores this October. Random House is doing the honors, and there will be a few foreign editions. You can buy it anywhere. Please preorder it now. This is the first book from a major publisher about Mamdani and one of the first of its kind anywhere. You’ll want to own it, especially if you’re a person of the left.

Let me, though, make a case for The Revolutionary to my sizable readership that is either Mamdani-skeptical or thinks this will be another boring book that mindlessly cheerleads for its subject.

It would surprise you to know I am not enamored with most modern political books and do not, as a rule, read all that many of them. My favorite political book is probably Gary Wills’ Nixon Agonistes and I do not know how it finds a publisher today. It’s wonderful. Political books about progressive politicians aren’t especially exciting to me, either. I don’t like pablum and propaganda; despite holding obvious political views, I try to retain a degree of independence, and I do think that’s why some conservatives and heterodox readers have been able to tolerate me. Partisan politics can be tiring.

When it comes to The Revolutionary, I am hardly impartial. I count Zohran Mamdani as a friend because I’ve known him since the end of 2017, when he was an anonymous political organizer trying to get me elected to the State Senate. I’ve discussed politics with him numerous times. This book, certainly, is personal. But I did not set out to flatter him or anyone else. I wanted to report out, as much as I could, how Mamdani won this shock mayoral election and how he’s begun to govern. Though I did not speak to Andrew Cuomo—he was not made available for interview—I was able to talk to those who worked for his campaign. I also spoke to anti-Mamdani activists and business leaders. To understand MAGA’s view of Mamdani, I went straight to Bannon. (I called Trump’s cellphone but the president did not pick up. Sometimes, though, he does!) What I am trying to underscore is that I was interested in the fullness of the Mamdani story, understood from as many perspectives as possible. For those who hate him but still want to understand why a 34-year-old Muslim socialist ended up in charge of America’s largest city, The Revolutionary will be worth your time.

And if you like Mamdani—if you are enjoying these first six months—this is a book you’ll devour.

Mamdani can’t be ignored any more than Trump can be ignored. He sits at the vanguard of a new kind of politics. What is it, exactly? My book seeks to answer that question. It takes, seriously, the phenomenon of American socialism, and the pro-Palestine, anti-Israel currents now coursing through the body politic. We live in strange times. This is a book that attempts to reckon with them.

I’ll be saying more about this all in the near future. For now, preorder the book. Preorders matter quite a bit. I’ll share more information on talks, tours, parties, and all that good stuff soon.

Happy 4th!