Book review: How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time

How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter At a Time by Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark.  St. Martin's  Press, New York, 2026.

This is a brand new publication.  I ordered it back in April or May and it arrived, from Barnes and Noble, on Sept. 8, 2026.  I finished reading it earlier this morning and have been thinking about it the rest of the day.  I wasn't sure that I would feel qualified to write this review.  I feel confident writing reviews of other books on this blog, often simply because I loved the book and enjoy the challenge and the process of writing.  It is, primarily, why I keep this blog.  How to Eat an Elephant is about politics.  This puts it in a different category for me.  I don't read books about politics.  I read newspaper and magazine articles, I listen to podcasts, but I never read books about politics.  Until now.  Well, I did read Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson and liked it, but I'm not sure it was about politics per se.  It was more about how our country has drifted further and further away from a confident and competent nation, to one imperiled by dysfunction and inability to do, build and complete important things.  This dysfunction, if it should be called that, impacts our political system and the ability of politicians to do meaningful things for the American people.  Things we need.  Things that are necessary.

I remember exactly how I felt on the morning of November 6, 2024.  I didn't want to get out of bed.  It was cold and gray outside and it was just easier to roll over and try to go back to sleep.  I had watched the election returns with a neighbor the evening before, but by 10:00 pm the writing was on the wall.  I thanked my friend for letting me watch with her and went home.  I knew I had had enough.  I was relieved to have had nothing planned for the following day and getting through that November Wednesday was a slog.  I was listless and in denial.  I couldn't believe that Donald Trump had been elected a second time.  Yet there it was in every news report.

I really did think I was not going to be able to deal with it.  Speaking with like-minded family and friends was not helpful. Everyone had their own take on the election, what went wrong and what would happen.  And, then there were the family and friends who buried their heads in the sand.  Everywhere I looked, a grimness seemed to settle over any space.  That is, of course, unless you voted for Donald Trump.  Then I had to observe the triumph.  I really didn't know how I was going to cope, but eventually the rough edges wore off.  In an effort to stay up-to-date, I read the NYT, the New Yorker, I watched the PBS Newshour, all of which were highly unsatisfying.  I read Heather Cox Richardson's  daily Letter to America and anything I saw with Anne Applebaum's name on it and these were better.  This went on for a while and then I came across The Bulwark podcast The Next Level.  I was hooked on that first episode.  I listened to a couple more and knew I needed to join for the full experience.  These were people who were speaking to me.  This was around April or May of 2025, so it had taken me awhile to find my people, so to speak.  I became a Bulwark member.

I allowed podcasts and newsletters and other reading to rule my life for about a year until I realized that I needed a break.  In June I took a ten day vacation to England and this helped me cut the cord and take the needed break.  I still listen and read, but not with the dedicated attention of my first Bulwark year.  Sarah Longwell announced the upcoming publication of her new book, title and all, and I ordered it on that same day.

I first heard of Sarah Longwell when she was a guest on the Ezra Klein NYT podcast sometime around April of 2024.  The election was still some months off.  The topic of the podcast was something like "What do Republicans want?"  This was my first introduction to Sarah Longwell and I liked her.  Ezra Klein is an excellent podcast host and asks excellent questions.  Sarah Longwell was an excellent guest who offered excellent responses.  

After over a year of listening to and reading The Bulwark, I knew I was receiving information I could trust and count on.  It was occasionally gloom and doom, but not always.  Despite the ongoing onslaught of never ending corruption, law breaking, and enough general mismanagement of the Trump administration to choke a horse, The Bulwark, somehow and miraculously, identifies and covers it all for their audience.

So, when I ordered How to Eat and Elephant: One Voter at a Time, I was well-acquainted with Sarah's analysis and her way of explaining things.  Her book has blown me away.  Although I hoped it would be good, I'm not sure what I was expecting. Because I don't read books about politics I had no pre-conceived gauge, again, so to speak.  Her writing is as smooth as butter and as clear at the waters of Lake Superior.  But her understanding of this time in America's history is without parallel.  Her organizational skill guides the reader along.  There is no struggle to understand concepts or events.  I'm used to listening to Sarah Longwell and she writes as she speaks, only better.  If you want to understand the fix we are in, how we got here and how we can get out of it, you must read How to Eat and Elephant.  I feel a little foolish writing you must as if it is a command.  But only a little.  You will not be disappointed.  This is an important book and I hope that every politician and anyone associated with a political campaign will read this book.