In this smart, sharply written first novel, David S. Mitchell captures the idealism and frustration of trying to turn Obama’s promise of hope and change from a moment into a movement.  His ear for politics, race, and how the two intersect in a Southern Senate campaign is pitch perfect.  Although fiction, We Hold These Truths is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how political campaigns can give wings to hope or crush it, and sometimes both.

Bruce H. Mann,
Carl F. Schipper, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School