‘Extraordinary … A superb work of history.’
Tim Naftali, The New York Times Book Review
‘Pioneering and judicious … [Rigged] should be read by everyone who wants to defend democracy now.’ Timothy Snyder
The definitive account of covert operations to influence elections from the Cold War to 2016 – and why the threat is greater than ever in 2020.
Russia's interference in 2016 marked only the latest chapter of a hidden and revelatory history. In Rigged, David Shimer tells the sweeping story of covert electoral interference past and present. He exposes decades of secret operations – by the CIA, the KGB, and Vladimir Putin's Russia – to shape electoral outcomes, melding deep historical research with groundbreaking interviews with more than 130 key players, from former CIA directors to a KGB general.
What Americans should make of Russia's attack in 2016 is still hotly debated, even after the release of the Mueller Report and years of media coverage. Shimer shows that Putin's operation was, in fact, a continuation of an ongoing struggle, using familiar weapons radically enhanced by new technology. Casting aside partisanship and sensationalism, Rigged reveals new details about what Russia achieved in 2016, how the United States responded, and why Putin has also been interfering in elections across the globe in recent years.
Understanding 2016 as one battle in a much longer war is essential to understanding the critical threat currently posed to America's electoral sovereignty and how to defend against it. Illuminating how the lessons of the past can be used to protect our democracy in the future, Rigged is an essential book for readers of every political persuasion.
About the Author :
DAVID SHIMER is pursuing a doctorate in international relations at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. His reporting and analysis have appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, and Foreign Affairs. He is an associate fellow of Davenport College at Yale University, where he received his undergraduate and master's degrees in history.
Review :
‘Extraordinary and gripping … With the pacing of a thriller and the insight of a superb work of history … This book is nothing less than essential reading.
Tim Naftali, The New York Times Book Review
‘Convincing … A judicious overview of our unhappy times.’
Luke Harding, Guardian
‘Covert efforts to influence U.S. elections is not new – it is part of a hundred year strategy by the Russians to undermine our democracy. This age-old competition between the superpowers was won by the Russians in 2016. But as David Shimer makes clear in this book – it is up to us to decide whether we will lose again in this new chapter of the Cold War or whether we will successfully defend our democratic experiment.’
Leon Panetta, former Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA
‘Rigged is a riveting read. David Shimer provides a clear-eyed, highly readable, meticulous history of foreign electoral interference, in which revelations abound … Indispensable … Very timely and very relevant, especially as we approach the elections of 2020. Readers won’t be able to put it down.’
General (Ret.) David Petraeus, former Director of the CIA and Commander of Coalition Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan
‘Absorbing.’
Carlos Lozada, Washington Post
‘A truly significant book; by all means, read it.’
Ambassador Donald Gregg, Former CIA Station Chief and National Security Advisor to VP George H.W. Bush
‘A brilliant, eye-opening, and riveting book.’
Jake Sullivan, Former Director of Policy Planning, State Department
'Rigged establishes the facts: when and why Russians and Americans have meddled in the politics of other countries – and of one another … An excellent resource for people who want to know what actually happened.
Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History
