The Great Divide: Story of the 2016 US Presidential Race

The Great Divide: Story of the 2016 US Presidential Race takes readers on a tour of one of the most unusual, controversial, and compelling elections in history. It starts in June 2015 when billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump joins a crowded field of Republican candidates and soon vaults to No. 1 in the polls. It ends with a result that shocks the world. In between, readers will enjoy a play-by-play (or blow-by-blow) account of all the events that made headlines during the campaign. Written in real time, the story captures each event as it occurred, up through the election. You will read about Bernie Sanders reigniting 1960s liberalism, Hillary Clinton's e-mails, the Supreme Court vacancy, the "Stop Trump" movement, terrorist attacks, rally violence, Muslim bans, Mexican walls, and more. The book also explores the issues that have created such a polarized electorate.

Kirkus Reviews calls The Great Divide: Story of the 2016 US Presidential Race "lucid, well-paced and evocative ... an absorbing read." Story lines include:

• An anti-abortion group infiltrates Planned Parenthood and shoots a covert video of an official discussing the "sale of baby body parts," leading GOP candidates to condemn Planned Parenthood and to call for an end to its federal funding.

• The United States and other world powers sign a nuclear deal with Iran that is denounced by Republicans universally and by some Democrats.

• Several GOP candidates support a county clerk in Kentucky who refuses to issue marriage licenses to gay couples because it conflicts with her religion.

• The Islamic State downs a Russian passenger jet, kills 130 people in Paris, and influences an attack in San Bernardino, all in the last months of 2015.

• Candidates spar over how to stop terrorism, with some suggesting a religious test to determine who can come to America.

• As the first female presidential nominee of a major party, Hillary Clinton gets grilled on Benghazi; her e-mails, speeches, honesty, voice, and stamina; her husband's behavior; and other issues.

• The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia exposes the partisan divide at its starkest when Congressional Republicans refuse to consider any replacement nominated by President Obama.

• The GOP forms a "Stop Trump" faction, believing Trump is not really a Republican.

• Russians allegedly try to influence the election by hacking Democrats' e-mails.

• A dozen women accuse Trump of sexual assault, and he denies all charges.

These are just some of the events that made the 2016 US presidential race one sure to be discussed and dissected for years. All of this is covered in The Great Divide.

Howard Harrison is an award-winning writer with more than 40 years of experience as a speechwriter, ghostwriter, and journalist. The Great Divide: Story of the 2016 US Presidential Race is his second bylined book title. His first, NOW They Make It Legal: Reflections of an Aging Baby Boomer, was named a 2016 Reviewer's Choice by the Midwest Book Review. Mr. Harrison's articles on politics, Baby Boomers, and other topics have appeared in newspapers and other media nationwide. He also has been interviewed on radio and television discussing the 2016 presidential race and other timely topics. Mr. Harrison earned his journalism degree in 1978 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he cut his political teeth, participating in a campus demonstration his first week on campus and later covering the 1976 presidential race for the student newspaper. After college, he worked as a writer, editor, and communications executive for several large organizations in the Chicago area before forming his own business, Harrison Editorial, Inc., in 1994.