Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History

The New York Times bestselling author of The Gatekeepers and The Spymasters now turns his sharp eye towards the historic 2024 presidential race, providing the definitive, insider account of the most dramatic and significant political showdown in modern American history.

A disastrous debate, a would-be assassin’s bullet, an electrifying eleventh hour candidate swap, dramatic and surprising VP selections, betrayals behind closed doors, charges of a stolen election, game-changing blunders—the history-making 2024 presidential election is a political saga of Shakespearean proportions. In minute-by-minute detail, esteemed White House historian and political analyst Chris Whipple chronicles the unprecedented drama as it unfolds, documenting the true story of the Harris and Trump campaigns and the difficult, urgent decisions made in the back rooms of power, with the future of American democracy at stake.

Alternating between the Biden/Harris/Walz and the Trump/Vance camps, Whipple tells the fly-on-the-wall story of campaign 2024, drawing on his unique access to exclusive sources on both sides, including conversations with members of the candidates’ inner circles. Whipple goes behind the scenes of every headline-making moment to reveal how a post-debate intra-party rebellion forced Biden to step aside, how the nomination of Vice President Harris at a thrilling convention reshaped the race, how Harris rallied excited voters across generations and demographics, but ultimately could not overcome the underlying weaknesses of her campaign. Whipple also burrows inside Donald Trump’s campaign to reveal startling new insights into how he overcame primary opponents and multiple prosecutions, rebranded his base to appeal to Gen Z voters, and forged powerful alliances with Silicon Valley CEOs like Elon Musk.

An intimate portrait of American politics on the edge, filled with previously untold stories, anecdotes, and insights, Uncharted is the authoritative account of this pivotal chapter in American politics. As he brings to life the most dramatic and important presidential campaign of the modern age and puts it into historical perspective, Whipple exposes how ambition, conviction, and resilience collide at the highest echelons of power, offering a deeper understanding of the forces that define a divided nation.

© 2025 Harper Influence (Audiobook): 9780063386242

Release date

Audiobook: 8 April 2025