Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History

The New York Times bestseller. “This book couldn’t be more timely, appearing as President Trump ratchets up his attacks on the news media.” —Jill Abramson, The New York Times Book Review

Katy Tur lived out of a suitcase for a year and a half, following Trump around the country, powered by packets of peanut butter and kept clean with dry shampoo. She visited forty states with the candidate, made more than three,800 live television reports, and tried to endure a gazillion loops of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” —a Trump rally playlist staple.

From day one to day 500, Tur documented Trump’s inconsistencies, fact-checked his falsities, and called him out on his lies. In return, Trump repeatedly singled Tur out. He tried to charm her, intimidate her, and shame her. At one point, he got a crowd so riled up against Tur, Secret Service agents had to walk her to her car.

None of it worked. Facts are stubborn. So was Tur. She was part of the first women-led politics team in the history of network news. The Boys on the Bus became the Girls on the Plane. But the circus remained. Through all the long nights, wild scoops, naked chauvinism, dodgy staffers, and fevered debates, no one had a better view than Tur.

Unbelievable is her darkly comic, fascinatingly bizarre, and often scary story of how America sent a former reality show host to the White House. It’s also the story of what it was like for Tur to be there as it happened, inside a no-rules world where reporters were spat on, demeaned, and discredited. Unbelievable is a must-read for anyone who still wakes up and wonders, Is this real life?

© 2024 Dey Street Books (Ebook): 9780062684943

Release date

Ebook: February 27, 2024