AP's 'Divided America' series is published as e-book

Originally posted on AP.org

Is America still great or has the country lost its way? That’s the question that helped launch the long-running Associated Press series, "Divided America," whose 26 stories have been gathered in a new e-book.

Through stories focused on the daily lives of ordinary Americans,  "Divided America: An AP Guide to the Fracturing of a Nation" reveals the tensions and issues underlying the tumultuous 2016 U.S. presidential election, while going beyond the politics of the moment to ask: How will Americans face continued challenges well after a new president has been chosen?

"The forces that have led us to this era of political volatility are not only ideological. They are cultural, social and more than anything, economic," said Brian Carovillano, AP's vice president of U.S. news. "AP journalists fanned out into communities across the country to better understand these forces and 'Divided America' is the result of that reporting. We are really proud of this work, which is enduring and important journalism."

Each story in the e-book features images taken by AP’s award-winning photographers. 

The "Divided America" series began in June. The e-book also includes personal reflections from AP journalists that provide additional insight into the lives of those they profiled over a period of several months.

Proceeds from each purchase of the e-book will support the efforts of the National Freedom of Information Coalition in protecting the right to an open government and advocating for accessibility and transparency, especially at the state and local levels. 

"The National Freedom of Information Coalition works every day to make certain public records stay that way, and that people have open access to the democratic processes in their state," said Mal Leary, president of the coalition's board. "We are humbled to have AP's support in keeping state government open, by means of this project."

"Divided America" is available now for $2.99 exclusively on Amazon. 

Contact
Paul Colford 
Vice President and Director of Media Relations
The Associated Press
212-621-1895
pcolford@ap.org

Lauren Easton
Media Relations Manager
The Associated Press
212-621-7005
leaston@ap.org

About AP
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP. On the web: www.ap.org

In pursuit of Hillary Clinton with 'The Girls in the Van'

Originally posted on AP.org

“The Girls in the Van,” Associated Press journalist Beth J. Harpaz’s celebrated account of Hillary Clinton’s successful run for a U.S. Senate seat from New York in 2000, is back with new insights as her second fight for the Democratic presidential nomination intensifies.

First published in 2001, “The Girls in the Van” has been reissued as an e-book by AP and Diversion Books. It’s a remix of the original, with some passages dropped, a new opening chapter added and certain events given a context sharpened by time as Harpaz brings along readers in the press van that followed the former first lady from Buffalo to Brooklyn.

Then as now, questions about her authenticity, her marriage to former President Bill Clinton and an array of thorny issues have shadowed her chances.

“The Girls in the Van” was titled with a nod to a classic of politics and media, “The Boys on the Bus,” Timothy Crouse’s chronicle of the race that pitted President Richard M. Nixon against Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., in 1972, when the candidates, their handlers and the reporters were all men.

Some things in “The Girls in the Van” will seem “terribly dated to today’s readers,” Harpaz writes. “The book was written just as old media was giving way to new media, when the daily deadlines of newspapers and TV broadcasts were replaced by the 24-hour cycle of cable news and the Internet. In the year 2000, we marveled that anyone could read email on a cellphone. We thought it was overkill to get a mere 12 emails a day (!!) from the campaign. We needed satellite equipment to send a photo to our offices ... As such, the book is a snapshot in time.”

“On the other hand,” Harpaz adds, “I believe my portrait of Hillary Clinton has withstood the test of time. She started out the Senate campaign as a buttoned-up, standoffish first lady who once insisted that the press be escorted out of a fundraiser while she ate. She didn’t take questions from reporters, she didn’t rub shoulders with the public; the Queen of England was more accessible than Hillary Clinton. That changed as the campaign wore on, and by the end, she thought nothing of standing in the middle of Grand Central, literally allowing herself to be engulfed by fans.”

“Beth offers a look back into Hillary Clinton’s history that feels notably familiar to those of us charged with covering her today,” AP national political writer Lisa Lerer writes in a new foreword. “Beth follows her on grueling campaign swings, traces her struggles to connect with voters and valiantly tries to analyze the back-and-forth of a never-ending stream of political outrage.”

Lerer adds: “Yes, the scandals have been updated: Emails and paid speeches, not parades and pardons, are the controversies of the day. A $300 million family foundation has replaced a White House intern as her most pernicious personal baggage …  And though technology has profoundly remade media and politics, so much about the experience of covering her hasn’t changed. The clashes with a strategically unhelpful campaign staff. The notably female press corps endlessly scrutinized for bias.  And the intense outpouring of emotion -- be it love or hate -- that Hillary seems to spark across the political spectrum.”

The new e-book is available from a number of outlets. A photo of Harpaz and a cover image are available on request.     

To learn about other AP books, visit our website.

About AP

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP. On the Web: www.ap.org. 

Contact

Paul Colford 

Vice President & Director of Media Relations

The Associated Press

PColford@AP.org

212.621.1895

Lauren Easton

Media Relations Manager

LEaston@AP.org

212.621.7005