u003cbu003eu003ciu003eThe Washington Postu003c/iu003eu003c/bu003eu003cbu003e’s Pulitzer Prize–winning book critic uses the books of the Trump era to argue that our response to this presidency reflects the same failures of imagination that made it possible. u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eAs a book critic for u003ciu003eThe Washington Postu003c/iu003e, Carlos Lozada has read some 150 volumes claiming to diagnose why Trump was elected and what his presidency reveals about our nation. Many of these, he’s found, are more defensive than incisive, more righteous than right.u003cbru003e u003cbru003eIn u003ciu003eWhat Were We Thinkingu003c/iu003e, Lozada uses these books to tell the story of how we understand ourselves in the Trump era, using as his main characters the political ideas and debates at play in America today. He dissects works on the white working class like u003ciu003eHillbilly Elegyu003c/iu003e; manifestos from the anti-Trump resistance like u003ciu003eOn Tyrannyu003c/iu003e and u003ciu003eNo Is Not Enoughu003c/iu003e; books on race, gender, and identity like u003ciu003eHow to Be an Antiracistu003c/iu003e and u003ciu003eGood and Madu003c/iu003e; polemics on the future of the conservative movement like u003ciu003eThe Corrosion of Conservatismu003c/iu003e; and of course plenty of books about Trump himself.u003cbru003e u003cbru003eLozada’s argument is provocative: that many of these books—whether written by liberals or conservatives, activists or academics, Trump’s true believers or his harshest critics—are vulnerable to the same blind spots, resentments, and failures that gave us his presidency. But Lozada also highlights the books that succeed in illuminating how America is changing in the 21st century. u003ciu003eWhat Were We Thinkingu003c/iu003e is an intellectual history of the Trump era in real time, helping us transcend the battles of the moment and see ourselves for who we really are.