How to Eat an Elephant: One Voter at a Time
Sarah Longwell
Sep 2026 · St. Martin's Press
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8 reviews
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336
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About this ebook
The #1 National Indie and Audible bestseller and #2 New York Times bestseller!
The ultimate playbook for consigning MAGA-style politics to the ash heap of history for good. Featuring a foreword by Jonathan V. Last.
After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Sarah Longwell did what she's done nearly every week for the past eight years: She sat down with voters. She conducted hundreds of focus groups, listening to thousands of ordinary Americans—Republicans, Democrats, and the politically homeless—with the goal of understanding politics through the eyes of the people who will decide our country’s future.
American voters, and what they want for their country, are at the heart of How to Eat an Elephant. Longwell, the founder of The Bulwark and one of the sharpest political communicators of her generation, lays out the playbook for building a coalition big enough, bold enough, and tough enough to defeat authoritarian populism for good. Not with a single election. Not by doing another poll or debating the benefits of being more progressive or more moderate, but by building something new: A modern pro-democracy movement that can create its own communications infrastructure—just like the right has done for decades—achieve narrative dominance, elevate more compelling leaders, and talk to voters like adults.
Drawing on her own unlikely political journey from a lesbian Republican operative to the vanguard of the anti-MAGA movement, Longwell delivers a book that is equal parts war manual and pep talk—with her personal and professional story woven throughout. With her trademark bluntness and humor, she explains exactly how we got here and, more importantly, what we must build next—all while directly quoting the most important but overlooked people in the country: the voters themselves.
She answers the question: How do you eat an elephant? One voter at a time.
The ultimate playbook for consigning MAGA-style politics to the ash heap of history for good. Featuring a foreword by Jonathan V. Last.
After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Sarah Longwell did what she's done nearly every week for the past eight years: She sat down with voters. She conducted hundreds of focus groups, listening to thousands of ordinary Americans—Republicans, Democrats, and the politically homeless—with the goal of understanding politics through the eyes of the people who will decide our country’s future.
American voters, and what they want for their country, are at the heart of How to Eat an Elephant. Longwell, the founder of The Bulwark and one of the sharpest political communicators of her generation, lays out the playbook for building a coalition big enough, bold enough, and tough enough to defeat authoritarian populism for good. Not with a single election. Not by doing another poll or debating the benefits of being more progressive or more moderate, but by building something new: A modern pro-democracy movement that can create its own communications infrastructure—just like the right has done for decades—achieve narrative dominance, elevate more compelling leaders, and talk to voters like adults.
Drawing on her own unlikely political journey from a lesbian Republican operative to the vanguard of the anti-MAGA movement, Longwell delivers a book that is equal parts war manual and pep talk—with her personal and professional story woven throughout. With her trademark bluntness and humor, she explains exactly how we got here and, more importantly, what we must build next—all while directly quoting the most important but overlooked people in the country: the voters themselves.
She answers the question: How do you eat an elephant? One voter at a time.
The #1 National Indie and Audible bestseller and #2 New York Times bestseller!
The ultimate playbook for consigning MAGA-style politics to the ash heap of history for good. Featuring a foreword by Jonathan V. Last.
After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Sarah Longwell did what she's done nea...
Ratings and reviews
8 reviews
Matthew Gaudio
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October 27, 2026
How To Eat An Elephant. Is a phenomenal new-age old-era novel about the coming to Life Time and Nature of The Elephant. so embarking as The Democratic Symbol of Freedom and Unification of Freedom among different Nation. It also qualifies as a treatise on New World Politic in the Modern American Agenda beforehand and afterward. It's most important revelation is Geo Politics and the relationship between USA and The Rest of The World. It's also Dogmatic in it's approach to colonialism closely resembling mistakes made in the past. It's pointing blame at the heavy nation-states and refuses to reproach harmful tactics against them as the cause of strife poverty and untold suffering. How To Eat An Elephant is a strong read on the difference between countries Nation and Politics among them.
Vintage Rider
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October 21, 2026
Took me longer. 'cause I read slowly. I've recommended it to folks on Facebook and in person. Great read.
About the author
Sarah Longwell is CEO and Publisher of The Bulwark, one of the fastest-growing independent media companies in the country, with millions of subscribers across all platforms. She is also the host of The Focus Group podcast, in which listeners hear directly from voters in Sarah’s focus groups. She has decades of experience leading some of the nation’s highest-visibility targeted persuasion campaigns and is a nationally recognized leader in qualitative research. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her family and is a graduate of Kenyon College.
Sarah Longwell is CEO and Publisher of The Bulwark, one of the fastest-growing independent media companies in the country, with millions of subscribers across all platforms. She is also the host of The Focus Group podcast, in which listeners hear directly from voters in Sarah’s focus groups. She ...
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