Now with a New Preface and Conclusion: 'Post-Truth: On Donald Trump and the 2016 Election' The United States of America is in the midst of a deepening crisis for their democracy. After the strangest election cycle in modern American history it is important that the grave threats to the American way of life that were glaringly revealed in this campaign are addressed. In The Assault on Reason, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Vice President Al Gore examines how faith in the power of reason – the idea that citizens can govern themselves through rational debate – is in peril. Democracy depends on a well-informed citizenry and a two-way conversation about ideas, but the public sphere has been degraded by fake news and the politics of fear, partisanship and blind faith. Now updated to investigate the rise of Trump and post-truth politics, The Assault on Reason is a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking, crucial if the vitality of democracy is to be rebuilt and good decisions made once more.