A LITHUB BOOK OF THE DECADE. The US is one of the largest democracies in the world — or is it? America is experiencing an age of profound economic inequality. Employee protections have been decimated, and state welfare is virtually non-existent, while hedge fund billionaires are grossly under-taxed and big businesses make astounding profits at the expense of the environment and of their workers. How did this come about, and who were the driving forces behind it? In this powerful and meticulously researched work of investigative journalism, New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer exposes the network of billionaires trying to buy the US electoral system — and succeeding. Led by libertarian industrialists the Koch brothers, they believe that taxes are a form of tyranny and that government oversight of business is an assault on freedom. Together, they have spent hundreds of millions of dollars influencing politicians and voters, and hijacking American democracy for their own ends. Dark Money brilliantly illuminates a shady corner of US politics. It is essential reading for anybody interested in the future of democracy.