THE HUGE SUNDAY TIMES AND No. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'Explosive' Guardian
'Explosive' The Times
'Explosive' Daily Mail
'Explosive' Politico
'Explosive' New York Times

The book that revealed one of the greatest cover-ups in modern American history.

Joe Biden, his family and his senior aides were convinced that only he could beat Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election. So convinced, in fact, that they lied to themselves, allies and the public about his condition and limitations – all but dooming the Democrats to defeat.

Here, two of America’s best-respected political journalists draw on astonishing access to Biden's circle to uncover what really happened in 2024. Hailed as an instant classic of investigative journalism, Original Sin exposed the greatest campaign of denial and gaslighting in modern American history - leading directly to Donald Trump’s return to power, and all that has come since.

'The shocking truth of the last year of Biden's presidency . . . A scathing account of an elderly, egotistical president cocooned from reality.' Guardian

'A damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, aging president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term.' New York Times

'How American voters became victims of one of the greatest political cover-ups of modern times . . . It was the gaslighting of a nation.' The Times

Damning and well-documented. * TELEGRAPH *
A scathing account of an elderly, egotistical president cocooned from reality seeking re-election in 2024 despite significant concerns about his declining health and cognitive abilities. * GUARDIAN *
Tapper and Thompson's portrait of a decrepit American president is devastating... Original Sin succeeds because it has a strong thesis and an arresting narrative, delivered in made-for-TV episodes. * FINANCIAL TIMES *
How American voters became victims of one of the great poltiical cover-ups of modern times . . . It was the gaslighting of a nation. * THE TIMES *
A fascinating insight... this book shines a blinding light on the extent to which Joe Biden was ageing rapidly, becoming tired and confused and patently unfit for a second term in office. * iNEWS *
Explosive . . . Tapper and Thompson have done the [Democratic] party a favor. Some sort of reckoning is due for the disastrous missteps that that paved the way for Trump’s return. * MICHELLE GOLDBERG, co-author of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS *
[The] most significant book to date about Biden’s cognitive decline, which was written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’s Alex Thompson and draws on hundreds of interviews . . . To their credit, they do little editorializing. The book is written not unlike an autopsy report, describing a gruesome political car crash in dispassionate, clinical detail. * ATLANTIC *
Superbly reported . . . Reads like a Shakespearean drama on steroids. * LOS ANGELES TIMES *
Original Sin is not really a 'campaign book'—its account of the 2024 election largely ends after Biden drops out—but its simple assessment of the race is more compelling than anything else I’ve read about it . . . Original Sin is rarely better than when Tapper and Thompson are writing—with extensive reporting and clear-eyed prose—about the disaster that Biden caused . . . Over the next year, dozens of books will appear that attempt to explain this election. It’s hard to imagine any doing better than that. * WASHINGTON POST *
A damning, step-by-step account of how the people closest to a stubborn, ageing president enabled his quixotic resolve to run for a second term. * NEW YORK TIMES *

Jake Tapper is the chief Washington correspondent for CNN. An Emmy Award-winning TV journalist and twice New York Times-bestselling novelist, in 2024 he chaired the Trump–Biden debate that began the unravelling of the president’s re-election campaign. A Dartmouth graduate and Philadelphia native, he lives in Washington, DC with his family.

Alex Thompson is a national political correspondent for Axios and a CNN contributor. Before that, he created Politico’s West Wing Playbook newsletter and worked at the New York Times and Vice News. A Harvard graduate, he lives in Washington, DC.