The Song Behind Today’s Review Title
The Clash was one of a handful of pacesetting and extraordinary rock bands that came out of London in the late 1970s. Along with groups like the Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Buzzcocks, the Clash were there at the very beginning of the punk phenomenon, and their success helped lead the way into the New Wave movement that swept through popular music post-punk, and helped defined the music of the 1980s.
While the band was popular in the UK from the release of their first album in 1977, it wasn’t until their third album, London Calling, that they broke through in the US. From that album, the song Train in Vain was an international hit. It was the band’s first single to reach the top 40 in the United States. With its bouncy beat, infectious rhythm, and Mick Jones’ plaintive vocals it was the break-up song of 1980. Train in Vain peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #30 on the Dance Club Songs chart.
In the song the singer looks back on a lost love and laments that his lover has left him. He complains that all his dreams are “tumbling down” and he’s just keeping the “wolves at bay”. His heart aches for the the one who said they loved him, and then left him. They said they’d stand by their man, but, no, he says “you didn’t stand by me.”
In today’s book author Anthony Scaramucci has a similar lament - that starting in the 1980s both American political parties chased globalization and corporate interests and stopped looking out for the country’s working class. In so doing they paved the way to the Trump era. In the world’s foremost democracy, the government failed to stand by the people.
You can listen to the remastered song from the Clash here on Spotify or watch the official music video here on YouTube.
Most people are familiar with Anthony Scaramucci for his brief tenure as the Communications Director for the White House during Trump’s first administration. He lasted eleven days in the position. That’s when his name became a bit of a joke, and was used as a measure of time for other short-tenured officials in the revolving door dynamics that was Trump’s first term — i.e., “so and so lasted three Scaramuccis” or 33 days on the job.
Scaramucci is a New Yorker and successful businessman, and so in that way he has a lot in common with Trump, or at least Trump’s public persona. Unlike Trump he is well read and articulate, and comes from humble roots. His father was a crane operator and a union member.
Scaramucci was initially a Trump true believer. He thought Trump was serious about making major changes in America that would improve the lot of the working class, and was happy for a chance to play a role in an administration so dedicated.
He is far from a true believer today. Scaramucci writes in his Introduction that, rather than worrying about the little guy, “[t]he Trumpist agenda is to centralize corruption and consolidate money in an elite defined not by merit or principle, but only by loyalty to Trump.”
How, he asks, did America arrive at a place where Trump could be elected President? In this book Scaramucci offers his thoughts on what led to the rise of Trump.
In particular Scaramucci points to three presidential decisions that disregarded the American working class and left everyday Americans worse off. All the decisions had economic impacts, and all are part of what Scaramucci calls the “Money Point of View of History”. Together, in Scaramucci’s telling, they led to the the American working class to the conclusion that the system was stacked against them, and left them as voters ready to “blow the whole thing up”. This was the atmosphere that Trump stepped into in 2016.
Author Anthony Scaramucci is known for his 15 minutes of fame as the shortest tenured figure in Trump’s first administration. He is the founder and partner in a “global alternative investment manage[ment]” firm and co-host of the podcast “The Rest is Politics (US)” with BBC journalist Katty Kay. He is also the host of his own podcast, “Open Book” where he does author interviews.
Three decisions - by Presidents Clinton, Bush Jr. and Obama. Across parties each of the three decisions Scaramucci points to truly did change conditions for the worse for average Americans. Yet they weren’t recognized as such at the time, nor were they made with any malice or ill intent. Rather they were made with a kind of logic that won praise from some quarters. It’s just that they totally disregarded the negative economic impacts on the working class.
There is a lot to like about Scaramucci’s analysis. He lays out the history convincingly, and speaks from the perspective of someone who has “been in the room where it happened”. It’s a very approachable, well written book. That’s not to say that this analysis breaks any new ground, is a complete explanation for Trumpism, nor does it really explain how Americans supported Trump for a second term after his insurrection.
If you’re a fan of Scaramucci’s podcasts or are interested in hearing how one former insider believes America found itself with Trump as its President this is a worthwhile read.
RATING: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
OVERALL COMMENTS: A look at how America wound up with Trump as president from the viewpoint of a former Trump true believer.
I GOT MY COPY: I received an advance reviewer’s copy of the ebook through NetGalley and the publisher Henry Holt & Company. The book is available to the public starting today, September 22, 2026.
Title: All the Wrong Moves
Author: Anthony Scaramucci
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Publish Date: September 22, 2026
ISBN-13: 9781250437570
Publisher’s List Price: $29.99 Hardcover, $15.99 ebook, $26.99 audiobook
Other Books and Stuff
CURRENT BOOKS & STUFF
HBO’s Lanterns turned a dark(er?) corner with this week’s episode. Not sure where the series is headed, and that’s part of the appeal.
We went to see a fantastic exhibit of Jim Henson’s work this week at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane. It’s the largest collection of materials from the creator of the Muppets ever put together for the public. Besides puppets like Elmo and Big Bird there are costumes, props, concept drawings as well as large sets from the TV show Fraggle Rock. It was a great exhibit and if you are in the area anytime between now and April of next year I’d encourage you to check it out.
One new book added to the To-Be-Read pile - Malcolm Nance’s Thinker, Sailor, Black Man, Spy. I’ve got an advanced reviewer’s copy that I look forward to telling you about when it comes out in February of next year.
WHAT’S NEXT
We are headed back to Michigan on Sunday, after a couple of months in Australia visiting family, so I am not 100% sure I’ll have a review for you next week. It depends on how busy I get this final week Down Under. So this next revew may not happen until two weeks from now. The next book on my review stack is The Wage Standard by the economist Arindrajit Dube. Here’s the publisher’s description of his new book:
“The go-to guy on minimum wage” (Nobel Laureate and New York Times bestselling author Paul Krugman) tackles one of the thorniest social issues of our times—income inequality—from a new vantage point with field-leading economics.
How did the labor market stop working for so many in the workforce? Why did wages at the bottom and in the middle of the pay scale fail to keep up with a growing economy that delivered over 70 percent productivity gains and soaring incomes for those at the top? What caused this divergence, and what can we do about it now? The Wage Standard is a deep dive into these very questions—questions Arin Dube has explored in over two decades of influential research.
Painting a new picture with data, Dube shows us how wages for most workers became painfully frozen. But also, he argues, this fate was not inevitable, and more importantly, that it can be reversed. The Wage Standard lays bare how the labor market really works, revealing levers to pull to shift course: to reshape corporate decisions, rethink policy priorities, and rebalance economic power and social norms to better protect the typical worker. These are the keys to unlocking broad-based prosperity.
Dube delivers a hopeful message. First, chances are, you deserve a raise. And second, it’s not necessary to fix the broken politics of Washington, DC, in order to get one. Political will, public engagement, and persistence can set a new standard to reset the labor market and improve the lives of American workers starting today. In fact, signs of progress are already offering a glimpse of what a fairer economy can and will look like.
