One Sentence Summary
What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton is a memoir detailing her experiences during the 2016 US Presidential Election campaign and her thoughts on the election results.
Book Genre
What Happened is a Political & Current Affairs memoir.
Main Topic of the Book
The main topic of What Happened is Hillary Clinton’s experiences leading up to and following the 2016 US Presidential Election. From her primary victory as the Democratic candidate to her concession to Donald Trump, Clinton provides an honest and reflective look into what she and her campaign staff believed was a successful but ultimately unsuccessful effort.
Key Ideas
- The role sexism and misogyny played in the election
- The power of alternative and false news sources
- The lasting influence of the FBI investigation into Clinton’s use of a personal email server
- The role of the 2016 Democratic nominee contest between Clinton and Bernie Sanders
- The cyber warfare unleashed by Russia against the Clinton campaign and the impact it had on the election results
- Donald Trump’s ability to capitalize on the fear of many voters
- The failure of the Democratic Party to reach traditionally Democrat voters
- Clinton’s reflections on the election results and how they make her feel today
Main Parts of the Book and a Short Summary
What Happened is divided into three main parts:
Part I: On Being a Woman in Politics & Running for President
The opening paper of the book covers Clinton’s views on the challenges faced by women in politics and how they manage to overcome them. Clinton describes explicitly her challenges, victories and losses during the primary campaign against Bernie Sanders and the General Election campaign against Donald Trump.
Part II: The Great Unraveling & How We Got Here
In the second part of the book, Clinton looks at all the events leading up to the election and how they impacted both her campaign and Trump’s. Specifically, Clinton dives into the FBI investigation into her use of a personal email server, the spread of “fake news” and cyber-attacks from Russia, and the role of the media during this tumultuous election cycle.
Part III: Moving Forward
In the final part of the book, Clinton looks at the aftermath of the election and offers suggestions on how to move forward both as a nation and as individuals. She also looks at how she can best use her voice and platform to continue fighting for what she believes in.
Key Takeaways
- Clinton provides an honest and thought-provoking analysis of her experience and the events leading up to her loss in the 2016 election
- She examines the role of sexism, “fake news”, and cyber-warfare in the election and offers insight on how the nation can move forward despite a divisive election cycle
- Running for President and attempting to win while being a female in the United States was a challenge that Clinton experienced and chronicles, culminating in a thoughtful reflection that could be beneficial to any woman in a similar situation
Author’s Background and Qualifications
Hillary Rodham Clinton is a former US Senator and Secretary of State and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. She served in the Obama administration from 2009-2013 and has served in various other prominent roles throughout her career. She is a lawyer and activist as well as an author, having written several books in addition to What Happened.
Target Audience
What Happened is written for primarily for two types of audiences: individuals who followed Clinton’s candidacy and are interested in her thoughts on the election results, and Americans who want a better understanding of the events and issues that dominated the election and the impact they had on the outcome.
Publisher and First Publication Date
What Happened was published by Simon & Schuster and released on September 12th, 2017.