This is Citizen Jack’s book, a masterful demonstration of a personal view turned sociopolitical gold. —CHARLES R. AULT JR., Professor Emeritus, Lewis & Clark College
Jack Hassard’s The Trump Files: An Account of the Trump Administration’s Effect on American Democracy, Human Rights, Science, and Public Health is a powerful, meticulously organized chronicle of one of the most polarizing presidencies in American history. Hassard, an emeritus professor of science education, assumes the role of what Robert Jay Lifton calls a “witnessing professional”—an expert who not only observes but takes a moral stance in the face of political and societal upheaval.
The book is divided into six parts and thirteen chapters, each tackling a different facet of the Trump administration’s governance—from the erosion of democratic norms and civil rights to the undermining of science, environmental protections, and public health infrastructure. Hassard’s background in science education brings an especially clear-eyed and informed perspective to the administration’s dismissal of scientific consensus and expertise, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and climate policy debates.
One of the book’s strengths lies in its accessible writing style and use of evidence. Hassard draws from a wide range of sources—news reports, government documents, and scholarly studies—to support his arguments. This makes the book not just a polemic but a carefully documented account suitable for both scholars and concerned citizens.
Hassard also excels at linking the Trump administration’s actions to broader historical and philosophical frameworks. By placing Trump’s rise in the context of authoritarian movements and anti-intellectualism, the book moves beyond the day-to-day chaos to address the deeper structural challenges facing American democracy.
However, readers looking for a neutral or bi-partisan tone will not find it here. Hassard writes with the urgency and clarity of someone deeply alarmed by what he has witnessed. For some, this will be a welcome voice of conscience; for others, it may seem unyielding in its critique.
In sum, The Trump Files is a vital contribution to the growing body of literature examining the Trump presidency. It is not only a historical document but a call to action—urging readers to remain vigilant, informed, and engaged in the ongoing struggle for democracy, science, and justice.
Recommended for: educators, historians, policy analysts, activists, and any reader seeking a well-reasoned critique of Trump-era America.
Jack Hassard, Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor of Science Education at Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in science education and geology after receiving degrees at Bridgewater State University and Boston University and studying at Illinois Institute of Technology. He was professor of science education at GSU from 1969 - 2003.
He is an internationally known science educator, researcher and writer. His books include Minds on Science (HarperCollins), The Art of Teaching Science (Oxford & Rutledge), The Whole Cosmos Catalogue of Science (Goodyear), Science as Inquiry (Goodyear), Environmental Science on the Net (Goodyear), and Holt Science (Holt, Rinehart & Winston).
Jack Hassard has also spent an adventurous career as a "Citizen Diplomat," traveling extensively through Russia and the world, creating courses, exchanging democratic views on psychology, education, environmental science, and other subjects needed for a peaceful coexistence and to prevent war.
He co-created the Global Thinking Project, a hands-across-the-global Internet-based environmental science program linking schools in the United States with those in Russia, Australia, Czech Republic, Spain and other countries. The GTP supported exchanges of researchers, public school teachers and students between Georgia (USA) and Russia during the 1980s and 1990s.
He's been blogging since 2005. His blog posts served as the foundation for his first self-published book, The Trump Files (Northington-Hearn Publishing). The Trump Files is a vivid, real-time documentation of the nation's turbulent Trump years returning citizens to those troubling days of not-so-very-long-ago to help deal with the future.
As the cover of his new book, The Trump Files portends, we are living in a world that has been turned on its head. There are many books out now on the Trump years, but this one comes from a practical and extensive wisdom that should not be missed.
