Interested in the media world that gave us Matt Drudge, Andrew Breitbart and Donald Trump? Order my latest book, Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked Us on Politics and Broke Our Democracy (Basic Books, July 7, 2020).

“In her lively new book, Potter tackles a topic too many historians ignore–the central role media play in shaping our political lives.” Nicole Hemmer, Columbia University

“I’m a political junkie, and if you’re reading this, you probably are too.” David Greenberg, Rutgers University

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My first book, War on Crime: Bandits, G-Men and the Politics of Mass Culture (Rutgers University Press, 1998), is also about political media–and the making of the FBI during the New Deal.

“War on Crime introduces a whole new dimension into analysis of teh American state in the twentieth century.” Lizabeth Cohen, Harvard University

“Based on exhaustive and imaginative research, Claire Bond Potter intelligently blends political, cultural, and social history to produce the most satisfying account yet of the forces behind the FBI’s rise to power and glory during the Dillinger days of the 1930’s.” Richard Gid Powers, City University of New York

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Historians on Hamilton: How a Blockbuster Musical is Re-staging America’s Past (Rutgers University Press, 2018) is a collection of articles about one of the most extraordinary Broadway hits ever. It is accessibly written for students, scholars, and fans of the show.

“An erudite and accessible scholarly consideration of the Broadway phenomenon that created an Alexander Hamilton palatable for our times.” Annette Gordon-Reed, Harvard University

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Doing Recent History: On Privacy, Copyright, Video Games, Institutional Review Boards, Activist Scholarship, and History That Talks Back (University of Georgia Press, 2012) is for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and working historians who are getting ready to plunge into research and writing about the recent past.

“How I wish Doing Recent History had been available when I began writing histories that were ‘just over my shoulder.’ Potter and Romano demonstrate that tackling recent history poses unique challenges, and they offer absolutely indispensable guidance in meeting them.” Alice Echols, University of Southern California