What Happened
Score Modern
What it's about
Hillary Rodham Clinton writes about the 2016 presidential campaign she lost to Donald Trump: what she was thinking and feeling during it, the mistakes she made, what she believes went wrong around her, and how she coped afterward. Letting her guard down, as she puts it, she writes more personally than ever before.
Why it's worth reading
It spent two weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It's a candid account of one of the most consequential elections in American history, from the losing candidate.
You'll love it if you liked
A Promised Land, Becoming or A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership
Good to know
It's her own view of events still argued over, so it's best read as a memoir. Its chapters on grief and recovery stand on their own.
Quick answers
Is What Happened worth reading?
Yes. It spent two weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It ranks #1,069 of the 2,819 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 72.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is What Happened about?
Hillary Rodham Clinton writes about the 2016 presidential campaign she lost to Donald Trump: what she was thinking and feeling during it, the mistakes she made, what she believes went wrong around her, and how she coped afterward. Letting her guard down, as she puts it, she writes more personally than ever before.
How long does it take to read What Happened?
About 13 hours (512 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after What Happened?
If you liked it, try A Promised Land by Barack Obama, Becoming by Michelle Obama or A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey.
By the numbers
- Readers63 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller56 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
#1 New York Times bestseller (2 weeks at #1).
Where it ranks
- #24 of the 44 politics books we rank
- #139 of the 198 history books we rank
- #557 of the 1,575 modern books we rank
- #1069 of the 2,819 books we rank
Bestseller
- #1 New York Times bestseller (2 weeks at #1)
- 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2017
Reads as
True story
If you like this, read next
A Promised Land
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
How to Be an Antiracist
Grant
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York