Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History

By Katy Tur

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Compelling… this book couldn’t be more timely.” – Jill Abramson, New York Times Book Review

From the Recipient of the 2017 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism

Called "disgraceful," "third-rate," and "not nice" by Donald Trump, NBC News correspondent Katy Tur reported on—and took flak from—the most captivating and volatile presidential candidate in American history.

Katy Tur lived out of a suitcase for a year and a half, following Trump around the country, powered by packets of peanut butter and kept clean with dry shampoo. She visited forty states with the candidate, made more than 3,800 live television reports, and tried to endure a gazillion loops of Elton John’s "Tiny Dancer"—a Trump rally playlist staple.

From day 1 to day 500, Tur documented Trump’s inconsistencies, fact-checked his falsities, and called him out on his lies. In return, Trump repeatedly singled Tur out. He tried to charm her, intimidate her, and shame her. At one point, he got a crowd so riled up against Tur, Secret Service agents had to walk her to her car.

None of it worked. Facts are stubborn. So was Tur. She was part of the first women-led politics team in the history of network news. The Boys on the Bus became the Girls on the Plane. But the circus remained. Through all the long nights, wild scoops, naked chauvinism, dodgy staffers, and fevered debates, no one had a better view than Tur.

Unbelievable

is her darkly comic, fascinatingly bizarre, and often scary story of how America sent a former reality show host to the White House. It’s also the story of what it was like for Tur to be there as it happened, inside a no-rules world where reporters were spat on, demeaned, and discredited. Tur was a foreign correspondent who came home to her most foreign story of all. Unbelievable is a must-read for anyone who still wakes up and wonders, Is this real life?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Sep 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9780062684943

Katy Tur

Katy Tur is the anchor of Katy Tur Reports on MSNBC, a correspondent for NBC Nightly News, and the author of the New York Times bestseller Unbelievable. Tur is the recipient of a 2017 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. She lives in New York City.

Reviews for Unbelievable

[far2manybooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thank you for documenting this Katy Tur!

Unbelievable as it was happening, still unbelievable when reading about it! I really admire her determination and strength in experiencing and writing about her experiences.

[maggie1944 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lively, entertaining and not all about Trump, some good personal bits, too. I had a hard time putting it down even though I knew how it ended!

[mrdickie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

NBC/MSNBC commentator Katy Tur about her experience reporting on the presidential campaign of Donalld J. Trump.

[nyiper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was hesitating to read anything MORE about this particular President but Katy Tur's book was perfectly delightful---all Katy--from behind the scenes! I always enjoy her on MSNBC and now I can see why she became someone the network grabbed to fill in anywhere they needed someone, along with her own show.

[patsaintsfan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I cannot even begin to imagine how it was to be assigned to Trump during this campaign!

[msf59 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Katy Tur, a NBC News correspondent, has a much stronger constitution than I have and a much better stomach. If I had to spend 500 days, with Donald J. Trump, I would have contemplated ending my life. Tur was handed this assignment in 2015 but never thought Trump would survive the duration but she slowly became aware of his rising, cult-like popularity and soon had the unsettling feeling he was going to win it all.This is not an easy read, as Tur describes all the distasteful horrors that unfolded during these baffling and horrifying months, but it is a highly entertaining narrative and I have an immense appreciation of Tur's tenacity, sense of humor and clever insight.

[brianinbuffalo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Don't blame Katy Tur. I was likely suffering from "politics overload" when my friendly local library informed me that "Unbelievable" was finally waiting for me in the "hold" section. Over the span of a year, I had already read books by Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Al Franken. I had also recently read "Shattered," a book that dissected Clinton's 2016 campaign. Hence, when I finally started reading Tur's work, I was battling politics fatigue. Not helping matters was the fact that I was aware of many of the anecdotes and encounters that Tur shares in her well-written work. The bottom line: I didn't find this book quite as enlightening or compelling as some other books that focused on contemporary politics. Still, Tur offers an interesting glimpse into the life of a television correspondent who was covering the most twist-filled presidential election in our lifetimes. It's a quick-read that serves up some intriguing nuggets.

[ltietz-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I chose to read this book because in the past I've enjoyed books by other journalists, namely Anderson Cooper and Richard Engel. Katy Tur's book did not disappoint. Her description of covering a presidential campaign was fascinating to me. The chaos, uncertainty, and long hours she endured were almost unthinkable. I admire her passion for her work, her tenaciousness, and her thick skin. She also gave some insight into her personal life, which I thought helped the reader understand what drove her, and why she sacrificed so much for her job. I was riveted by this book, and recommend it to anyone interested in the life of a television political journalist.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a fantastic memoir by Katy Tur - the NBC reporter who had the Trump beat for the 2016 presidential election. There were many fascinating behind the scenes anecdotes that made this worth the read, but more than that, Tur wrote in a friendly and funny style that had me laughing out loud more than once. I thought she was very fair in her evaluation of Trump, but she obviously was not a huge fan. High recommended for a look at the most improbably campaign in presidential history.

[beckymmoe_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hard to believe that the campaign could been more crazy...but apparently, it was. I don't envy any of the reporters who covered it, but definitely not Katy Tur!Nicely read by the author, which always adds an extra layer of credibility (and coolness) to any memoir. Rating: 4 stars / A-(audiobook borrowed from the library)

[flourgirl49 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Katy Tur of NBC/MSNBC News covered Donald Trump's presidential campaign from its very beginning to the improbable end. This book gives us insight into the daily grind of covering rally after rally, constantly catching flights to wherever (sometimes she doesn't remember what city she's in), trying to grab air time for herself, enduring verbal abuse from the candidate himself and his supporters, etc. It's a quick read and written humorously, which is admirable - just listening to Trump and his followers would have driven me crazy after about a month.

[juglicerr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How you like this book may come down to what you wanted and expected. It focuses on Katy Tur's experiences reporting on the campaign, and on the extremely heavy demands that reporters are expected to deal with. I hand it to them for endurance -- I personally wouldn't work that demanding of a job that allows nothing for a personal life. That was the most interesting part of the book, so I highly recommend people who want or expect that.I didn't learn much about the campaign that I didn't already know, and for me, that is a disappointment. And certainly we learned almost nothing about his supporters, except for the most obnoxious ones. In her author's note Tur says: "Thank you to the Trump supporters and protesters who were unfailingly polite to a reporter just looking to understand. Thank you to the Trump supporters and protesters who were anything but polite: you also helped me understand." I understand that being rude and crude stands out more than politeness, but we sure didn't hear about the former.Tur certainly made not the slightest attempt to understand why people voted for Trump, despite her "Author's Note". She was covering the candidate, so maybe she had neither the time nor the opportunity, but this general tendency worries me. I mostly don't understand why anyone would vote for Trump, unless I'm in a nihilistic mood, but that doesn't alter the fact that he is the president. Every time I read a comment or hear someone say that they are writing off anybody who voted for Trump, even those who voted for Obama in 2012, I think that the alt-right must be dancing for joy.So I recommend this as a view into the very strenuous life of a reporter, but I don't think it adds to our understanding of the Trump campaign and his followers.

[susan.macura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderful trip down memory lane - has it only been a year since Trump won? Tur, who covered this unique and unconventional election from the very beginning, has had some experiences I would not wish on my worst enemy! Imagine singled out by a presidential candidate who turns an entire rally against you to the point where even the secret service feels that they must escort you out for your safety! Imagine getting death threats and being abused by Trump fanatics just because you are doing your job! All this and more are the experiences of the press who covered this bizarre election while they were in the Trump press corps. Tur was also one of the few, who despite the polls, predicted that Trump might actually win! This was a great look at the 2016 presidential election.

[benkline · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(Can you just imagine if Hunter S. Thompson got to cover this?)

A very interesting (personal) look into what can only be called the most 'surreal' Presidential campaign in history. I'd like to say its a 'provocative' look at what Trump did to get to be President, but its not really, because we all lived through (through our digest of news, reading, video, blogs, etc.) the stunts and craziness that defines Trump and his bid to be President of the United States.

Katy Tur does a good job detailing the events of her campaign, and a mostly fairly unbiased look into things. There's a small factor of biasedness which is hard not to - especially with such a polarizing candidate/President as Trump is.

I did spend much of the book thinking of just how amazing it would have been to have had Hunter S. Thompson covering Trump's presidential campaign. The zaniness notched up even higher. Would have been great. I was originally not going to mention Hunter S. Thompson in the first line of this review, out of respect for Katy Tur's work on this, since its her first book, but I know most of my friends will only read the first paragraph, so I slid that in there to see if they notice or not.

There is a few flaws to the book, and I do like the jumps from the yearly campaign to the election night, though it would have been nice to get more nearly by-the-minute like updates from election night. I also found the chapter about her parents interesting, because she describes their life, and then later on in the book makes a weird off-hand mention that her father is transgender, which didn't jive/fit with the chapter about her parents. And she doesn't mention his transgenderism or transformation at all in the paragraph either. So the random throw-away line where she says "My father is transgender" is very odd and is more of a "wait... huh?!" especially in its off-ness to the rest of that chapter/paragraph/page.

Overall a fascinating read. Especially reading in conjunction with Scott Adams' "Win Bigly" which I took out of the Hershey Library at the same time as this. A bit of a juxtaposition if you will.

[c_why · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

She's so real & adorable. Now I watch her show every day. Interesting family background too. She deserves her MSNBC anchor job after spending all that time trailing the Leader of the Deplorables. Not sure the life of a reporter is all that glamorous after reading this.

[hootowl1978-396919 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Honest, believable, terrifying and real. The audio book was amazing.

[arewenotben · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Katy Tur is an entertaining guide through the 2016 US Presidential election, with a front seat and often (unwanted) starring role in Trump's campaign.

The book really brought home how much Trump and the campaign weaponised misogyny and sexism, with Tur directly in the firing line on several occasions. Also, being a journalist in the 2010's seems like a depressingly thankless task - literally never being able to switch off.

Not sure that the non-linear structure worked as well as a more chronological narrative but this will never stop being a great (albeit depressing) story, no matter how many times it's told.

[Bridge LCS · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like the book. its give a nice reading experience

[brianjungwi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Katy Tur’s thoroughly enjoyable account of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential run is a great read for those interested in campaign journalism. As a reporter for MSNBC, Tur covered Trump’s campaign for over a year, and her account is divided between her constant time on the road, and watching events unfold on election day. While much has been written about Trump, Tur chronicles the campaign’s controversies while also providing insight into her emotions, ambitions, and exhaustion. The day-in-the-life account of a journalist on the campaign trail is fascinating, and Tur’s writing is quick and easy. Tur doesn’t criticize the twenty-four news cycle as much as document the negative effects the demand for news has on her life. The struggle of ambition, and the idea of making it, made for a interesting narrative aside from the familiar campaign details. Understandably, Tur doesn’t fire shots or give into gossip, this isn’t a political tell-all. Overall, she plays it pretty straight, it’s her experience, and this is a great addition for those who enjoy political or journalistic memoirs.

[streamsong_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Katy Tur had what she considered her journalist's dream job: an international posting based in London with many weekends spent in Paris with her French boyfriend.Then, in a short visit to the United States, she was asked to cover Donald Trump's first campaign rally and his run for the Presidency. It was not thought to be a long- term commitment. It turned out it would last 510 days with barely a day or two off, as Trump unexpectedly won and won again.Tur was both reviled and exhorted by Trump. At one rally, the reporters were in a 'cage' while Trump whipped the crowd into an anti-media frenzy. Another time, Tur had to be escorted out of the venue by armed agents as Trump had reviled her to the point she and others feared for her life. Then, suddenly she would be back in Trump's good graces. It's not that there is a lot of new info in this book – most of it was covered in the campaign news. Still, Trump's behavior at rallies, such as offering to pay legal fees to anyone beating up protesters is shocking. The cumulative effect of reading incident after incident is dumbfounding. It's as if the American public got 'used to ' Trump's antics as time went on. To read them all reported in one place, is very sobering and is a telling report on the character of the man who is our current Commander in Chief. God help us all.

[dickmanikowski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Katie Tur’s story of being the chief NBC correspondent following DJT’s campaign for the presidency from its inception to his inauguration. Remarkable book, not only for the replay of the whirlwind of startling that was his campaign but as an example of what covering and travelling with any campaign is for a journalist. As well as a very graphic overview of the role that the social media play in 21st Century politics.

[r · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Another grifter. There is no more “free” press, and the fact that a shameless exploiter like this woman, won a journalism award, is such a testament to this. For a group of people who shamelessly blab about the oppression of women by old, white men, women like this sure do seem to covet the approval of old, white men. -woman who didn’t vote for Trump

[writemoves · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two interesting stories in one book. First, you see the maturation and ambition of a novice reporter into a political journalist. Second, you see the immaturity and craziness of a political candidate as he gets elected President of the United States. I have to give a lot of credit to Tur. She was threatened, ridiculed and focused on and this was by Trump. Plus she had to face down the criticisms and threats by his supporters at campaign rallies. Not easy remaining remotely impartial given those circumstances.

Some neat insights on how news organizations and their reporters cover campaigns and how the Trump campaign created some novel and different problems.

Very good read. Enjoyed the story, just wished for a different ending.

[honkcronk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this based on the fave reviews (such as the NY times book review). It was an interesting read and I enjoyed it, but there was not much unexpected in this book for me. It is hard to work as a TV reporter or any news reporter following a presidential campaign. I am glad Katy stuck with it. My book club may want to read this next year but I am glad to have read it now, finishing near the one year anniversary of the infamous and unexpected election. I liked her descriptions of how it all came down ....I feel a bit on overload as I recently read the Naomi Klein book. There are many good non-fiction books to read on politics, economics, world events, foreign affairs...... I need the reviews in order to select how best to spend my time.... the complexity of current events is amazing. I appreciate honest reviews.

[maneekuhi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Full Disclosure: I am a big fan of the MSNBC crew. I have the TV on and off all day, M-F. I know their programming schedule by hour, forwards and backwards. I think they have a great crew of very talented, attractive, committed news reporters and analysts. I certainly have a bit of bias towards each and every one of their journalists. So I am predisposed to a favorable review of Katy Tur's book.But disappointingly, I found it so-so. It's 286 pages, and is a small book physically as hardbacks go, so it's a rather quick read. "Unbelievable" is a bit of a gloss-over collection of interesting moments, most of which were covered and covered and covered during the 2016 campaign - there is very little that was new to me, and at the moment I can't cite one example. I expected excitement, and what I got was routine. Her profession comes across as a job, a well paying job but not one I felt Katy is terribly passionate about. She did an excellent job of covering Trump throughout and the campaign and my sense was, prior to reading "Unbelievable", was that she significantly enhanced her skills over that 1 1/i2 year period, becoming a valuable asset to her network (but then so did several other MSNBCers).Her story is told somewhat chronologically, but the chapters are interspersed with brief cutaways to election night, hour by hour. A bit of a gimmick to be different, perhaps to create some tension, but it didn't work for me. I never felt the emotional peaks and valleys of that night. Incidents are highlighted, not much depth nor analysis. I wonder if this an unintended consequence for those forced to communicate 140 characters at a time, people who check their phone in the morning and find 180 new emails.I did gain an appreciation for Tur's abilities to go on air with very little allotted prep time, and give a quickie analysis timed to seconds. She does that so well and without ahs and ems nor repetition. But what next? Though she very much fights for her share of air time, and values recognition, I didn't sense a great ambition to advance in her responsibilities. She closes with an expression of hope to marry by the spring of 2018....

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I watch MSNBC religiously and have followed Katy Tur's career from when she first started covering the Trump campaign (he was a minor candidate, not expected to last long) until now, when she has her own daily hour-long show on MSNBC. She mostly seems intelligent and insightful, which is why I was so disappointed in this book.This is not a book analyzing the Trump campaign, and it offers no insight into how and why Trump won. Instead, it's a very frivolous book. We hear lots about breaking up with her boyfriend, how to look like you have an endless wardrobe when you're on the road and appearing on TV daily, her fights to get more air-time than other reporters, and more than once she describes the importance of dry shampoo for making her hair look great. Not what I was interested in knowing.There's a brief chapter on her early life which is interesting--her parents were the original "helicopter" reporters in LA--think the OJ chase. But then there's a whole chapter on her travails of making it to the airport on time to catch her flight to Iowa to cover the caucuses through a huge traffic jam and snow storm--it went on and on ad nauseum, and was apparently meant to be humorous.I didn't necessarily hate this book--it was just not what I wanted or expected. It is extremely light on political analysis or useful facts.2 stars

[etxgardener · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Being assigned to the Trump campaign in 2015 made Katy Tur's name in broadcast news. so she quickly produced this campaign memoir to capitalize on her sudden fame. While she is an engaging storyteller, and being embedded with the Trump campaign surely provided many on the trail anecdotes, there is very little political insight or analysis. This is just a book churned out for quick cash.