Voting is the final act in a much longer process. By the time someone reaches a ballot, they have already spent months or years deciding which sources they trust and which events they remember well enough to shape the choice.
Cliff Branch has become increasingly interested in everything that happens during that stretch. His new book, American Made: 2016-2026, A Nation in Turmoil, revisits the past decade of American public life through the eyes of someone who has watched political communication change over most of his adult life.
Branch began writing the sequel in January 2026 and sent it to press in May. It follows his 2015 book, American Made: A Boomer’s Reflection, which mixed memoir with observations about American culture. The newer volume gives politics considerably more room, placing events from the past decade back in sequence after many of them have disappeared from the daily news cycle.
“The sequel is a personal narrative written during the first 120 days of this year,” Branch said. “Each chapter reflects my thoughts about our culture and world events as they have unfolded. It was good therapy writing the books.”
His timing was deliberate. The next regularly scheduled federal general election will be held November 3, 2026, and Branch has said he wanted the book in readers’ hands before voters returned to the polls.
His aim, as he describes it, is participation rather than support for a particular party. New Times San Luis Obispo reported Branch has voted for both Republicans and Democrats and wants readers to make their own assessments using factual information.
Leaving him less interested in the ballot itself than in how someone decides what deserves to influence it.
A Decade Revisited
Branch’s concern with political judgment is closely tied to memory. News now arrives continuously, and an event dominating public attention can be displaced quickly by whatever comes next. A Nation in Turmoil returns to many of those moments after some of the original urgency has worn off.
Branch writes in relatively self-contained chapters that can be read more like magazine pieces than a single extended political argument. Photographs also occupy a large part of the project, giving readers an immediate reminder of stories they may recognize without recalling in much detail.
Radio host Richard Dugan described Branch’s broader American Made project as “heartfelt, humorous, and candid,” with its visual material accompanying a personal examination of how Branch’s thinking developed over time.
His personal history is important because Branch does not present himself as a detached political scholar. His second book contains clear opinions, including extensive criticism of President Trump. New Times also reported Branch has criticized Democratic positions and does not identify closely with either major party.
“There’s enough divisiveness out there already,” Branch told the publication while explaining his approach to writing about political figures.
Branch’s interest instead keeps returning to how people process what they see. He has watched cable news become more influential and social media change the pace at which political claims circulate. His concern is people can spend years hearing versions of events which rarely challenge what they already believe.
A book cannot solve that problem, and Branch does not claim his can. His approach is more modest. Put the decade back in front of the reader, give older events enough room to be reconsidered, and encourage people to look beyond the sources they normally consult.
Before Election Day
The amount of political information available to voters has grown enormously, but access alone does not guarantee broader understanding. People still choose where they spend their attention, and those habits can make unfamiliar arguments easier to dismiss before they receive much consideration.
Branch has said he hopes readers become more involved with factual information before they vote. New Times writer Glen Starkey summarized his position by noting Branch “doesn’t care who people vote for,” though he wants those choices grounded in evidence rather than misinformation.
This emphasis gives A Nation in Turmoil a somewhat unusual place among election-year books. Branch makes his own political judgments openly, yet the action he is asking readers to take is to examine the information for themselves.
His first book supplies some context for why he approaches politics this way. A Boomer’s Reflection follows Branch through decades of cultural change alongside his own business career and personal mistakes. The sequel effectively asks what another ten years did to the views formed over that much longer life.
Branch is now offering both books together for $15 through the American Made website. The books are distributed directly rather than through Amazon, and Branch has been sending copies to readers and organizations as part of his effort to put the material into circulation before the election.
At nearly 77, he has seen enough political arguments rise and disappear to be wary of treating the latest one as the only thing a voter should remember. His books ask readers to restore some of that missing context before making a choice.
