In Showdown, the veteran political journalist and New York Times bestselling author David Corn goes behind the scenes at the White House to recount the dramatic tale of the pivotal period of the Obama presidency, from the game-changing 2010 midterm elections to the beginning of the critical 2012 campaign season'e"a tumultuous time that tested the president as never before and set the stage for a titanic clash over the future of the nation. Drawing on interviews with White House officials, Obama's inner circle, members of Congress, and others, Corn takes the reader into the Oval Office and the back rooms of Congress for a fast-paced account of the major events and captures the dilemmas faced by a president assailed by disappointed progressives and defiantly obstructionist Republicans determined to see his defeat. The book offers revelations and an enlightening look at the turbulent American political scene during one of the most consequential moments of the nation's history; it explains the fascinating and complicated leader at the heart of this vortex, Barack Obama.