Here, Right Matters: An American Story

by Alexander Vindman

Overview

Instant New York Times bestseller

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, who found himself at the center of a firestorm for his decision to report the infamous phone call that led to presidential impeachment, tells his own story for the first time. Here, Right Matters is a stirring account of Vindman's childhood as an immigrant growing up in New York City, his career in service of his new home on the battlefield and at the White House, and the decisions leading up to, and fallout surrounding, his exposure of President Trump's abuse of power.

 0900, Thursday, July 25, 2019: President Trump called Ukraine’s President Zelensky, supposedly to congratulate him on his recent victory. In the months that followed, the American public would only learn what happened on that call because Alexander Vindman felt duty-bound to report it up the chain of command: that the President of the United States had extorted a foreign ally to damage a political challenger at home. Vindman’s actions and subsequent testimony before congress would lead to Trump’s impeachment and affirm Vindman's belief that he had done the right thing in the face of intense pressure to stay silent. But it would come at an enormous cost, straining relationships with colleagues, superiors, and even his own father, and eventually end his decorated career in the US Army, by a Trump administration intent on retribution. 

Here, Right Matters is Vindman’s proud, passionate, and candid account of his family, his career, and the moment of truth he faced for his nation. As an immigrant, raised by a father who fled the Soviet Union in pursuit of a better life for his children, Vindman learned about respect for truth throughout his education and military service. As this memoir makes clear, his decision to speak up about the July 25th call was never a choice: it was Vindman’s duty, as a naturalized citizen and member of the armed forces. In the wake of his testimony, he would endure furious partisan attacks on his record and his loyalty. But far louder was the extraordinary chorus of support from citizens who were collectively intent on reaffirming an abiding American commitment to integrity.  

In the face of a sure-fire career derailment and public excoriation, Vindman heeded the lessons from the people and institutions who instilled in him the moral compass and the courage to act decisively. Like so many other American immigrant families, the Vindmans had to learn to build a life from scratch and take big risks to achieve important goals. Here, Right Matters is about the quiet heroes who keep us safe; but, above all, it is a call to arms for those who refuse to let America betray its true self.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063079427
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	08/03/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	238,505
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander S. Vindman (Ret. ) was most recently the director for European Affairs on the White House's National Security Council. Prior to retiring from the U.S. Army, he served as a foreign area officer with assignments in U.S. Embassies in Kyiv, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia and for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a Political-Military Affairs Officer. He is currently a doctoral student and Foreign Policy Institute Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a Pritzker Military Fellow at the Lawfare Institute, a board member of the Renew Democracy Initiative nonprofit, and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Impeachable Offense 1

Chapter 2 From Scratch 21

Chapter 3 Late Bloomer 33

Chapter 4 Right Where I Want To Be 51

Chapter 5 The Moral Compass 69

Chapter 6 Nothing Starts With Us 91

Chapter 7 "I Can't Believe You Did That" 109

Chapter 8 Danger 127

Chapter 9 The Absence Of The Normal 155

Chapter 10 Bigger Than Life 171

Chapter 11 Testifying 193

Chapter 12 Promotion 213

Epilogue 233

Afterword 241

Acknowledgments 245

Editorial Reviews

Compelling . . . . Even those who know the details of Trump’s impeachment will find it chilling to hear them related by one of the event’s chief figures. . . . The story of an ordinary man placed in extraordinary circumstances who did the right thing.” — New York Times Book Review

“Vindman reminds us of what genuine patriotism can look like. . . . Vindman’s regional knowledge allows him to unpack the reasons that so many Democrats thought Trump’s phone conversation should be the basis of the nation’s third presidential impeachment. In meticulous fashion, he details the stunning number of high-ranking officials—such as Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union—who were in on the game.” — Washington Post

“An important book from a true patriot whose oath to the Constitution could not allow him to look away.” — Kirkus Reviews

"Compelling." — Christian Science Monitor

From the Publisher

Vindman reminds us of what genuine patriotism can look like. . . . Vindman’s regional knowledge allows him to unpack the reasons that so many Democrats thought Trump’s phone conversation should be the basis of the nation’s third presidential impeachment. In meticulous fashion, he details the stunning number of high-ranking officials—such as Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union—who were in on the game.

Washington Post

Compelling . . . . Even those who know the details of Trump’s impeachment will find it chilling to hear them related by one of the event’s chief figures. . . . The story of an ordinary man placed in extraordinary circumstances who did the right thing.

New York Times Book Review

"Compelling."

Christian Science Monitor

Vindman reminds us of what genuine patriotism can look like. . . . Vindman’s regional knowledge allows him to unpack the reasons that so many Democrats thought Trump’s phone conversation should be the basis of the nation’s third presidential impeachment. In meticulous fashion, he details the stunning number of high-ranking officials—such as Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union—who were in on the game.

Washington Post

Alexander Vindman is the presidential advisor who testified at an impeachment hearing that our last president pressured a foreign leader to deliver damaging information about a political opponent. While the author’s reading of the introduction and epilogue is serviceable, Jacques Roy’s performance of the chapters is pleasing and sensitive to the pathos in Vindman’s epic story. The Russian immigrant’s wounds of injustice sound fresh as we hear about the courage it took to testify at the hearing and how that testimony ended his military career. But what lingers is the broader story of Vindman’s loyalty to the rule of law and how it placed him in his prestigious White House job and ultimately into that hearing room. It’s an account of the hero’s journey and its consequences for him, our country, and its institutions. T.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2022 - AudioFile

Alexander Vindman is the presidential advisor who testified at an impeachment hearing that our last president pressured a foreign leader to deliver damaging information about a political opponent. While the author’s reading of the introduction and epilogue is serviceable, Jacques Roy’s performance of the chapters is pleasing and sensitive to the pathos in Vindman’s epic story. The Russian immigrant’s wounds of injustice sound fresh as we hear about the courage it took to testify at the hearing and how that testimony ended his military career. But what lingers is the broader story of Vindman’s loyalty to the rule of law and how it placed him in his prestigious White House job and ultimately into that hearing room. It’s an account of the hero’s journey and its consequences for him, our country, and its institutions. T.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2022 - AudioFile