Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-223).

Introduction -- The necessity of trust -- The loss of trust -- Trust for a deciding decade -- Rebuilding trust -- Acknowledgments -- Appendix One: Trust and distrust in America--A report of the Pew Research Center -- Appendix Two: Closing address of the 2020 Pete Buttigieg Campaign for president -- Notes.

In a century warped by terrorism, financial collapse, Trumpist populism, systemic racism, and now a global pandemic, trust has been squandered, sacrificed, abused, stolen, or never properly built in the first place. More than ever before, Americans must work side by side to reckon with the monumental challenges posed by our present moment. Buttigeig explores the strong relationship between measures of prosperity and levels of social trust. He provides an impassioned account of a threefold crisis of trust: in our institutions, in each other, and in the American project itself.--adapted from jacket.