Into the Wood Chipper - by Nicholas Enrich (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Propulsive...When the full history of this moment is ready to be written, Into the Wood Chipper will be a vivid source." --The New York Times

"A gripping page-turner that doubles as both a warning and an inspiration." --Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Problem from Hell

A civil servant discovers his breaking point when the Trump administration's cruelty and indifference threaten to violate the oath he swore to uphold.

Nicholas Enrich had finally achieved his lifelong dream: becoming USAID's lead official for global health. But that dream turned out to be a nightmare in the tumultuous time after President Trump's second inauguration.

In the months that followed, USAID became the first target of Elon Musk's newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The mission to which Enrich had dedicated his career was being dismantled before his eyes--even the name of the agency was removed from the building's facade. Enrich witnessed firsthand the Trump administration's lies, how it systematically prevented USAID from providing lifesaving foreign aid, and the death and suffering around the world that resulted from careless decisions. Finally determining he could no longer keep quiet, and risking the career that he loved deeply, Enrich released a set of whistleblowing memos exposing the administration's illegal and destructive actions.

Enrich was put on administrative leave, yet his memos went viral and had a sustained impact. In the days following their release, hundreds of canceled aid projects were revived, and the documents were cited in a Supreme Court case on the legality of USAID's dissolution. While his memos were too late to save USAID, Enrich was one of the first government officials to publicly blow the whistle on DOGE's reckless destruction, sounding an early alarm bell for other federal agencies that would soon find themselves in the crosshairs.

Urgent and profoundly human, Enrich's story offers an astonishing behind-the-scenes look at a federal agency under siege, from the early days when Enrich and his team were unaware of what was to come to the shockingly ignorant, callous, and bigoted conversations they witnessed. Enrich reveals in this detailed, no-holds-barred account what was truly at stake when DOGE set out to dismantle one of America's most effective humanitarian institutions, and how millions of lives hung in the balance.

Review Quotes

"A skillful piece of storytelling that brings U.S.A.I.D. back into the spotlight. Enrich's account is a propulsive witnessing of the agency's destruction and an engaging amplification of the author's whistle-blower memos and congressional testimony detailing its demise....Enrich's voice is appealingly candid....When the full history of this moment is ready to be written, Into the Wood Chipper will be a vivid source." --Janice P. Nimura, The New York Times

"Stuffed with insider details...a precise and unsettling record of an intentional bureaucratic collapse and its aftershocks." --The New Yorker

"Timely." --NPR

"Sharp, propulsive, and necessary...has the potential to inspire more federal workers to speak out." --The American Prospect

"The most important view we have seen of what Trumpism actually is." --Lawrence O'Donnell

"A righteously aggrieved account of the destruction of one of America's best ideas." --Kirkus Reviews

"Nicholas Enrich never set out to become an author, but he has written a gripping page-turner that doubles as both a warning and an inspiration. In revealing the behind-the-scenes story of the dismantlement of an agency that was saving millions of lives, Nick offers rich character portraits and eye-witness evidence that have never before come to light. He reveals not only the chilling indifference of the architects of USAID's destruction, but also the quiet heroism of the public servants who refused to give up on their ability to do good. Generations from now, people will read this book to understand one of the greatest blunders in American history, and to seek inspiration from those who tried to prevent it." --SAMANTHA POWER, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

"Compelling." --Minneapolis Star-Tribune

About the Author

NICHOLAS ENRICH is a former civil servant who worked at USAID under four administrations. He served as the Bureau of Global Health's director of policy, programs, and planning until January 2025, when he was designated as USAID's acting assistant administrator for global health. On March 2, 2025, he was placed on administrative leave for exposing the Trump administration's illegitimate and dangerous dismantling of USAID.