{"product_id":"promise-land-david-skeel-9781589882157","title":"Promise Land: The Inside Story of the Puerto Rico Debt Crisis","description":"\u003cp\u003ePuerto Rico is America's forgotten island, and since 2015, the site of the largest governmental default in U.S. history. After the island's governor declared its $70 billion of debt \"not payable,\" House minority leader Nancy Pelosi extracted a promise from House Speaker Paul Ryan to \"take action\" on Puerto Rico in return for the Democratic votes he needed for must-pass December 2015 spending legislation. This handshake led to a 2016 law called PROMESA (\"promise\" in Spanish), which subjected Puerto Rico to an oversight board, but also gave Puerto Rico the power to file for bankruptcy, a right no state has.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWeaving together his first-hand experience as a member of the board--and during the crucial period, its chair-- with astute insight into the key federal and local lawmakers, David Skeel recounts the epic struggle to restructure Puerto Rico's debt and restore fiscal stability, a battle protracted by the most destructive hurricane in a century, a scandal in the governor's office, earthquakes, and the pandemic. The board was challenged both by protestors furious at the colonial implications of the board and by bondholders unhappy with the restructuring, one of which enlisted former New Jersey governor Chris Christie in a scheme to derail Skeel's reappointment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePromise Land\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting story about the island Theodore Roosevelt urged America's leadership to seize at the end of the Spanish-American War, and about how governmental crises are handled in twenty-first century America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Skeel\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1589882156\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781589882157\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Paul Dry Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/21\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 200\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"David Skeel","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47520777535743,"sku":"9781589882157","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_39626a1f-8187-47a2-8c92-83a5c9822451.jpg?v=1762887014","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/promise-land-david-skeel-9781589882157","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}