Barbara McQuade at The Brattle Theater

Harvard Book Store welcomes Barbara McQuade—author of the national bestseller Attack from Within and the first woman to serve as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan—for a discussion of her new book, The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government. She will be joined in conversation by Carmen Ortiz—partner at Anderson Kreiger in Boston and the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

There are two ticket options for this event.

1. Book-Included Tickets: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of The Fix pre-signed by Barbara McQuade.
2. Admission-Only Tickets: Includes admission for one.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

The New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Attorney offers a piercing exposé on the escalating threat of far-right politics—and a clear roadmap for saving our democracy.

In The Fix, McQuade draws on her decades of experience as a federal prosecutor to reveal how systems of organized crime and political opportunism exploit the levers of power—using corruption, cruelty, and chaos as tools to dominate institutions and eliminate accountability. With clarity, precision, and moral force, she exposes the tactics of today’s far-right MAGA system: information warfare, aggressive retribution, conformism enforced by fear, and pervasive dismantling of legal checks and balances necessary to defend the public interest and uphold justice.
Weaving together courtroom stories, real-time political analysis, and cautionary lessons from history and democratic backsliding abroad, McQuade makes the case that the threats we face are not future possibilities—they’re already here. Yet The Fix is not just a warning; it is a call to action. In the book’s final chapters, McQuade outlines common-sense reforms and strategies that can reclaim the rule of law and recenter democracy with the power of the people.
Accessible, eye-opening, and grounded in constitutional faith, The Fix is essential reading for everyone concerned about the future of America—and ready to work together to take a stand for it.

Barbara McQuade is a professor from practice at the University of Michigan Law School, her alma mater, where she teaches courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, and data pri-vacy. She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and co-host of the #SistersInLaw podcast. From 2010 to 2017, McQuade served as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was appointed by President Barack Obama and was the first woman to serve in her position. Earlier in her career, she worked as a sportswriter and copy editor, a judicial law clerk, an associate in private practice, and an assistant US attorney. McQuade is author of the national bestseller, Attack from Within. She and her husband have four children and live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Carmen Ortiz is a Partner at Anderson Kreiger in Boston and the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Carmen is an experienced trial lawyer, investigator and crisis manager. During her tenure as the U.S. Attorney from 2009 to 2017, Carmen oversaw and directed the investigation and litigation of many significant and complex criminal and civil cases, including the high‐profile prosecutions of Whitey Bulger and the Boston Marathon bomber. In addition, Carmen serves as Panel Chair in Title IX Hearing adjudications for colleges and universities.

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.

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