Over a 28-year career at the Washington Post, veteran reporter Dale Russakoff has covered a multitude of foundational American topics, including the economy, education, and presidential campaigns. In The Prize, she tells the true story of the aftermath of Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million pledge to Newark’s notoriously dysfunctional school system, detailing corruption, thwarted good intentions, a cast of celebrities and notable politicians, institutional failings, and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles facing some of America’s poorest students. Author James McBride calls it “one of the most disturbing and powerful books I’ve read in years.”