I found the book GAME CHANGE by poltical experts Mark Halperin
and John Heilemann a riviting,"fly on the wall" political read. Okay, maybe I skipped to the "juicy" Sarah Palin stuff first, but overall it was an accurate inside view of a political climate...with just the right amount of "juicy".
Their new book DOUBLE DOWN is another backroom account. Who knew that Mitt Romney poked fun at fat people? Do I need to know that? Well, no but it left me wanting more...
Just released this week, DOUBLE DOWN is rapidly heading to the best seller list. There's enough political inside info to keep our heads spinning until the next election, and then some.
DOUBLE DOWN BY Mark Halperin and John Heilemann
What the veteran political reporters Mark Halperin and John Heilemann report in “Double Down,” their buzzy, behind-the-scenes book on the 2012 election, is that on the eve of the second debate, the usually self-possessed president was having doubts about his ability to rise to the occasion. “I just don’t know if I can do this,” they quote him saying to his advisers in a last-minute crisis meeting.
Such provocative scenes — served up with fuzzy sourcing and breezy prose — pepper “Double Down,” the follow-up to “Game Change,” the authors’ best-selling book about the 2008 presidential campaign.
Again the emphasis is on creating a novelistic narrative that provides a you-are-there immediacy but that can make the reader wonder at the authors’ supposed omniscience. And again, small telling details — like Mr. Romney reportedly being prone to poke fun at fat people or Mr. Obama trying to quiet his mind by making lists on yellow legal pads — take precedence over historical perspective and analysis.
The book testifies to its authors’ energetic legwork and insider access, while pointing up their eagerness to emphasize the roles that personality and process (as opposed to pure policy) play in politics.
(New York Times Book Review - Michiko Kakutani)
MORE INFORMATION
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/books/double-down-by-mark-halperin-and-john-heilemann.html
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303482504579175850306497402
Game Change and Double Down can be ordered directly from this blog. Click on the Amazon Search Box in the Sidebar to order.
I also loved Game Change and will likely read this one next. I find that Mark Halperin and John Heilemann to be very balanced but as you allude to, very entertaining for a political junkie like me.
ReplyDeleteThese authors make the reader feel like they're reading a novel about politics. I love their style and fearlessness. For a gossip loving, pop culture junky like me..I can't wait to read it!
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