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299 reviews for:
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
John Heilemann
4.08 AVERAGE
299 reviews for:
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
John Heilemann
4.08 AVERAGE
I actually ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would. It has been a book that I was curious to read for quite a while and finally got around to it especially after seeing the HBO film adaptation.
The book, as I see it, was another form of portraying the ins and outs of politics the way that The West Wing, Armando Iannucci's The Thick of It, In The Loop, and now Veep portrays it on TV/Film. Being that I have watched all of these shows, I can say that the book does a very good job of shedding light on the political machine and written in a way that (to take Sarah Palin's own terminology) "Joe Six-Pack" is able to understand.
Being that I'm clearly reading this book with the luxury of hindsight, it was definitely really cool in remembering the events that are depicted in the book and then getting that new perspective of what was going on behind the scenes. It was all fresh in my mind being that this election was pretty major in my senior year of college.
The fact that people eat this book up and classify the book as political gossip does not give the book the justice it deserves.
The book, as I see it, was another form of portraying the ins and outs of politics the way that The West Wing, Armando Iannucci's The Thick of It, In The Loop, and now Veep portrays it on TV/Film. Being that I have watched all of these shows, I can say that the book does a very good job of shedding light on the political machine and written in a way that (to take Sarah Palin's own terminology) "Joe Six-Pack" is able to understand.
Being that I'm clearly reading this book with the luxury of hindsight, it was definitely really cool in remembering the events that are depicted in the book and then getting that new perspective of what was going on behind the scenes. It was all fresh in my mind being that this election was pretty major in my senior year of college.
The fact that people eat this book up and classify the book as political gossip does not give the book the justice it deserves.
It was 2008 and the political situation was exciting. The Democrats had not been in the White House since 2001, and the Republicans were at a low in popularity polls because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the public perception of George W. Bush. Into this void a huge number of candidates from both parties joined the race. How did the race turn out the way that it did? How did the candidates handle the heat in the most contested presidential race in a very long time?
Heilemann and Halprin do a great job of laying out the campaigns and the issues with the candidates themselves. The attitude of the Clintons toward the political upstart Obama campaign is poignantly described. Another political upstart, Sarah Palin, gets exceptional attention in this book. It was a battle between the establishment players in the form of the McCains and the Clintons, and the political newcomers in the form of the Obamas and the Palins. It was a search for the issues that Americans could rally behind in the midst of a recession and 7 years of war. More than anything else, it was the search for the perfect image. Would Americans throw their support behind experience in the Beltway, or were they looking for something new, exciting and different on the political scene. Both parties offered a little bit of both in their campaigns. In the end, the establishment lost and the longing for new blood brought victory to Barack Obama and his "Hope and Change" candidacy.
I have read reviews about this book that criticized the authors for being too easy on Obama and his campaign. While the authors excoriate the Clintons, the McCains, the Palins and the Edwards, the Obamas got off easy by comparison. But I disagree with this assessment for several reasons. Firstly, most of the media were in love with Barack Obama in 2008. There's very little in the way of political analysis aside from conservative authors that criticize Obama in any way. In fact, "Game Change" does criticize Obama indirectly, relating the Clintons' opinion that Obama was inexperienced and untested, a widely held view in Washington in 2007 and 2008. Secondly, the book looks more at the losers of the campaign and why the candidates lost. Since Obama won, what's the point of picking on his weaknesses. Besides this, it is unlikely that Obama gave these authors the kind of access that they enjoyed from the other candidates. Why should Obama give journalists the kind of access that could possible take the polish off of his halo while he was riding high in publi opinion?
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the process of presidential political campaigns.
Heilemann and Halprin do a great job of laying out the campaigns and the issues with the candidates themselves. The attitude of the Clintons toward the political upstart Obama campaign is poignantly described. Another political upstart, Sarah Palin, gets exceptional attention in this book. It was a battle between the establishment players in the form of the McCains and the Clintons, and the political newcomers in the form of the Obamas and the Palins. It was a search for the issues that Americans could rally behind in the midst of a recession and 7 years of war. More than anything else, it was the search for the perfect image. Would Americans throw their support behind experience in the Beltway, or were they looking for something new, exciting and different on the political scene. Both parties offered a little bit of both in their campaigns. In the end, the establishment lost and the longing for new blood brought victory to Barack Obama and his "Hope and Change" candidacy.
I have read reviews about this book that criticized the authors for being too easy on Obama and his campaign. While the authors excoriate the Clintons, the McCains, the Palins and the Edwards, the Obamas got off easy by comparison. But I disagree with this assessment for several reasons. Firstly, most of the media were in love with Barack Obama in 2008. There's very little in the way of political analysis aside from conservative authors that criticize Obama in any way. In fact, "Game Change" does criticize Obama indirectly, relating the Clintons' opinion that Obama was inexperienced and untested, a widely held view in Washington in 2007 and 2008. Secondly, the book looks more at the losers of the campaign and why the candidates lost. Since Obama won, what's the point of picking on his weaknesses. Besides this, it is unlikely that Obama gave these authors the kind of access that they enjoyed from the other candidates. Why should Obama give journalists the kind of access that could possible take the polish off of his halo while he was riding high in publi opinion?
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the process of presidential political campaigns.
This was not something I would normally read and I probably wouldn't have wanted to read this if I had not seen the West Wing. Who knew that politics could be so full of drama and excitement? I heard the author talking about his second book on NPR and thought I'd give this one a spin and boy, am I glad I did.
Maybe my head was under a rock during that time, but I didn't know or probably forgot half the drama that went on during President Obama's first campaign. The whole John Edwards mistress thing was completely new to me. I got enjoyment out of this book like I get enjoyment reading a tabloid waiting in line at the checkout counter. I was eagerly anticipating the chapters about Palin and they did not disappoint. At one point, I felt sorry for her, but that quickly went away.
The only downside to this book is one that my husband pointed out, which is the author loves using erudite words for the sake of using them when a plain word would have sufficed or even fit better. It got kind of distracting once he pointed it out.
Can't wait to hop onto Game Change #2!
Maybe my head was under a rock during that time, but I didn't know or probably forgot half the drama that went on during President Obama's first campaign. The whole John Edwards mistress thing was completely new to me. I got enjoyment out of this book like I get enjoyment reading a tabloid waiting in line at the checkout counter. I was eagerly anticipating the chapters about Palin and they did not disappoint. At one point, I felt sorry for her, but that quickly went away.
The only downside to this book is one that my husband pointed out, which is the author loves using erudite words for the sake of using them when a plain word would have sufficed or even fit better. It got kind of distracting once he pointed it out.
Can't wait to hop onto Game Change #2!
It was fantastic. A great look inside these campaigns.
I thought Sarah Palin was an idiot before I read "Game Change." I still think she's an idiot.
Easy to read book about the 2008 election. It is more gossipy than anything. If you want a better idea of the characters that made the 2008 presidential election historic this is a good read. If you are interested in policy and issues... this is not the book.
Super easy to read but fun to go back and remember how crazy the election was.
Loved this!! I'm a closet political junkie and it was fun to read all the behind-the-scenes insider information about the most amazing campaign in my lifetime. A quick and compelling read despite it's length.
Wanted to squeeze this book right before the 2016 Iowa Caucus. It deals with the 2008 race for Democratic nomination extensively with interviews, insider accounts, reactions, timelines, etc. This is the best (& significant) part of the book
An overview of the Republican nomination as well as a relatively detailed general election are also covered. The pace is fast and the writing keeps flowing smoothly. Well worth a read if you are interested in this particular race.
An overview of the Republican nomination as well as a relatively detailed general election are also covered. The pace is fast and the writing keeps flowing smoothly. Well worth a read if you are interested in this particular race.
I really enjoyed this behind the scenes look at the last election. It was a real eye opener for me and I loved learning more about motivations, egos, political intrigue. The majority of the book deals with the Clinton-Obama race, with a little Edwards thrown in. There is surprisingly little about Palin, but what there is reveals a person who was falling apart much of the time, because she was in so over her head. The audio version was very good, with the only sour note being the mispronunciation of the town of Kissimmee, Fl.