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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
dark
informative
fast-paced
An entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 campaigns of Obama, Clinton, Edwards, and McCain. Obama comes off the most stable and, well, presidential. Edwards is near-delusional, still holding out for a spot as Attorney General while his illegitimate child is being born. McCain is just out of touch and confused. Clinton is fiery and her frustration over Obama's inexplicable rise to frontrunner status is palpable.
Reveals some shocking events and negotiations, not the least of which is Clintons refusal to be Secretary of State until Obama simply insists that he needs her and will not accept "no" as an answer. Fascinating stuff but not particularly hopeful for future elections. Obama jokingly tells Axelrod that he's going to write a book about all of it after it's over. The title? "This Is Ridiculous"
Reveals some shocking events and negotiations, not the least of which is Clintons refusal to be Secretary of State until Obama simply insists that he needs her and will not accept "no" as an answer. Fascinating stuff but not particularly hopeful for future elections. Obama jokingly tells Axelrod that he's going to write a book about all of it after it's over. The title? "This Is Ridiculous"
I thought this was a good book--it really gives you insight into both campaigns--from the primaries to the Presidential election. The only thing that I did not like about this book was that I felt it spent too much time on the Democratic Primary fight--Clinton vs. Obama.
A lot of politics -- as expected. It was interesting to get some insight into what the candidates may really be like. I had to step away at times from the bickering :)
Past is prologue. Wild to read about the events inside the campaigns of Clinton, Obama, Edwards, and McCain from 2004 and see shades of the same damn things happening in the primaries now. Great read.
I decided to listen to the audiobook of 'Game Change' as a way of reminding myself that political absurdity is normal, and that we've gotten through it before. But I must confess to being disappointed with this book. I thought it would be less an expose on how the Clinton campaign ultimately failed in the shadow of Obama than an overall rundown of the entire election. However, the McCain campaign information seemed incomplete, almost insignificant compared to the outline of John Edwards' downfall or the hubris of Clinton.
I'll admit it. I wanted more Palin crazy, of which there was surprisingly little in this book. So I think my disappointment stems from my badly set expectations of this title, rather than with the text itself.
I'll admit it. I wanted more Palin crazy, of which there was surprisingly little in this book. So I think my disappointment stems from my badly set expectations of this title, rather than with the text itself.
I have no doubt that this book contains embellishments, but it's a great read and provides a fascinating glimpse at the inside of the 2008 presidential election.
If you're a political junkie, following all the blogs and pundits closely, it's likely that this book won't deliver anything new. Being a more casual follower of political happenings, however, I found that it provided a fascinating look at the human sides of all the major candidates (including their flaws) as well as the machinations involved in running a national campaign.
If you're a political junkie, following all the blogs and pundits closely, it's likely that this book won't deliver anything new. Being a more casual follower of political happenings, however, I found that it provided a fascinating look at the human sides of all the major candidates (including their flaws) as well as the machinations involved in running a national campaign.
Perhaps the most talked-about political book of 2010, Game Change is an absorbing and titilatting, although pretty ridiculous chronicle of the 2008 US election. Through countless interviews with campaign insiders, Halperin and Heilemann claim they’ve been able to reconstruct key behind-the-scenes conversations of the Clinton, Obama, and McCain campaigns. The results are scandalous and set journalists and pundits speculating on their accuracy for weeks. The Globe and Mail’s Judith Timson complained about the sexist way in which Hillary, Sarah Palin, Cindy McCain, and Elizabeth Edwards were stereotyped in the book, and she’s right. But even the men in Game Change are a bit stereotyped. The whole thing is heavily editorialized to help readers visualize scenes and it reads more like a romance novel than journalism. That said, it was highly entertaining and I’d recommend it for political junkies who are able to take the whole thing with a grain of salt. - See more at: http://www.gender-focus.com/2011/01/25/winter-book-list/#sthash.shZVzw3O.dpuf
How interesting...like a retroactive backstage pass for the '08 election.
Audiobook. I thought the writing was pretty mediocre, but it's a great story.