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A review by rebeccamahanyhorton
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann, Mark Halperin
4.0
When the majority of the campaigning for the 2008 election occurred, I wasn't close to voting age--I wasn't even a teenager. My exposure to the entire affair consisted of watching most of the SNL skits about the campaigns, hearing my parents discuss it every once in a while, and talking with friends who knew about as much as I did.
Reading this book, then, was very interesting. It wasn't just a look at the campaign I didn't experience, but a behind-the-scenes look at what was really happening behind all the messages, speeches, and ads. I really liked seeing that side of the campaign (though more than once I wondered how the hell the authors got all that information, down to exact quotes). To me, it really humanized the politicians that too often can be seen as a collection of ideals that we do or don't agree with.
I felt a little iffy on the treatment of Hillary Clinton and other women in the book. I didn't doubt the veracity of what the authors said, but sometimes the way they said it struck me the wrong way. (Hillary's a "scold"; Bill had "bimbo eruptions"; "hysterical"; Biden's lapse into chauvinism in a practice debate was troubling only in the implications that it had for Obama's campaign.)
In short, though, it was a really fascinating (and incredibly well researched) read. I would imagine that even somebody who followed the 2008 election closely would enjoy it too.
Reading this book, then, was very interesting. It wasn't just a look at the campaign I didn't experience, but a behind-the-scenes look at what was really happening behind all the messages, speeches, and ads. I really liked seeing that side of the campaign (though more than once I wondered how the hell the authors got all that information, down to exact quotes). To me, it really humanized the politicians that too often can be seen as a collection of ideals that we do or don't agree with.
I felt a little iffy on the treatment of Hillary Clinton and other women in the book. I didn't doubt the veracity of what the authors said, but sometimes the way they said it struck me the wrong way. (Hillary's a "scold"; Bill had "bimbo eruptions"; "hysterical"; Biden's lapse into chauvinism in a practice debate was troubling only in the implications that it had for Obama's campaign.)
In short, though, it was a really fascinating (and incredibly well researched) read. I would imagine that even somebody who followed the 2008 election closely would enjoy it too.