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Battle For America, 2008, The: The Story Of An Extraordinary Election (2009)

by Dan Balz(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1441800573 (ISBN13: 9781441800572)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Brilliance Audio

review 1: Very withdrawn, historical overview of the election. There wasn't too much here that was revelatory (as someone who enjoys following the fucked up drama of American elections), but I did gain a new appreciation for Clinton and her campaign. The narrative didn't really pick up until Palin showed up (natch). Frankly, I think the '08 election was way too comically insane for such a distanced presentation, but the book was interesting--and, amazingly, unbiased--nonetheless.
review 2: Superficial but informative history of the 2008 presidential election process, covering both the primaries and the general campaign. The authors evoke the fevered, manic pace of the primaries and capture the frustration and futility of the candidates who were battling not only each oth... moreer, but the preconceived notions of the electorate, and the crumbling mess left by the Bush II administration. All of this is occurring in the dawning age of the 24/7 news cycle where not only every word but every gesture, every blush or frown, is recorded by scores of devices ready to broadcast to the web, then interpreted ad nauseum by the parasitic talking heads of cable news. The dizzying crescendo to Obama's triumphant election in the penultimate chapter is followed in short order by a stark epilogue bluntly describing the obstacles of his first year in office. Here and elsewhere the authors maintain a good balance between sympathy and objectivity, and between increasingly divided partisan perspectives. This book should be read first to establish a timeline of events and a basic introduction to the major players; a more in-depth analysis of the candidates and their policies would best be found elsewhere. less

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