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Loading... Renegade: The Making of a Presidentby Richard Wolffe
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I generally enjoyed this book, but I wish it had been presented in chronological order. The back and forth movement in time is very clunky and seriously impedes the flow of the book. (  ) bookworm814 | Sep 1, 2009 |  Renegade: The Making of a President by Richard Wolffe After listening to President Barack Obama’s two outstanding autobiographical memoirs, Dreams From My Father: a Story of Race and Inheritance and The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, I decided to listen to Renegade: the Making of a President by Richard Wolffe for an outside viewpoint. Author Richard Wolffe is a journalist and political analyst for MSNBC-TV. The CD was narrated by actor and screenwriter Arthur Morey who had an uncanny ability to replicate the President’s speech patterns, as well as those of other staff members. Wolffe took me inside the mind of the gifted man who is our new President. Although I was already extremely impressed with Obama’s intellect, humility, and empathy for others, this book solidified my allegiance to the world leader. President Obama is truly a classy man. -> Is this ok to leave in? AM Wolffe was allowed inside the cloistered cadre of Obama’s advisors from the beginning of his presidential campaign, through the grueling Iowa caucuses, and eventually on to victory. Through these exclusive interviews, Wolff aptly conveyed the mutual love and respect between Obama and his trusted advisors. I had no idea that Marty Nesbitt, one of Obama’s best friends and campaign treasurer, was such an emotional man. It was refreshing to learn that Obama valued differences of opinion among his inner circle — Raham Emanuel (Chief of Staff), Valerie Jarrett (Senior Advisor), David Axelrod (Senior Advisor), and Pete Rouse (Senior Advisor). Check out this gem of a book, you will be delighted and amazed. I recommend the audio version. elaine.johnson | Jul 28, 2009 | susansw | Jul 22, 2009 | The author traveled with Obama all through the campaign, from his annoucement in February 2007 till his election. But the book tells nothing about the inside of the McCain campaign--unlike Teddy White's books, which somehow managed to tell about both camps.. Wolffe says good thing about Obama and I agreed and appreciated that, but I found the book rather dry and not as exciting as books about politics often are. So I was disappointed in the book--maybe because so much is still so fresh in my mind about that long campaign which turned out so gloriously. ( ) Schmerguls | Jul 11, 2009 | I love watching Richard Wolffe on MSNBC; his commentary is usually very insightful. That's why I was particularly disappointed by Renegade. Mr. Wolffe's writing seemed unnatural, with sentence fragments and repetition of the word "renegade" that felt forced. The campaign was presented disjointedly, without chronological or any other logical order of events. Perhaps Mr. Wolffe hasn't figure out how to escape his journalist roots; I felt as though I'd read a greatest hits of newspaper election coverage. (  ) swampette | Jul 2, 2009 | 
 The book is so loaded with details it can’t help containing something of interest for nearly every reader curious about our enigmatic president. This, however, does not exactly make for a compelling read. While knowing what exactly Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod ate for lunch on election day and the name of the deli where he bought it could possibly be of interest to some future historian, there should be a notice for casual readers on the first page: “Warning: Slogging ahead.” . . . The book is based on numerous exclusive interviews and on Wolffe’s presence at any number of intimate moments on the campaign trail. He makes the most of it, and the book really does feel as if it is full of unguarded comments. . . . Time and again, though, Wolffe lets an intriguing statement drop; he must keep swimming ahead, on to the next insignificant detail, like some authorial shark. . . . I salute Wolffe’s attention to detail — but anyone can straightforwardly report what happened and what was said. Real insight demands the application of critical faculties. This is especially true when moving from the realm of political reportage to substantive long-form journalism. That is the difference between this useful book and an interesting and insightful one.
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0307463125, Hardcover)Before the White House and Air Force One, before the TV ads and the enormous rallies, there was the real Barack Obama: a man wrestling with the momentous decision to run for the presidency, feeling torn about leaving behind a young family, and figuring out how to win the biggest prize in politics.This book is the previously untold and epic story of how a political newcomer with no money and an alien name grew into the world’s most powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the person behind the iconic posters and the Secret Service code name Renegade. Drawing on a dozen unplugged interviews with the candidate and president, as well as twenty-one months covering his campaign as it traveled from coast to coast, Richard Wolffe answers the simple yet enduring question about Barack Obama: Who is he? Based on Wolffe’s unprecedented access to Obama, Renegade reveals the making of a president, both on the campaign trail and before he ran for high office. It explains how the politician who emerged in an extraordinary election learned the personal and political skills to succeed during his youth and early career. With cool self-discipline, calculated risk taking, and simple storytelling, Obama developed the strategies he would need to survive the onslaught of the Clintons and John McCain, and build a multimillion-dollar machine to win a historic contest. In Renegade, Richard Wolffe shares with us his front-row seat at Obama’s announcement to run for president on a frigid day in Springfield, and his victory speech on a warm night in Chicago. We fly on the candidate’s plane and ride in his bus on an odyssey across a country in crisis; stand next to him at a bar on the night he secures the nomination; and are backstage as he delivers his convention speech to a stadium crowd and a transfixed national audience. From a teacher’s office in Iowa to the Oval Office in Washington, we see and hear Barack Obama with an immediacy and honesty never witnessed before. Renegade provides not only an account of Obama’s triumphs, but also examines his many personal and political trials. We see Obama wrestling with race and politics, as well as his former pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. We see him struggling with life as a presidential candidate, a campaign that falters for most of its first year, and his reaction to a surprise defeat in the New Hampshire primary. And we see him relying on his personal experience, as well as meticulous polling, to pass the presidential test in foreign and economic affairs. Renegade is an essential guide to understanding President Barack Obama and his trusted inner circle of aides and friends. It is also a riveting and enlightening first draft of history and political psychology. (retrieved from Amazon Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:47:17 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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