Terry McAuliffe

I'm also a survivor of the Charlottesville August 2017 terrorist attack. Terry McAuliffe didn't take a stand against white nationalism before the white supremacist attacked us, and he sure as hell isn't taking a stand against white nationalism now.

I backup the statements of my fellow survivors:

“Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe’s most recent book is a daft attempt at anti-racism and serves as an absolute characterization of the white savior complex. He not only fails to mention show more his moral obligation to inhibit the convening of the largest, armed, racist, white nationalist militia group gathering in decades, but he openly idolizes the police officers who participated in and actively endorsed violence by their refusal to intervene and protect anti-racist activists. McAuliffe represents and speaks for white liberal moderates who intellectually understand that racism is wrong but who do not want to do any of the heavy lifting associated with actual change. Neither McAuliffe nor the police should profit one red cent from the book; survivors of the car attack that he failed to prevent are still in need and are much more worthy of support.

— Anna Malinowski, Constance Young, Rosia Parker, and Star Peterson” show less

The premise of the book sounds good, but I felt like I read a much different book than was promised. This is more a memoir of McAuliffe's political career, focusing mostly on what he had achieved in office as the governor of Virginia.

It becomes clear very quickly that McAuliffe can do no wrong in his own eyes. He spends the first part of the book talking himself up at every opportunity and touting his accomplishments. He namedrops frequently, and it became quite repetitive and annoying.

The show more second part of the book deals with what happened in Charlottesville during the "Unite the Right" weekend. McAuliffe praises himself and the state police without reservation (although the police's actions in the rallies were suspect - why were nonviolent protesters being teargassed while later that night people who were flaunting the law allowed to continue in these activities without the police making a peep?). He is quick to lay blame on anyone and everyone else - the counterprotesters for not staying home, the ACLU (he really hates the ACLU, it seems), the judiciary for not siding with him, and the Charlottesville local government.

The last couple of chapters deal do offer some ideas of what can be done to combat white nationalism, but it feels like too little, too late. Even most of these "ideas" are actually just a regurgitation of what he has done in office.

The entire book feels like an attempt from McAliffe to set himself for running for a higher office. I mean, seriously, this guy compares himself to Nelson Mandela, Robert F. Kennedy, and John Lewis. I almost gagged a little. Self-serving much?

My verdict: meh. This isn't the book I was expecting, and I got sick of McAliffe's pontificating pretty quickly. show less

This book captured my interest and I didn't want to put it down from start to finish. It was interesting to see the back story behind some of the most famous headlines. It was also a great history lesson and provided that human element that can be harder to find in many political books. This book makes me want to know more and be more involved in knowing what is really going on in the politics of the United States.

what a great book showing the inside workings of the PR part of the Clinton administration. Amazing to find out how much of the media BS was just that, pure BS. Confirmed all the thoughts I had questions about in the workings of the system.