Renegade: The Making of a President
by Richard Wolffe
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Book Reviews of Renegade: The Making of a President
Book Review: Beware the Chicago Machine
Summary: 1 Stars
I am a left wing Democrat who, during the 2008 campaign, was NOT taken in by 'slick' graphics and big promises. Unlike so many of my peers, I successfully avoided drinking the kool-aid.
I was hoping this book would be a critical and balanced analysis of the campaign proceedings. How did somebody with so little relevant prepatory experience then successfully manage to run for and become president?
Instead, I obtained MORE fawning plattitudes about how 'good' he is merely for having won the election. There is not a consequent throught to how his 'big' campaign promises to the country are going to get successfully carried out.
These lapses in research are an ongoing flaw throughout the book. I felt as if I were reading a campaign webpage, instead of an allegedly researched volume about the President of the United States.
It is good that the color barrier was broken, but this does not exclude the public's right to a comprehensive and methodical study of that same candidate and new president.
Readers are unable to learn how the administration differs from his predecessor or what he will do to successfully effect 'change' throughout the country. This includes the challenges in successfully implementing his key buzzword. And so, we are let down yet again, just when we assumed there was an opportunity for a gennuinely new book about this president.
I think that for actual and substantive biographies about this president, the public (American and overseas) will have to wait a good amount of time.
Book Review: Aspires high but falls way short due to sloppy writing and editing
Summary: 2 Stars
High aspirations of a Ted White-type account here on the part of both Obama and Wolffe, but the end result is very disappointing. Primarily "Renegade" is badly put together. If you move away from a chronological format to a themed approach, a bizarre enough decision for a book that does in fact unfold over a two-year period, then you have to make an extra effort to provide clarity for the reader. There are way too many examples of repetition and confusion and jumping back and forth over months, and even basic errors. And because of the non-chronological structure, you actually need to provide MORE dates and provide insight about critical time periods when making theme-related points.
Above all, the single major gap in the book is the lack of attention paid to the critical campaign strategy of racking up enough delegates in the smaller caucus dates and how that unfolded, decimating Clinton's ability to recover. This was an absolute key to victory in the primaries and yet is almost ignored in the book. As someone who follows politics closely, and had a broadly positive view of Wolffe until I read this book, I was shocked especially by this lapse.
The book needed a much better editor, and someone more politically savvy than I think must have been the case, to counteract the flaws of Wolffe's approach. My guess is that they rushed it out way too early to be the first book on the market, when it really needed another 3-6 months of redrafting to live up to its aspirations. Somewhat like not having a strategy to win the caucus states !
Book Review: Not up to the standard of the "Making of" series
Summary: 2 Stars
This book was supposedly induced by Obama's suggestion that someone should write a book along the lines of Theodore White's "Making of the President" series (1960-1972, 1980). After White stopped writing his excellent series (picking it up one more time for the 1980 election), Jules Witcover and Jack Germond wrote their excellent presidential election series (1976 (Witcover alone for this one), 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992).
"Renegade" is not up to the standard of those books. For one thing, it only follows Obama and his team, neglecting McCain and his team. A true "Making of the President" book should address the strategies, mistakes, and high points of both sides.
Even if this book was meant only to follow Obama, it is poorly organized. It jumps around in chronology so you lose track of where you are in time. Are we in Obama's formative political years? His time in the state senate? The primaries? The general election? The book jumps around without any reason for doing so.
Finally, this book is an Obama lovefest. That's fine for campaign literature, but not for political analysis.
I can't recommend this one except for political junkies. If you want a better account of the 2008 election, read Haynes Johnson and Dan Balz's "The Battle for America 2008" [ASIN:0670021113 The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election] -- much better organized, covering both sides, and providing better insight, without going overboard favoring one side or the other.
Book Review: Useful, yet biased and somewhat poorly constructed
Summary: 3 Stars
Anyone should appreciate the effort that the author put into writing this book, which is mostly a first-hand account based on months upon months on the grueling campaign trail. Indeed, regardless of one's political inclinations, most readers will come away from this read with a deep admiration for Mr. Obama: he more than earned his way to the presidency through dedication and hard work; and also against very long odds.
Indeed, the author's access to the candidate enables us to come away with these vivid impressions. Similarly, we learn about Mr. Obama's decision-making process when deciding whether or not to run for president; Obama's secret meeting with Rev. Wright; and Obama's true feelings about Hillary Clinton.
At the same time, the book is somewhat poorly constructed, following a non-linear structure that--while intending to be topical-- jumps around excessively. Given the desire for new books about the Obama Administration, this book seems to have been rushed into publication. Similarly, the book contains unnecessarily long quotations and speeches which accomplish little more than taking up space and boring the reader.
Perhaps most disappointingly, the author is a few times shockingly biased, codifying left-wing criticism for the Bush administration as established creed. More than anything, these few glimpses into the author's biases leaves the reader with doubts about all that he or she just read.
Book Review: Weak and disappointing effort.
Summary: 2 Stars
I really looked forward to this book, hoping for a behind-the-scenes expose of a fascinating race. Instead, I got a book loaded with campaign talking points and very little to add to the discourse that we didn't already know.
About 50% of the book is consists of weaving in Obama's life story which, while certainly interesting, has already been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere and in his own books. Wolffe quotes extensively from Dreams of My Father, with quotes sometimes taking up half a page.
About 35% of the book is dedicated to little more than rehashing campaign talking points. In one egregious example, Wolffe writes: "Selecting a vice president is more than just a campaign decision . . . it shows what kind of judgment a candidate possesses." Of course, this is what the Obama team told us all summer, what with the judgment vs. experience debate with McCain. Wolffe also can't go more than 5 pages without reminding us what a renegade Obama is -- we get it.
About 15% of the book consists of actual campaign nitty gritty, which is what the bulk of the book should have been about. More still, Wolffe's organization is poor, jumping back and forth in time. A book of this nature would have been better served with a more chronological, linear approach.
Overall I expected a lot better, especially since I enjoy watching Wolffe on TV. While I am an Obama fan, I wish the book hadn't read like a campaign leaflet.