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Race of a Lifetime: How Obama Won the White House |  | Authors: Mark Halperin, John Heilemann
Publisher: Viking
Category: Book
List Price: £25.00
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Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 88015
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.7
ISBN: 0670918024
EAN: 9780670918027
ASIN: 0670918024
Publication Date: January 11, 2010
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Product Description
President Barack Obama's triumph was not inevitable: it was the end product of a brilliant, calculated, convention-defying political campaign. In a race that will be talked about for years to come, he faced down his rivals with ruthless focus and efficiency. This title presents the inside story of those thrilling months.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
 Unconvincing insight into boring marathon race August 16, 2010
John Fitzpatrick (São Paulo, Brazil)
The primaries by which members of the Democratic and Republican parties choose their presidential candidates may be a hallmark of American democracy but they are long, drawn-out and of little general interest, particularly to foreigners. There are normally a couple of big hitter candidates, one of whom usually stumbles, plus a handful of wild cards who sometimes upset conventional wisdom and end up in the White House. One of the subjects of this book, Barack Obama, was one of these.
However, surprises like this do not mean they are interesting to readers or viewers. The bottom line is two years of campaigning in every nook and cranny of the US to drum up support. Some of my worst television memories of the last primaries come from the nightly CNN program called The Situation Room during which anchorman Wolf Blitzer desperately tried to persuade viewers that what we were watching in some obscure state in the middle of nowhere was of earth-shattering importance.
This book is a fly-on-the-wall account of the campaign between Hillary Clinton and Obama for the Democratic endorsement and John McCain and various others for the Republican nomination. Most of it is deadly dull, badly written and so full of four letter words that you wonder if Americans can utter a single sentence without swearing.
More importantly, this is a book of dubious accuracy. Very few of the sources are named even though we are led to believe that everybody involved was interviewed by the authors. Presumably this includes Obama and Clinton whose thoughts are described (complete with four letter words). One assumes that Obama and Clinton cooperated on a non-attributable basis but did they?
The most interesting characters in the book are not the opportunistic Obama or ambitious Clinton but McCain who comes across as a cantankerous old war horse and his running mate, Sarah Palin, whose knowledge of affairs outside her native Alaska was nil.
As Obama won, it is not surprising that the contest between him and Clinton gets greater coverage but the McCain campaign is the only part that enlivens this otherwise monotonous read.
 Not quite what the title suggests July 12, 2010
Noel O'riordan
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a good page turning book, but my big complaint is that it misrepresents itself by the title and cover blurbs. This is not a blow by blow account of the race to the presidency, but really a blow by blow account of the race for the democratic nomination. Coming up on 300 pages we were still only just getting to the Democratic convention with only 180 pages to go to cover the battle between Obama and McCain. There is no Joe the plumber, which was such a big part of the campaign, the presidential debates are glossed over, very little of the republicans trying to use Wright and Ayers against Obama, and even Sarah Palin is pretty much treated in a cursory fashion. What you do get are lots of inside detail about the Clinton and Obama slug out. But that's not what I bought the book for, so it left me feeling a bit shortchanged. If it has been subtitled 'an inside look at Obama vs. Clinton on the way to Obama's presidency' then great, but its certainly not an indepth look at the presidential election.
 Gripping even when you know how it ends May 14, 2010
Aidan J. McQuade (Ireland)
Described by some reviewers as "high class political porn" its just about everything you might want to know about the 2008 presidential election. Tries a bit too much with the style of the school of hard bitten journalese, but great craic nevertheless
"Fired up! Ready to go!" April 2, 2010
Wiggles (Somewhere... over the rainbow...)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The story starts before the campaign begins with Hillary preparing for her inauguration, months and months before the election, so certain was she of victory. But others in the Senate, particulary Harry Reid, had noticed Obama for a while and urged him to join in the race. And so it begins.
The bulk of the book focuses on Obama and HIllary fighting to get the nomination and Obama slowly but surely pulling ahead to get it. Hillary comes across as very entitled and arrogant while Bill is shown to be complacent and petty, both far from their public images. Bill's affairs are alluded to heavily, post-administration, though nothing comes up, he remains a volatile quandary for the campaign. Obama comes across throughout as a likeable, intelligent, highly motivated and ridiculously calm individual whose self confidence propelled him through the campaign and touched millions.
McCain and the GOP campaign pops up towards the end and the election proper is dealt with in 100 pages. McCain comes across and utterly obnoxious and angry, screaming at his wife, not caring about policy so gaffes like "The foundations of our economy are sound" happen, his debating comes across very badly because he doesn't want to learn, he makes bad decision after bad decision, ultimately leading to the worst decision of all - Sarah Palin.
Like most people I've got a fairly good idea of the person and the many, many problems with her candidacy are gone through again here. What was revelatory were what is called "The Two Sarahs" where she has the public image and then the catatonic, silent image with dead eyes. Her lack of knowledge is breathtaking and McCain's own staff begin fearing that if they won, she might be President.
Utterly engrossing, the story barrels along enjoyably and smoothly, reading like a novel, packed with political insight and information on how tough the campaigns are run and how tough the candidates are, as well as lots of behind the curtain news and unforgettable portraits of the leading players. An amazing book, highly recommended.
A stunning evocation of the greatest political race of our times March 20, 2010
J A C Corbett (Blackheath, London, UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Race of a Lifetime is the insider account of Barak Obama's stunning rise to the presidency of the United States. Co-authored by two of the country's top political journalists, it relies upon some 200 hundred off-the-record interviews with campaign insiders (we're never told which ones) and moves along with the pace of a novel.
Although Obama is the central character, the narrative revolves around other key players, principally Hillary Clinton, but also John Edwards, John McCain and Sarah Palin. It altered my opinion about Clinton - who comes across as thoroughly decent, diligent and admirable character - but reinforces what I knew about the others.
Those who saw and loved the last two brilliant series of the much-missed West Wing are in for a real treat. The powerful characters and breakneck narrative seem more in tune with a fictional creation than the staid world of politics.
Yet truth is stranger than fiction, and had that programme's creators devised characters such as Sarah Palin, they would have been accused of parody.
Palin - with the egomanic and sleazy John Edwards - comes off worst in this book, although it is her ignorance rather than cynicism or ego that is her worst sin. It remains a terrifying thought that she could have been a missed heartbeat away from being the most powerful person in the world.
One of the books' best episodes recounts her cramming sessions on forign affairs. During a lengthy primer on twentieth century history, of which she knew nothing, one ofe her aides suggests a break. "No, no, no, let's keep going," said Palin with the apparent wonderment of a child. "This is awesome."
The book should be read with a few reservations. It's certainly not (thankfully) political science, yet not even a work of journalism - which would be properly sourced - rather a piece narrative non-fiction. We have to trust the authors' integrity to faithfully and even handedly deal with their off the record sources, and for some readers that will invariably be a leap of faith too far.
Yet in my view, the book is richer and more candid for being off the record and gossipy. It's well-written, fascinating and a rare thing among books of its genre - a real page turner.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 12
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