Before Game Change there was What It Takes, a ride along the 1988 campaign trail and “possibly the best [book] ever written about an American election” (NPR). Written by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and New York Times–bestselling author Richard Ben Cramer, What It Takes is “a perfect-pitch rendering of the emotions, the intensity, the anguish, and the emptiness of what may have been the last normal two-party campaign in American history” (Time). An up-close, in-depth look at six candidates—George H. W. “Poppy” Bush, Bob Dole, Joe Biden, Michael Dukakis, Richard Gephardt, and Gary Hart—this account of the 1988 US presidential campaign explores a unique moment in history, with details on everything from Bush at the Astrodome to Hart’s Donna Rice scandal. Cramer also addresses the question we find ourselves pondering every four years: How do presumably ordinary people acquire that mixture of ambition, stamina, and pure shamelessness that allows them to throw their hat in the ring as a candidate for leadership of the free world? Exhaustively researched from thousands of hours of interviews, What It Takes creates powerful portraits of these Republican and Democratic contenders, and the consultants, donors, journalists, handlers, and hangers-on who surround them, as they meet, greet, and strategize their way through primary season chasing the nomination, resulting in “a hipped-up amalgam of Teddy White, Tom Wolfe, and Norman Mailer” (Los Angeles Times Book Review). With timeless insight that helps us understand the current state of the nation, this “ultimate insider’s book on presidential politics” explores what helps these people survive, what makes them prosper, what drives them, and ultimately, what drives our government—human beings, in all their flawed glory (San Francisco Chronicle).

All Too Human is a new-generation political memoir, written from the refreshing perspective of one who got his hands on the levers of awesome power at an early age. At thirty, the author was at Bill Clinton's side during the presidential campaign of 1992, & for the next five years he was rarely more than a step away from the president & his other advisers at every important moment of the first term. What Liar's Poker did to Wall Street, this book will do to politics. It is an irreverent & intimate portrait of how the nation's weighty business is conducted by people whose egos & idiosyncrasies are no sturdier than anyone else's. Including sharp portraits of the Clintons, Al Gore, Dick Morris, Colin Powell, & scores of others, as well as candid & revelatory accounts of the famous debacles & triumphs of an administration that constantly went over the top, All Too Human is, like its author, a brilliant combination of pragmatic insight & idealism. It is destined to be the most important & enduring book to come out of the Clinton administration.

“An engaging, beautifully synthesized page-turner” (Slate). The #1 New York Times bestseller and Time #1 Nonfiction Book of the Year: Hillary Rodham Clinton’s most personal memoir yet, about the 2016 presidential election. In this “candid and blackly funny” (The New York Times) memoir, Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history. She takes us inside the intense personal experience of becoming the first woman nominated for president by a major party in an election marked by rage, sexism, exhilarating highs and infuriating lows, stranger-than-fiction twists, Russian interference, and an opponent who broke all the rules. “At her most emotionally raw” (People), Hillary describes what it was like to run against Donald Trump, the mistakes she made, how she has coped with a shocking and devastating loss, and how she found the strength to pick herself back up afterward. She tells readers what it took to get back on her feet—the rituals, relationships, and reading that got her through, and what the experience has taught her about life. In this “feminist manifesto” (The New York Times), she speaks to the challenges of being a strong woman in the public eye, the criticism over her voice, age, and appearance, and the double standard confronting women in politics. Offering a “bracing... guide to our political arena” (The Washington Post), What Happened lays out how the 2016 election was marked by an unprecedented assault on our democracy by a foreign adversary. By analyzing the evidence and connecting the dots, Hillary shows just how dangerous the forces are that shaped the outcome, and why Americans need to understand them to protect our values and our democracy in the future. The election of 2016 was unprecedented and historic. What Happened is the story of that campaign, now with a new epilogue showing how Hillary grappled with many of her worst fears coming true in the Trump Era, while finding new hope in a surge of civic activism, women running for office, and young people marching in the streets.

A media expert and network commentator examines the welter of misinformation--generated by politicians and the media alike--that surrounds political campaigns.

After George H. W. Bush lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton in 1992, John Robert Greene's verdict on the 41st president of the United States was that he "brought no discredit to the office" and "was both patient and prudent. . . mak [ing] few mistakes." In the years since the release of Greene's profile of the senior Bush, deemed by Publishers Weekly, "the essential introduction to Bush's abbreviated, but still consequential, tenure in office," a wealth of materials about Bush's presidency has become available, even as distance has sharpened our perspective on the Bush years. In this significantly expanded second edition of The Presidency of George H. W. Bush, Greene takes full advantage of newly released documents to revisit Bush's term, to consider his post-presidency accomplishment, and to enhance and clarify our understanding of his place in history. Such milestones as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, the fall of the Soviet Union, the savings and loan crisis, and the transition to the Clinton administration receive renewed and far more detailed treatment here, as do the ramifications of George H. W. Bush's positions and policies. Greene also devotes ample attention to Bush's post-presidency, including his relationship with his son, President George W. Bush, as well as the development of his close friendship with Bill Clinton. The elder Bush emerges from this reappraisal as a considerably more activist president, with a more activist administration, than was previously assumed. Greene's concise and readable account drawing on the contents of the bush Library, the papers of James A. Baker III, and personal interviews, shows us the 41st president--and thus an important chapter in American history--in a new and more revealing light.

This comprehensive history of George Bush's administration paints a striking portrait of a "positive moderate" whose accomplishments have often been underrated. 14 photos.

Ever since its first publication in 1992, The End of History and the Last Man has provoked controversy and debate. Francis Fukuyama's prescient analysis of religious fundamentalism, politics, scientific progress, ethical codes, and war is as essential for a world fighting fundamentalist terrorists as it was for the end of the Cold War. Now updated with a new afterword, The End of History and the Last Man is a modern classic.

On The Forward Edge is an American Government text-novel. It teaches the basic principles of American Government through the medium of a novelistic account of young people working for change at the time of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Clark Schooler, a recent college graduate, begins his newspaper career by reporting on the sit-in demonstrations of the early civil rights movement. He covers the efforts of college students to use direct-action and protests to force the racial integration of a movie theater in Baltimore. His editor then sends him to the all-white University of Mississippi to witness and write about the campus riot that takes place when a black student, James Meredith, attempts to attend the University. After covering the 1963 March on Washington, Clark is given a journalistic internship in the Capitol Hill office of United States Senator Thomas H. Kuchel of California. Senator Kuchel is one of the floor leaders for the civil rights bill that will eventually be enacted as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In his capacity as a Senate aide, Clark observes first hand the inner workings of Congress, particularly the way in which senators supporting racial segregation are using the Senate filibuster to "talk to death" the civil rights bill. Clark works with Senator Kuchel to find 67 votes to "cloture" the civil rights bill and thereby end the filibuster. Clark meets Bonnie Kanecton, a young lawyer working for Senator Everett M. Dirksen of Illinois. Bonnie shows Clark how, through carefully crafted legislative compromises, Senator Dirksen is able to fashion a final version of the bill capable of winning 67 votes for cloture. But the battle is not over until the Supreme Court, in the late fall of 1964, upholds the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Probably no feature of the American political system has been subject to more sustained criticism over the last twenty-five years than the process by which we choose our presidents. In Choosing Our Choices, Robert E. DiClerico and James W. Davis debate the question: should we retain the present, primary centered 'direct democracy' method in selecting presidential candidates or should we return to a representative decision-making process to nominate our candidates? This timely and thought-provoking text offers the reader a concise yet comprehensive analysis of the presidential nominating system, arguments for and against the current system, and supplemental documents and essays for further reading. Choosing Our Choices will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars interested in exploring how Americans choose their leaders.

In a comparison of communication in the U.S. presidential primaries of the twentieth century, Kendall examines the role of the candidates and the media during the period of primary elections. Drawing upon information from a broad array of sources, Kendall uncovers communication patterns that transcend time regarding political image, horse race coverage, and negative campaigning. She takes a strong communication perspective, arguing that the verbal context of the presidential primaries is an important factor overlooked in traditional studies. Topics covered include the effect of party rules on communication, the role of speeches and debates, the role of political advertising, and the media's construction of the primaries in the pre- television era and the age of television. Kendall examines the 1996 primaries in light of patterns discovered in earlier years, and she makes predictions and recommendations regarding the 2000 primaries. With its century-wide scope and the variety of research methods used, the book will be of considerable value to researchers, scholars, journalists and students involved with political communication and American presidential elections.