Reddit reviews What It Takes: The Way to the White House
We found 9 Reddit comments about What It Takes: The Way to the White House. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Reddit reviews What It Takes: The Way to the White HouseWe found 9 Reddit comments about What It Takes: The Way to the White House. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
If you can read a 1,000+ page book on a political campaign, What It Takes goes into Bob Dole's early life in detail. The book is about everyone running in the 1988 Presidential election, and almost certainly the best book you will ever read about what makes people become successful politicians and what a major election campaign is really like.
Anyway, back to Dole. It wasn't just his hand that was injured in WWII, his whole body was mangled. There were several years where he was bedridden and likely suicidal afterwards, and he was generally expected to stay that way and die within five, maybe ten years. The surgery on his shoulder that turned his arm into a pen cup was an extremely risky, experimental procedure when he had it done, and it was basically as a last ditch effort.
Then he spent a few more years relearning how to do every basic task you take for granted, and went to law school, where he learned everything by memory because he had no way to take notes. Then he was a small-town lawyer who got into politics.
I'm not a fan of his politics or his weird third-person self-reference affectation, but he has an incredible backstory.
https://www.amazon.com/What-Takes-Way-White-House/dp/0679746498
If you are interested in more the function of politics rather than its subject matter of policy, then here is a decent list of foundational texts to get you started:
On theory:
The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers
Democracy in America
On Campaigning:
What it takes
Game Change
Campaigns and Elections- American Style
On Legislating/Governing:
Congress- The Electoral Connection
Party Politics in America
Political Polarization of American Politics
Interest Group Politics
Obviously this is quite a bit to read- but renting or using library resources will soften the blow to your wallet.
If I have misread your question, and you are interested in policy rather than politics, more recommendations can be provided depending on both your political persuasion and your specific interests.
PS: Assumed you meant American politics. If not- can provide other texts.
what it takes: the way to the white house
just the most incredible, enjoyable study of politics and what makes a person great.
If you enjoy talking about politics, or find elections interesting, your world view will be made so much wider by this book.
I'm sure no-one else will have heard of it, so here are links to:
the rather short wiki
the amazon page with excellent reviews
the goodreads page with more reviews
the author discussing the book on cspan
A) You should wallow in pity about how nothing has changed since 1972.
B) If you want more HST I recommend The Rum Diary or Hell's Angels.
C) If you want more politics I recommend Game Change which was about the 2008 election and was pretty great if not overly shocking or if you really want to get deep into something try the 1,000 page opus about the 1980 election What It Takes
if you're not excited by Biden, go dig out What It Takes: The Way To The White House and read his chapters. Also it's the best book ever written.
warning: may result in write-in votes for Gary Hart
For Enjoyable Political Science stuff, I would suggest A More Perfect Constitution by Larry Sabbato.
For the best election reading, go for [What It Takes] (http://www.amazon.com/What-Takes-Way-White-House/dp/0679746498/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371747306&sr=1-1&keywords=what+it+takes) by Richard Ben Kramer.
I'll have you know that What it Takes is a brilliant book!
And if it's on sale in a used bookstore, so be it, internet sir!