Best American Political Writing 2007 [Paperback]

Royce Flippin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2007 | Series: Best American Political Writing

Like the previous five editions of this highly regarded anthology, The Best American Political Writing 2007 draws on a wide variety of publications and political viewpoints to present the year's most insightful and entertaining articles on the current political scene, including coverage of the 2006 elections, America's continuing struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan, and profiles of Hillary Clinton, John McCain, John Edwards, and other presidential hopefuls. Selections include Seymour Hersh's ongoing investigation into America's designs on Iran, Carl Cannon on what happens when presidents lie, Matt Taibbi's portrait of the worst Congress in history, Nobel prize–winning economist Daniel Kahneman on why hawks win most foreign-policy arguments, and Thomas Friedman’s look at how America can spearhead the environmental movement for a cleaner planet—plus 20 other groundbreaking pieces from such publications as The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, Commentary, and The American Scholar.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For this first in a projected annual series, the events of 2001 generated far more drama and political debate than usual, broadly reflected in this collection. The most interesting pieces are those that, when read together, create a point-counterpoint effect. For example, liberal lawyer Vincent Bugliosi vigorously attacks the five-justice Supreme Court decision in the Florida vote-count case because, among other things, the Court failed to articulate a credible constitutional basis for its decision. In contrast, Charles Krauthammer, the conservative Washington Post columnist, sees the Supreme Court's role as fundamentally political and finds nothing objectionable in the decision. Yet the section on the election overall feels surprisingly dated. Flippin (editor of Shackleton's Forgotten Men) does for the most part offer pieces that are still timely, such as an excerpt from Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich's bestselling book on her attempt to live on a minimum-wage salary. The retrospective gives readers a chance to do some score keeping: Seymour Hersh, writing about pre-September 11 intelligence failures, quotes several people who predict the as-yet-unrealized ouster of CIA head George Tenet, while Bill Keller writes on Colin Powell's growing influence in the Bush administration-influence not much in evidence today. Flippin has chosen wisely and benefited from an expansive definition of political writing. Heavyweight thinkers Arthur Miller, Henry Kissinger and Jeane Kirkpatrick are featured along with media stars such as Jeff Greenfield, Molly Ivins and Paul Krugman. The pieces also come from a wide range of books and magazines, including the New Yorker, the New York Times and the Atlantic, but also less mainstream sources such as Salon.com, the Nation and Foreign Affairs.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Even though the presidential election is over, this third title in an annual series devoted to political writing merits attention. Flippin offers a biting and absorbing collection of straight news reports, investigative reports, and political analysis initially published between June 2003 and June 2004 on a wide range of political issues, events, and personalities. Among the contributions is a hilarious look at the California gubernatorial election, a probe of the Homeland Security Department, an analysis of the states likely to determine the outcome of the presidential election, and a view of the Bush White House in excerpts from Bob Woodward's Plan of Attack and Ron Suskind's The Price of Loyalty. The book is divided into five sections: the Bush administration, the 2004 presidential campaign, a broad spectrum of political issues, political oddities, and U.S. foreign policy. Each section includes a segment that provides differing views on a controversial topic, including the economy, same-sex marriage, and the U.S. presence in Iraq. Political junkies will love this anthology. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568583435
• ISBN-13: 978-1568583433
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,862,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice to know some still care, October 11, 2003

By 

J. C. "Buggyhair" (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best American Political Writing 2003 (Paperback)

This book is filled with topics that should be at the forefront of the national conversation but are falling on the deaf ears of an apathetic populace. Doesn't anyone care anymore? This is the important stuff, folks. Hard facts and important ideas on the issues that are vital to our future are being drowned out by the legions of bickering, partisan loudmouths with an axe to grind. This book is one of the dying breed that is not for only conservatives or only liberals but for AMERICANS, lest we forget we're all in this together. Highlights for me included the essays, such as Paul Kruger's "For Richer," that reveal how the interests of the wealthy have hijacked our government to a degree never seen before and why our politicians play along, despite overwhelming public opinion against it and the damage it does to our country. Also recommended is Robert Kuttner's reminder of all the promises George W. Bush made to us during his campaign opposed to what he's actually delivered. There could hardly be more distance between the two. Since it helps to know something about your reviewer, I'll tell you that I'm a Democrat, but you'll find a mix of serious conservative, liberal and independent voices here, though not from the extreme fringes. There's no shortage of other books you can look to if that's your thing. Left, right or center, you will find that the writers whose essays make up this book care deeply about which they write and that's what we could all use a lot more of; more caring and less squawking. If you care about your country but are tired of the shrill war of words and conspiracy theories that pass for political writing these days, this book is a beacon in the dark night.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone, December 23, 2002

By 

Lynn Harnett (Marathon, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best American Political Writing 2002 (Paperback)

I know what they say about yesterday's newspaper, but these pieces from 2001, beginning with that mind-bending election and with a special section on September 11, are a slice of history such as we hope not to see again. And besides, many are think pieces from magazines like "The New Yorker" and "The Nation," "Vanity Fair," "salon.com" and "The Atlantic Monthly."

The book is divided into six parts, each followed by a "National Conversation," with column-length opinion pieces. Election 2000 includes five pieces from the likes of Vincent Bugliosi (liberal) and Charles Krauthammer (conservative); Politics in the Bush Era features Margaret Carlson and Nicholas Lemann, with columns from Molly Ivins and Paul Krugman. Lani Guinier and Frank Rich sound off on (Not) Politics As Usual, then Barbara Ehrenreich and David Brooks give their View from Main Street. The second half of the book concentrates on September 11 and the War on Terror and we hear from Richard Perle, Fouad Ajami, Richard Rodriguez, Jeane Kirkpatrick and Henry Kissinger. Among others. The writing is lively and forceful, of course, and if the predictions are sometimes wrong, it's nice to know such opinionated people aren't right about everything. For political junkies of all persuasions.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I had hoped., February 8, 2005

By 

Random Feature "Random Feature" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best American Political Writing 2004 (Paperback)

Be aware that this book is not from the same publisher as the well regarded "The Best American Series" by Houghton Mifflin. I had hoped for equal, in-depth and fair analysis of political issues that would increase my political IQ. Instead I felt that each essay was based more on opinion than facts, although selective facts can be used to support just about any opinion. And I don't think they were chosen with balance in mind. There is only one article which is negative about the Bush tax cuts but not a corresponding positive article. There are 6 articles on Gay Marriage however.

If possible, look closely at the sources of the articles (listed in the table of contents) and read the brief descriptions by the editor at the beginning of each article before buying this book.