The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama (Hardcover)

by Gwen Ifill (Author)
Key Phrases: city hall office, African American, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Journalist and broadcaster Ifill offers a stellar analysis of the black political structure and its future in American politics. President Obama is featured but does not dominate the text; Ifill focuses more intently on such figures as Rev. Jesse Jackson and Newark, N.J., mayor Cory Booker, as well as Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. As a reader, Ifill is professional, authoritative but never stuffy, impassioned but never biased. Listeners will be rewarded by a well-researched, well-narrated take on the implications of President Obama's election on the strongholds of African-American political power. A Doubleday hardcover (PW Daily, Jan. 16). (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From School Library Journal
Former New York Times reporter Ifill explores the role of race, racism, and identity politics as played out in the 2008 election, offering striking criticism and intriguing insight as to how one can examine these ideas in light of Barack Obama's presidential victory. As narrator, however, Ifill is arguably less successful. She has the intense, assertive, projecting voice of a news reporter, which can get tiresome, and a significant number of page turns can be heard throughout. Though the subject matter will impress and provoke political junkies and lay readers alike, some may find Ifill's performance overwhelming. [Audio clip available through www.highbridgeaudio.com; includes a bonus interview with the author.—Ed.]—Lance Eaton, Peabody, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (January 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038552501X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385525015
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,748 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #43 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > African-American Studies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If we blithely ignore the questions, there still could be troubled days ahead., February 25, 2009

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

The Obama presidency --- less than a month old as this is written --- is already generating a tsunami of commentary, appraisal, praise, criticism, advice, warning and general can-we-really-believe-this wonderment.

The voices producing all this punditry come overwhelmingly from white observers. In this wide-ranging book, TV journalist Gwen Ifill (remember her as moderator of the 2008 vice presidential debate?) gives us a much-needed perspective from the black community itself.

Some of her conclusions may surprise you. There are, for example, sharp generational divisions within the black community over what the election meant and what it may mean for our political future. Race still looms as a major issue in American politics. A huge step forward has indeed been taken, but where the path leads and who will blaze it are unanswered questions.

The major theme of Ifill's book is the deep psychological and tactical division between the older generation of black civil rights activists --- those who endured the fire hoses, the attack dogs, the beatings --- and the newer crop of young black political hopefuls who want to build in their own way on what their elders accomplished. The younger group reveres and respects what the pioneers did, but their own objectives are quite different. The situation is nicely summed up by a quote from Michael Steele, the Maryland politician just elected chairman of the Republican National Committee: "This generation is less interested in having a seat at the lunch counter and more interested in owning the diner."

This amounts, in Ifill's phrase, to a "redefinition" of black politics and politicians. In his campaign Barack Obama tried to straddle the divide by soft-pedaling the idea of past black militancy and struggle, speaking instead of the need for blacks and whites to seek common ground for the general good. It was a kind of unconscious echo of Thomas Jefferson's "We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists."

Obama's election certainly marked a milestone in the long road toward racial tolerance in America, but most of the politicians Ifill consulted have no rosy illusions that we have entered a "post-racial" political era, and Ifill seems to agree with them. She repeatedly invokes the image of sandpaper to characterize the uneasy state of friction that still exists below the political surface.

The younger generation of rising black politicians is still irritated by the idea that they should "wait their turn" instead of pushing aggressively toward their political goals. In this regard, Ifill focuses on three highly visible black activists: Newark Mayor Corey Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Alabama Congressman Artur Davis. While admiring the political skills of Booker and Patrick, she is somewhat critical of both men for ignoring sound advice and trying to accomplish all their goals in too short a time. She sees Davis as obviously planning a run for governor of Alabama, a risky move to put it mildly.

Within the black community, Ifill finds an undercurrent of unease with politicians perceived as not "black enough." When the young Deval Patrick came home to Illinois on a break from Milton Academy in Massachusetts, his sister taunted him with "you talk like a white boy!" And there were those who wondered why Barack Obama did not say more about specifically black concerns during his campaign. (Of course, on the other side stood those whites who rejected any black candidate simply because his skin was black and dismissed Obama as a secret Muslim or even the Antichrist. Ifill pays them little heed other than to implicitly acknowledge that they are indeed still with us.)

The last section of Ifill's book is a survey of promising second-level black politicians from around the country --- state legislators, mayors, government officials. These are the people, she says, who may make up the next wave of nationally prominent black political figures. This final chapter reads a little like a baseball scouting report from the minor leagues, listing the hottest young prospects for future seasons.

THE BREAKTHROUGH is well written, but it is perhaps most valuable for the questions it raises than for any answers Ifill provides. These answers we must all figure out for ourselves. If we blithely ignore the questions, there still could be troubled days ahead.

--- Reviewed by Robert Finn

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Leader Emerge, February 22, 2009

By	Cathy Taylor "BVCathy" (Aurora, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gwen Ifill's analysis of emergence of new black political leaders is very insightful and interesting. She captures a unique quality in each of the politicians including their determination to rise above the criticisms of older civil rights leaders from the past. In many of the documented cases, young leaders were breaking with the traditions of their own parents who encouraged them to go into politics. Breakthrough is a fascinating read and I will be interested to see what becomes of many of the leaders highlighted in the book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Profiles, March 28, 2009

By	Stephen T. Hopkins (Oak Park, Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gwen Ifill's new book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, presents readers with an extensive cast of characters across multiple generations. As a result of lots of interviews, Ifill is able to assemble the outlook, perspective and experience of both well-known and lesser-known individuals. Ifill excels at allowing the voices of the individuals she interviews express themselves. Despite an overall structure in The Breakthrough, there isn't a great deal of analysis. Consider this for what it is: a journalist using her skills at interviewing to assemble a book that provides readers with the insights of many individuals. A bonus for me was reading about individuals who are up and coming in the political world, and gaining some understanding of what race may mean for the next generation of politicians and voters.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)