Customer Reviews

Campaign Warriors: Political Consultants in Elections

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Very rarely does any book delve into the mysterious world of the political consultant; in fact, these key players are merely treated as scenery by many other accounts. Thurber and Nelson's account suggests otherwise. CAMPAIGN WARRIORS is a compilation of articles that probes deeply into both the professional and personal lives of these political workers. The book takes a comprehensive approach to the study of the political consultant, analyzing the ultimate effect that they have on the electoral and decision-making process. Party relations, the amount of money available to political campaigns, and the degree of professionalization in House elections are all factors that are explored through the mention of consultants. An appendix in the book focuses on consultants as a demographic group. The prose is a bit technical at times, but only when discussing relevant statistics that the authors have acquired through surveys conducted at local, state, and national levels. However, that the authors were able to shed so much light on the doings of these behind-the-scenes workers in only 200 pages, makes this book all in all a good read.

This is a good book because it adds to a body of literature that has been somewhat neglected. The world of political consultants has been cast in a shadowy world that appears to be more glamorous than it actually is. Sabato tried to uncover this world, but only offered a handful of stories cast in anecdote. The chapters in this book offer more interviews and empirical evidence that makes the Sabato book seem lightweight. Reading this book, you will become informed about the difficult path laying before aspiring consultants. You will see how personal connections matter in this world, and the skills needed to get ahead. This book is great because it illustrates all of this information in a very readable tome. Get it and get informed.