Customer Reviews

The Governor

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

In The Governor, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich demonstrates the character flaws that hypercharged his rise as a tough prosecutor and ended his political career in spectacular fashion. He was indicted on political corruption charges and unanimously removed from office by the Illinois legislature. He lets us know he's not going to be silenced but then his book doesn't reveal any political facts, missing a perfect opportunity for everybody. Where are the insider deal-making accounts that would have defined this chapter in Illinois history and provided entertainment on an international scale? While I was naturally inclined to get the other side of the story, I felt disappointed.

The Governor doesn't spotlight previously undisclosed corruption. There are no political paybacks from now-impeached Governor Blagojevich, no salacious stories, no juicy details - just a rehash of strident denials and protestations of innocence from his national media tour served with histrionics. The Governor did not reveal a shadow world of Illinois politics as its prerelease promotion implied.

Blagojevich as a Governor and author is a "wedge creator," someone who invokes a big cause (like increased health care coverage for the poor), creates a bad guy (typically for Blagojevich, the Illinois state legislature controlled by his own political party), and positions himself as the hero. This framework allows Blagojevich to suggest that ends justify means. In the former Governor's narcissistic mind, his super-charged, pay-to-play fundraising and his disregard for constitutional and legal technicalities are necessary sacrifices for some greater good. Blagojevich's ramblings about his big causes (259 pages) are superficial and dull.

Prosecutors often develop "wedge creator" skills, making them formidable opponents in politics. Since they work for the public good, some prosecutors can become tempted to rationalize approaches such as creating a "villain" figure and even making false claims. Blagojevich's personality might be ideal or perhaps even dangerous as a prosecutor.

However lacking in new revelations The Governor may be, it may have redeeming value, but not enough to earn it two stars. Readers will be reminded about civic responsibility. One must pay closer attention at election time, and not disregard telltale signs of a politician's character flaws and corruption no matter how good and frequent the 30-second ads. Voters sometimes fail in this regard. They reelected Blagojevich despite widespread news reports of pay-to-play politics and the federal corruption probes that dogged his first gubernatorial term.

Insider accounts and explanations of how things really worked out of the Governor's office at the time would have made this a blockbuster within the literary genre of crooked people in positions of power and the rules by which they play. When he first announced his intent to write this book, Blagojevich promised a "tell all" that would expose corrupt politicians and their associates. Such a book could have been a bestseller and earned film rights. The Governor does not deliver.

you have to admit that Rod Blaojevich is pretty convincing. He's been on every tv show from here to Timbuktu.

His own personally written book, "The Governor" is about this arrest, his life, and the allegations being brought against him by United States Government.

The books starts off as a page turner, recollecting the day he was arrested to the whole process of the day.

then he gets into the roots of his childhood and you begin to lose interest because you really want to know about the allegations more than anything, since that is what he's been denying the entire time.

So here is his official story, and it's been told time and again.

When Barack Obama won the Presidency, his Illinois Senate seat became vacant and it was up to Governor Blagojevich to fill that seat.

He reminds readers that he actually could have filled that seat himself, but rather, he chose the daughter of his biggest political nemises.

He chose Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in political favor that her father and Blagojevich's biggest nemises, Illinois Speaker of the House of Representatives Michael Madigan, would help pass a job's bill to create some 500,000 new jobs as well as a bill to not pass a new income tax bill.

All the while, he was already under investigation for political corruption, and it didn't help that his conversations were taped and included some pretty incriminating statements such as "this is a valuable thing....you just don't give it away for nothing". (saying this isn't criminal by the way and proves nothing)

In his book, Governor Blagojevich says that he had already made the decision to appoint Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the U.S. Senate, but on the day the appointment was to be made, he was arrested by the FBI.

This is pretty much the jist of the book, and it's believeable the way Rod Blagojevich defends himself. His argument is that he didn't sell the seat, but had already made a choice in exchange for political favors for the people of Illinois as well as himself, even though he doesn't say that he's doing it for himself, only for the people of Illinois.

Blago even writes that the reason for the sudden impeachment was because he didn't resign as Governor. Blago states that he was offered his full salary in exchange for resigning and not appointing anybody to take Obama's open Senate seat. He further states that the Illinois political machine was to appoint Lisa Madigan to the open Senate seat. Blagojevich instead stayed in as Governor and finally appointed Roland Burris, a friend and former foe of his since he felt that an African-American should represent the seat that was once held by an African-American.

BTW, just in case you were wondering. On December 12, 2008, Lisa Madigan, the Attorney General filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court to strip Blagojevich of his power as Governor and temporarily appoint the Lt. Governor Pat Quinn instead as Governor. Part of this motion included removing Blagojevich's power to appoint the next U.S. Senator to the vacant senate seat. The motion was denied. On December 16, Lisa Madigan's father, Michael Madigan (Illinois Speaker of the House) began impeachment proceddings, and all of this despite any formal criminal hearing.

Blagojevich makes a valid argument against his impeachment saying that he was elected two times by the people of Illinois and yet, was impeached and thrown out of office despite pending criminal court. His argument is that this was nothing more than a political move by the Illinois political corruption machine, which was able to impeach him on evidence that still hasn't been proven up in a criminal court, and to this, he makes a valid argument.

I know of several politicans in my hometown who have been arrested and charged, yet unlike Rod Blagojevich, still hold their office.

Rod Blagojevich is very convincing and a very charismatic person, and whether he's telling the truth or not, only time will tell.

I would recommend his book because it's very interesting, and unlike others, he wrote this book himself.

it's worth flipping through.

I bought this fine book at our local bookstore for a penny.
Im taking it back and demanding a refund.

Reading this book will give you a short course in Chicago politics. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I never was a Blagojevich supporter or hater, and I do not believe in pile on politics. I really believe the Democrats did him and the party a great diservice considering their actions in this matter. It will serve them right if they lose the Illinois Governorship this next election, because of it. Overall I believe that Blagojevich did a decent job as governor and he did keep the state income tax down. But he of course made some mistakes and a number of enemies in the process. I know there is a lot of corruption in IL politics, but I would not lay it all at the feet of this Governor. Shame on the prosecutors for blowing this case into something it never should have been.

The Governor was found to be some good reading. From this book, there is much to be learned about our current political processes and their public powers. It appears that our former governor forgot that he was in political waters swimming with sharks.

I will always remember Rod Blagojevich's presence and hope he stays visible. I would recommend this book for high school and college students who have interests in learning about our "government."

While reading this book, I had to keep reminding myself that this is non- fiction. All he had to do was change the names of the characters & it possibly could have been a New York's times best seller. I too wanted to see what Rod's explanation was in all of this scandal. I felt that he left out a lot of what should have been said, instead he kept talking about how "innocent" he was & that he couldn`t believe that the FBI would come to his house at 6am & arrest him. He never explained how he & Pat Quinn met & why he chose him as his Lt. Governor & what happened that their relationship ended on sour terms. I don't believe that he would have picked Lisa Madigan for Governor, not even sure picking Roland Burris was his choice. He learned his tricks from his father-in-law & got caught, however, the straw that broke the camel's back is when his father-in-law wanted that landfill business regardless of any conditons & Rod said no, he then was tired of jumping & his father-in-law ended up with the last laugh. There were bits & pieces in the book that I truly believe, he just got caught up in the "game of politics". I'm glad I rented it from the library, hope you do the same.

I saw this book at my local library and just had to pick it up. I wanted to see how now-deposed Illinois Gov. Blagojevich would explain all that has happened, i.e. the events leading to his impeachment and removal as governor.

"The Governor" (264 pages) starts and finishes with Blagojevich's version of what 'really' happened in the days and weeks leading up to his arrest on December 8, 2008, and the events thereafter. The middle of the book brings a straight-forward telling of how Blagejovich became involved in politics and rose through the ranks to be become the governor of Illinois in 2002. From the moment you start reading this book, you get a sense that this man is completely delusional ("Obama is now the President of the United Sates, like Zeus in Greek Mythology, on top of Mt. Olympus. I'm Icarus, who flew too close to the Sun. And I crashed to the ground"), and that everything he writes in here is nothing but self-serving ("You know, I could've made myself a U.S. Senator. The law allows it. Looking back, had I done it the day after Obama's election, how different would things for me be now?"). Reading how Blagojevich writes about himself, you'd think the man would qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize and that he truly, no really, is the most selfless person ever in the world of politics: "On the one hand, I was repulsed by making Lisa Mulligan the senator. I hated the idea. One the other hand, I wanted to put people to work, give them access to affordable heathcare and protect them from a tax increase. I loved that." (Angels will come out from the heavens to chant any moment now.)

The most frustrating thing about the book is that Blagojevich does not at any time even try to explain or defend the various recordings that we've all heard by now, which formed the basis for his arrest and later his impeachment. For Blagojevich it is as if these recordings don't even exist. Towards the end of the book, commenting on the fact that several of his top aides (including his Chief of Staff) have admitted to wrong-doing, Blagojevich has the nerve to tell us that "I'm stunned and broken-hearted by the news. And I still can't believe it." Really? I can't believe how this man is so far removed from reality that he doesn't even realize it, or how he has the audacity to just lie, lie, lie. I would not recommend this book, because (i) this is a very one-sided and incomplete version of the facts, and (ii) there is no need to further reward the man financially for his wrong-doings by buying this book.

I'm from downstate Illinois. For over five years Rod Blagojevich was our governor. The only reason he was initially elected as Illinois Governor was because of the downstate vote. After he was elected it was clear he didn't really seem to care much for downstate Illinois: he refused to move into the Governor's mansion in Springfield, he tried to close several state operations in the downstate area (prisons, historical sites, etc.), and none of his top cabinet officials originated from anywhere south of Peoria. He was re-elected-but not without scandal-by a narrow margin because basically no one was running against him (the Republican nominee at the time was a female who basically shared almost all of his political ideology and who was also from the Chicago suburbs). When he was arrested, no one was surprised. Everyone where I lived saw it coming long ago and agreed that it was about time.

Despite all of this, I decided to give our former governor a chance and I read his book. I thought that perhaps it might provide some insight or at least some juicy information. Since his arrest, Blagojevich has claimed to be innocent of the crimes for which he was arrested and were eventually impeached, so I thought if nothing else the book would give a few scraps of actually why he was innocent. Even if the book didn't provide any of that, I thought that it would at least be well written. I wasn't even close because THE GOVERNOR doesn't reveal anything really new and the writing is so bad that it makes Blagojevich the Governor seem like a superhero compared to Blagojevich the Author.

The book starts of by telling Blagojevich's version of what happened on Dec. 8, 2008 when he was arrested at his own home. This is one of the few parts of the book that a person can relate to. The scene he describes reminded me when Elian Gonzalez was taken by U.S. soldiers and sent back to Cuba. Blagojevich should have been arrested, but it shouldn't have happened at his home in such a dramatic fashion; it should have happened while he was at work. From there, the book goes on to describe Blagojevich's childhood, how he got into politics, his rise to power, and the "events" leading up to his arrest and what he's been doing since then.

The only interesting parts in the whole book are when Blagojevich talks about Rev. Jesse Jackson, whom he belittles but later retracks, and when he talks about the Madigans. Most of the rest of the book is a rehash of information already on the public record or self-pompous proclamations that seem to be the sputterings of an egomaniac. There is very little original thought. Not only that, but Blagojevich likes to repeat himself. For instance, he talks about his great love and concern for "the people". I really got sick of reading that phrase, "the people" especially since from the people's perspective, Blagojevich didn't do anything. There's no real insight into why he did the things he did and there's not even a hint at uncovering what really happened. For instance, he blames a lot of things on his father-in-law and the Madigans. Well, outside of Chicago-land, most everyone knows that his father-in-law was a no good crook and that the Madigans are political gangsters. People know they are part of the picture, but what's the real story? That's what people want to know. Unfortunately, even though it comes straight from the source, you won't find any answers in THE GOVERNOR.

If that isn't enough, the book is also terribly written. Blagojevich didn't seem to be much of a speaker, but he's an even worse writer. I felt like I was reading a book that had been written by an immigrant who had just learned how to write in English. I know his family migrated to the U.S. from Europe, but Blago's lived here his whole life. He was a former U.S. Congressman and Governor of Illinois. He should be able to write better. I love reading, but I found it a chore to finish reading THE GOVERNOR.

THE GOVERNOR will have some appeal because of Blagojevich's notoriety. However, outside of that, there's nothing to recommend about the book.

After I recently read a newspaper article by AP Legal Affairs Mike Robinson dated 09/13/2009 stating that the law known as "honest-services fraud" is currently being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court in two separate cases because it is being labeled as confusing and vague, I wanted to read this much anticipated book by former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The "honest-services fraud" law holds a prominent place in the 19-count indictment against the former Illinois Governor.

Rod Blagojevich: The Governor is an excellent book documenting the tenure of the former Governor of Illinois by himself and not a ghost writer as described in the review by Leon Czikowsky. This is an excellent book about Illinois politics and his own story that I was not able to put down.

The law known as "honest-services fraud" is currently being scrutinized for clarification in the U.S. Supreme Court as to its definition and has come under attack by some who consider it vague and unfair. As mentioned in the recent article, Justice Antonin Scalia recently described the statute in existence since 1988 as so poorly defined it could be used to prosecute "a mayor for using the prestige of his office to get a table at a restaurant without a reservation." Justice Scalia states the time has come to clarify confusion over just what the law means. Chicago attorney and former federal prosecutor Julian Solotorovsky states, "The statute is very vague, and because it is vague, it is a pet statute of prosecutors. They're stretching it to the fullest extent possible." Lisa Casey, a Notre Dame University law professor who has written about the law and its recent expanded use against corporate executives states, "The Supreme Court's decisions to hear two appeals challenging the law in the same term could mean the justices have concerns about prosecutors extending the statute's reach."

Since the case became a spotlight in mainstream media (and since former Governor Rod Blagojevich wrote this book), there has been doubt and confusion of this current statute because its definition is vague and is considered unfair, and including the controversy of the taped telephone conversations apparently which some individuals do not want revealed in their entirety.

An excellent book and a case that has captured the interest of many across the nation.

This book is worthwhile. For once we get to see how the mobsters in Washington work and take out honest politicians, such as this Governor when the Governor refuses to be a puppet, even for $170,000 guaranteed security a year.