Customer Reviews

Prince Albert: The Life and Lies of Al Gore

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"Prince Albert" was a good read and has a little more than an overview of Al Gore's life but it does not go into great detail in many areas. To do so would have required a much longer book. It does do an excellent job of outlining Al'a life and giving one a good idea of how he got to where he is and what he would do if he became president. In particular I found the discussion of his intellectual mentors interesting. The authors have done a reasonable job of answering the question of who Al goes to when he has a decision to make. I knew that Al Gore was a life long politician, however, I did not know that his parents basically raised him with the idea that he would someday become president.

If you want to have facts about Al Gore for political discussions this fall this is the book for you.

Hats off to Bossie and Brown on an accurate and detailed account of Gore - his history, his motives and his roots. This enlightening and informative book tells what the media does not. Gore is no farm boy; in fact, he is the complete opposite. Every concerned citizen should take a few hours out of their schedule to read this book, share it with friends, to make all aware of who America is dealing with in this vital election year.

Given the confrontational title and the soft cover, I expected this to be another pulp account of the Clinton/Gore misdeeds. Well, I was right to expect a critical approach, but wrong to assume it was pulp. To the contrary, it is very well researched and detailed. It starts with Al Gore's childhood, discussing the forces that formed Al Gore, the person and future politician. It illustrates, through various examples, how Al Gore was protected and raised to be a politician in the way a prince is raised to be king. It covers his time in DC, Tennessee, Boston (Harvard), and Vietnam (where his superiors kept him out of harm's way). It covers his time as a reporter, a divinity student, law student, senator and vice President. Through it all, the authors show how Gore influenced and was influenced by his environment. But, through his dual acquiescence to Northern liberals and moderate Dixiecrats, and from his shifts through the liberal 60's to the conservative 80's to the moderate 90's, it is also made clear that Gore adapts to his environment more than he shapes it.

Bottom line: I would recommend this book not so much for the criticisms it makes but for the unflinching analysis it gives of a man who might be the next president.

A truly eye opening look at Al Gore and his political ascension. This book exposes the laughable concept of Al Gore being a Tennessee farm boy and identifies him as a self-promoting, silver spoon opportunist. From his days of voting with complacency about the threat of communism to breaking ranks on the Persian Gulf war, Gore is shown to think of his own political success and ideals first, and the needs of the country second. His socialist outlook of rules should apply to "them" but not "us" is so clearly demonstrated by his constant environmental rhetoric, while pulling in tens of thousands of dollars by allowing strip mining on his beloved Carthage farm. His "discovery" of Love Canal, just so happened to have been polluted by a company owned by Armand Hammer, the biggest political supporter of both Al Gore and his father. And setting the record straight that it was in fact Al Gore, who uncovered the Willie Horton story, playing his typical attacking, issueless style of campaigning. Do yourself a favor and read this book and pass it along to friends.

I wish I could get my money back for this book. Bossie is clearly trying to rise the ranks of right wing distorters by throwing blames everywhere. This book is chuck full of nonsense and is intended to distract readers from the real problems. I recommend this book to all the Rush Limbaugh wannabees, but to all who realize the ridiculous partisanship and distortion on both sides is not helpful, then read a book a someone who has actual experience in the political realm!

For books of this type, what it really comes down to is sources - prefereably primary sources. If your going to make claims about a prominant public person, you had better get your facts straight.

As a consumer who reads books about people who might lead my country, I take the time to do some research. So, what do I consider the very first thing to look for before I take someone elses word? A strong bibliography that is full of primary sources. For every claim in a book, there better be a listed source if I am expected to believe what they have to say about someone... whether it is good or bad. In this regard, the authors have not let us consumers down. This work is extensively endnoted to let us confirm the claims made by the authors. Next time you are browsing in a book store, take a minute to go to the back of all those books on Clinton, Gore, Bush or whomever. You'll be surprised how few have decent sources listed. In many cases no primary sources are even listed. In the case of Gore, I was hard pressed to find a book that had the kind of bibliography we should all demand before taking someone elses word on someones character.

In short, its a book worth your time. The truth is that in some cases the authors interpret information in the least flattering way for Gore. But you will not be able to question where they got the information from, its all clearly listed for you to check out yourself.

Bravo.

As a lifelong Democrat, I approached this book skeptically. I try to put issues above the candidate, and that is why I would support Clinton if he were eligible to run again; for all his weaknesses, I believe he wanted to hold office to help others. This book, however, changed my mind about Al Gore. His agenda is solely to BE PRESIDENT. There is compelling evidence of his flip flop on lots of critical issues, all for the sake of voter appeal. I'm no fan of the policies of George W, but I could not vote for a man so fundamentally dishonest as Al Gore. I'm still a Democrat, but I voted for Bush and now hope that Gore does not try to come back in 2004. It's pretty scary.

A long review is not needed--just realize that the truths documented and uncovered will be dodged by all liberals in all circles. They will complain about this book,but they'll read it, and then some will look inside themselves and realize that they, too, would do anything to advance themselves. BUT, not enough will be ashamed. A real eye opener in self examination for those who choose to vote for Gore. Will they be able to sleep?

While other books have sought to document the life of Al Gore from
purely biographical vantages, this authoritative and occasionally
slapstick work provides deeper insight into Prince Albert and thus
deserves recognition. There is a blend of personal and political
insights offered by the authors. And there are plenty of annotated
footnotes, just ones that some of the reviewers and more liberal
liberals chide as being weak or apocryphal. ...

Lastly, the book portrays a
conniving politician who flip-flopped on issues like abortion for
political gain(e.g., for the VP nod in 1992). (The Congressional
Record is a primary source, yes?)

I heartily recommend this book for
liberals(for education) and for conservatives (for edification).

"PRINCE ALBERT: The Life and Lies of Al Gore" (ISBN 0-936783-28-1) by David N. Bossie, Floyd G. Brown, and foreword by Robert D. Novak is a book written against a politician who is not popular with certain groups and individuals. Many of the supposed revelations against former Vice President Al Gore have been made against other figures in the past, present, and will probably occur again in future histories from groups and individuals who dislike a specific figure. The authors and Robert D. Novak in the introduction to the book indicate that this book, claiming to be a wakeup call and warning, is not written objectively and impartially towards Al Gore. History reveals that many political figures have calculated their way to positions of power, made compromises, and changed their stands on issues to achieve personal goals and aims. I wonder if the authors would write such a scathing book on newly inaugurated President G. W. Bush if they were not Republican supporters. Further, what would the authors' response be to a book personally attacking them in a similar manner as "PRINCE ALBERT." I am not a die hard supporter of either major or minor American political parties that exists today. I do try to study the issues and candidates before making decisions, unfortunately books such as penned by Mr. Bossie and Mr. Brown has a negative impact on my decisions and view of the political party the authors favor. This title will get a mixture of reactions from the individuals who read the book. The anti-Clinton/Gore groups will praise the book for exposing an corrupt self-serving politician, pro-Clinton/Gore groups will denounce the book as an attempt to discredit a favorite politician, and a majority of individuals will have a mixed reaction somewhere in between the two extremes. I do not like the way the authors have written about their chosen subject, however if asked, I would state my dislike for the book and recommend that the person asking the question read the title and form his or her own opinion on the subject and the authors.