The Prince of Tennessee : Al Gore Meets His Fate [Paperback]

David Maraniss (Author), Ellen Y. Nakashima (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2001

After losing the closest American election in years, Al Gore remains a fascinating political figure, a man both revered and reviled. Drawing on documents, letters, and interviews with more than three hundred people, including six lengthy conversations with the vice president, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Maraniss and Ellen Nakashima look closely at the forces that have shaped Gore's life and career to explore the man behind the contradictory public persona. Beginning with Gore's earliest years -- when this son of a senator was torn between elite Washington and rural Tennessee -- one is struck by the image of a young American prince burdened by expectations of his likely political fate. With a new afterword written after the election, The Prince of Tennessee depicts Gore as an intelligent and competent man whose struggles with self-doubt and insecurity made him one of our least understood presidential candidates.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the tradition of coauthor David Maraniss's Bill Clinton biography, First in His Class, this solidly researched portrait of Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore assumes readers' familiarity with his recent political activity. A scant 10 pages covers Gore's eight years as vice president, for instance; the rest concentrates instead on filling in the background. Maraniss and Ellen Nakashima both write for the Washington Post, which published portions of the book, and their journalistic experience shows in a readable narrative that smoothly integrates quotes from extensive interviews conducted with colleagues, friends, and the candidate himself. Persuasive detail and careful analysis thoroughly delineate Gore's personality: intelligent, competitive, driven to excel but not to please. Gore's oft-criticized stiffness and perceived coldness, the authors argue, come partly from a Southern formality inherited from his father, Albert Gore Sr., himself a staunch liberal whose bitter 1970 loss of his U.S. Senate seat convinced his son that it was wise not to get too far left of conservative Tennessee voters. Though a baby boomer, admitted former dope smoker, and firm environmentalist, Al Jr. emerges here as a natural moderate, comfortable working within the establishment. This conscientious chronicle of his life and career gives a good intimation of what kind of a president he'd be. --Wendy Smith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Maraniss, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of First in His Class, the highly acclaimed biography of Bill Clinton, and coauthor Nakashima, both of the Washington Post, have written a timely and valuable biography of vice president and would-be president Al Gore. Stressing the impact of Gore's privileged upbringing in a Washington, DC, political family, the authors argue that "the child remains the father of the man. Many of the behavioral patterns of the figure who would run for president in 2000 are best explained by the boy he once was." The result, they argue, is a "duality" pitting the bold Gore against the subservient Gore. There is a "struggle within Al Gore" between his self-confidence and his insecurity. Surprisingly, the authors skate very quickly over Gore's vice presidential years, arguably the time when his "duality" would be most evident. This book may suffer by comparisons to First in His Class but is nonetheless an important contribution to our understanding of Al Gore and could profitably be read along with Bill Turque's Inventing Al Gore (LJ 3/15/00).
-AMichael A. Genovese, Loyola Marymount Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (June 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743210506
• ISBN-13: 978-0743210508
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #861,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post. He is the winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and has been a Pulitzer finalist two other times for his journalism and again for They Marched Into Sunlight, a book about Vietnam and the sixties. The author also of bestselling works on Bill Clinton, Vince Lombardi, and Roberto Clemente, Maraniss is a fellow of the Society of American Historians. He and his wife, Linda, live in Washington, DC, and Madison, Wisconsin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful from start to finish, August 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Prince of Tennessee: The Rise of Al Gore (Hardcover)

Anyone who thinks Al Gore isn't a fascinating character study needs to read this book. David Maraniss and Ellen Nakashima bring him to life in vivid detail, probing deeply into the psyche of the man who may be our next president. This may not satisfy either fervent fans or rabid critics, but for the rest of us trying to understand what makes a candidate tick, "Prince of Tennessee" opens the door into Al Gore's private world. It's a compelling read.

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Al Gore: Mystery Man, September 9, 2000

By 

Mike Donovan (Middle America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prince of Tennessee: The Rise of Al Gore (Hardcover)

This book leaves you with as many questions as answers. This fair, balanced, and well-written biography also shows just how complicated a man Al Gore really is.

The vice president's tendency to stretch the truth, we discover, is nothing new. The authors give some striking examples of this from his 1988 campaign for president when staffers had to write a memo telling him how often he is telling tall-tales. The one thread of the book that comes across clearly, is that Al Gore still lives with a deep insecurity and a very real need to please his late Father.

As I read the book, I was amazed how often my own feelings toward Al Gore would ride a wave only to crash, only to read on and catch another wave. The reason is simple: Al Gore is somewhat of a mystery man. There is a sense from the authors that he is not really secure in his true self or his positions on many issues. He is somewhat of an enigma to even those closest to him. Is he stiff and wooden, or is he a fun-loving guy who is different when the cameras go off? Is he a loyal-to-a-fault vice president, or a disgusted father who cringed at the Lewinsky scandal and wanted to distance himself? This book clearly raises as many questions about Al Gore as it answers. All the facts are here...born in Carthage, raised in two states, congressman, senator, etc. But if you hope by the end of the book that you will truly *know* Al Gore better than before, you might be a tad let down.

The authors leave little doubt as to the intelligence and abilities of Al Gore -- a qualified man, ready to be president. THE PRINCE OF TENNESSEE is a good read in this election year. Love him, hate him or undecided -- this book is a very good biography that is fair and balanced.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative read, August 23, 2000

By 

James Kim (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prince of Tennessee: The Rise of Al Gore (Hardcover)

This book provides an excellent account of Al Gore's political and personal life, and is certainly not "fluffy" or "vicious," it is a piece of solid journalism on a difficult subject. This book will be helpful to me as I think about the options facing me at the voting booth.