Customer Reviews

The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

I almost did not buy the book because of the negative publicity regarding the lack of sources. When I did read it, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that many people spoke on the record. Who knows what the truth is? McGinniss has plenty of documentation for his his unflattering version of the facts. I really do not think Palin wants to take this to court.

Five days before a literary embargo theoretically prohibited any reviews from appearing in the mainstream media, the New York Times delivered what was effectively a journalistic hit (executed by Janet Maslin) on bestselling author Joe McGinniss and his long-awaited book-length profile of Alaska's former governor, The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin.

Since then, the review has gone viral, in both the rightwing blogosphere and, even more troubling, in the mainstream media, and has been used as a political weapon--there is no other word for it--by everyone from Todd Palin to Andrew Breitbart in attacking McGinniss and his book. Maslin's initial catchphrases, most notably her references to "caustic, unsubstantiated gossip" and "unnamed sources," swiftly became the dominant meme surrounding the book long before others even had a chance to read it. Indeed several mainstream reporters cited the Maslin review without having read the book itself. Only yesterday the Huffington Post shamefully linked to Maslin's review when it fallaciously reported that The Rogue claims Palin had "slept with a string of black men." It does not.

As reviews go, it is a bloody hatchet job from beginning to end, rendered with a dull and ragged blade. From the very first paragraph, Maslin hacks away at McGinniss, whose collected oeuvre stretches back to his 1969 bestseller The Selling of the President and the classic Going to Extremes (1980), which deftly chronicled the changing nature of the Last Frontier under the economic, political and cultural onslaught brought about by the 1970s oil boom and the completion of the Alaska pipeline. I was--and remain--an admirer of both works.

I should also acknowledge that I am the author of an earlier book on the former Alaska governor, The Lies of Sarah Palin: The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power, published by St. Martin's in May, and which I suppose in some people's eyes would make me something of a competitor with McGinniss, though I never looked at it that way. I sensed at the outset that our books would be very different--and they are, told through very different eyes and voices, and with an entirely different focus--although they come to startlingly similar conclusions about Ms. Palin, both as a human being and as a political figure. While I have never met McGinniss personally, we were introduced by email last year through mutual friends in Alaska and we occasionally communicated (or, more accurately, commiserated) about the poisonous ordeal of covering Palin. But I had not seen a single word of the McGinniss book until I read the first "installment" in Doonesbury, which featured excerpts from the book (all by "named" sources, incidentally), and then received a review copy that arrived in the mail later that week.

I was nearly three-quarters of the way through it by the time that Maslin's review was first posted on the Times web site. I was immediately appalled by its intellectual dishonesty, its distorted portrait of the book, and its unbridled demonization of McGinniss. She calls the book "dated, petty and easily available to anyone with Internet access." Really? Then why, one must ask, has the book caused such a ruckus? Are there reports on the Internet, for instance, of Palin's mass firing of people of color during her first weeks as Governor of Alaska or personal accounts of her dominionist religious beliefs? Is there a full-scale work that combines the elegance and depth of McGinniss' reporting into a composite narrative? I think not. Indeed, the power of The Rogue is that the whole of its devastating narrative is greater than the sum of its parts.
Moreover, roughly nine months after the assassination attempt on Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords--over whose congressional district Palin had placed crosshair images on her SarahPAC website--there's not a single mention by Maslin of Palin's troubling behavior and commentary, both before and after the carnage that left six innocent bystanders dead and another 13 wounded; nor is there a single reference to her many demagogic (and unsubstantiated) claims regarding President Obama, with whom she is strangely obsessed (her charges of "death panels" and "palling around with terrorists" come immediately to mind). Nor does Maslin mention Palin's troubling behavior on the campaign trail, with her ramped up rhetoric that lead respected Congressmember John Lewis to condemn Palin for "sowing the seeds of hatred and division" throughout the country. All of this is apparently forgiven, or conveniently forgotten, by Maslin, whose Sarah Palin is--once again--a victim. Poor Sarah. Poor, poor Sarah Palin.

II.

Early on in her review, Maslin gives the game away. She clearly has taken sides against McGinniss regarding his moving next door to his subject on the banks of Lake Lucille. Heaven forbid! After mocking a reference that McGinniss makes to some nesting grebes, Maslin declares: "Tweets emanated from the Palin place, too. But they were the kind that Mr. McGinniss could have monitored from his home in Massachusetts."

Seriously? A book about Palin could have been written in Massachusetts without ever stepping foot in Wasilla or the Mat-Su Valley? Is she kidding us? That's exactly what John McCain thought regarding his shoddy vetting of Palin. And it's what softball journalists who have glorified Palin's record as governor of Alaska have claimed as well. It's a con job from beginning to end.

Sarah Palin is clearly the product of two deep strains in American politics: One emanates from Alaska, where isolation and corruption define its political culture; the other is the dark underbelly of the American body politic that has produced demagogues from Huey P. Long to Joe McCarthy to, I dare say, Sarah Palin. From the friendly confines of Maslin's home in uppity, lily-white Pleansantville, New York, she apparently can see neither.

http://my.firedoglake.com/geoffreydunn/2011/09/27/blood-in-the-snow-maslin%E2%80%99s-nyt-review-of-the-rogue-is-intellectually-dishonest/

The advance publicity has made it out to seem that "The Rogue" is little more than a tabloidish exposé of Sarah Palin's sex life, but the salacious revelations about her youthful one-night stands comprise only a small part of a thoughtful and thoroughly-researched character study. This is probably McGinniss's finest work since "Fatal Vision," and it's strongly recommended for anyone who wants to see the unpleasant reality beneath Palin's folksy public persona.

McGinniss moved into the house next door to the Palins' compound in Wasilla, Alaska, in the spring of 2010. For the next several months, he interviewed Palin's neighbors, former friends, political colleagues, and ordinary Alaskans while dealing with a torrent of abuse and threats against himself and his family provoked by Palin and by right-wing media figures such as Glenn Beck. "The Rogue" alternates the story of Palin's adult life with McGinniss's own sometimes harrowing experience of researching it. While McGinniss never obtained an interview with Palin herself, he talked to enough people close to her to develop a compelling -- and frightening -- portrait of her true character.

The picture that emerges is of an ice-cold, greedy, amoral, and utterly self-absorbed woman who is unable to develop normal relationships even with her own husband and children and who has spent her life using and discarding everyone around her in her pursuit of fame, power, and money. It is not evident that Palin has ever truly cared about anybody other than herself. It was particularly sad to read about her ignored daughters going dirty and malnourished while Palin spent her days lying in her bedroom, only to be pulled out as props at political rallies whenever Palin wanted to present herself to adoring fans as an all-American "hockey mom." Her relationship with Todd Palin is less like that of husband and wife than of two business partners who can barely stand each other, and while Todd is not a sympathetic figure either, one can almost feel sorry for his plight at being trapped in an apparently loveless marriage.

Even more disturbing than Palin's personal life are the details about her alliances with extreme right-wing Christian fundamentalist groups that openly advocate tearing up the Constitution and imposing a religious dictatorship on America. Palin has, understandably, played down this aspect of her beliefs, but McGinniss makes it clear that she has been in the orbit of the Reconstructionist/Dominionist movement since her days as mayor of Wasilla. Unlike so much else about her, her commitment to this anti-democratic, anti-intellectual, neo-fascist branch of evangelical Christianity is completely sincere. She genuinely believes that God has called her to lead the nation and purge it of anti-Christian influences. And what is scary is that so many other people genuinely believe this about her too.

This book solidified my feeling that the Republican pseudo-populist uprising represented by Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Glenn Beck, the Tea Party, et al., and bankrolled by shadowy right-wing billionaires and corporate front groups is the most dangerous domestic threat this country has faced since the Civil War. Palin's star seems to be currently waning, but she has bounced back from irrelevance many times before. Don't count her out.

McGinnis' book about Sarah Palin reads very easily. There is a lot about what it was like living next door to the Palins, and the way the Palins vilified him - I can certainly understand that they would not be pleased to have him next door, but the accusations of perversion should have been dismissed as ridiculous, instead of being given the air time they received - that has been their modus operandi for decades. His treatment by them gives credibility to the accusations of others who have suffered from Sarah's methods in the past: John Stein, the former mayor of Wasilla, who was accused of not being married to his wife because they had different names; those who worked in the library and the museums - and as Sarah pointed out that she never read anything outside of her world view, those locales encouraging knowledge and thinking would be an anathema to her; Mike Wooten, her ex brother-in-law; Walter Moneghan, whom she fired for not firing Wooten. The list goes on and on.

I must also state that the media's sound bites on this book demonstrate its shallow and misleading approach to the news. The book is well sourced; even those which remain anonymous have been reviewed by Random House lawyers. The details which were considered salacious such as an affair with a black basketball player are not dwelt upon in great length in McGinnis' book, even though they made plenty of headlines.

Sarah's approach to power is frightening. She is indifferent to the truth, caring only about her bank account and her image and her own world view. She seems to only be loyal to the Dominionists - a Christian sect that seems bent on encouraging the end times. One of them apparently dreamed or had a vision that Palin, a couple of years after McCain won the presidency, would be president herself. Perhaps McCain should be grateful that he lost!

Of great interest, too, is the disconnect between reality and perception. Sarah is supposed to be a devout Christian, yet there is little to no evidence of charity. She is supposed to be a devoted mother, but her kids' drugs and pregnanc(ies)y and indifference to higher education should make one question that.

And as for Babygate - the rumor that Sarah never gave birth to Trig - McGinnis does not endorse it explicitly. However he does point out that Sarah's own version of that birth is extraordinarily peculiar and should raise many questions about her judgment.

I would only give this book four stars, because there are many questions I would like answered which were not. I would have liked to learn more about her five different schools. And although there was some discussion of how she charmed many people, I would have liked to read more about the other side. Of course, given the situation, few of Sarah's supporters would consent to speak with McGinnis.

However, given what McGinnis went through to write this - the threats made against him and his family - and his persistence in pursuing this story despite the indifference and even attacks in the press - I finally decided on five stars.

I bought this book based on the liveliness and depth of McGinniss's past work. _The Rogue_ comes with a lot of baggage and expectations, both positive and negative. It is best to ignore that and concentrate on what is actually in the book: a detailed profile of the community that Palin comes from, what locals think of her, what she did in Alaska politics, and what factors have motivated her over the years. The book is fast-paced and informative, and can be finished by an avid reader in a single sitting.

Those who come to this book wanting a detailed description of Palin's political or policy views will find only partial treatment. This is probably appropriate since her policy views are in fact not of central interest to either her supporters or her detractors on the national scene. Instead the book focuses on Palin's background, childhood, and community. These topics are addressed in a very lively way by McGinniss. There is gossip, which seems appropriate considering the type of person who is being profiled. But where possible, sources are named. Whatever the negative reviews may say, this book gives every impression of being true and fully sourced.

McGinniss has inserted himself into the narrative by describing his own experiences in his research and in dealing with media attention that he has received. This was probably necessary, but is itself informative. In the research and writing of the book, he became a central target of many outspoken personalities, who falsely accused him of motives that he did not have. McGinniss describes his own hands-off approach to the Palin family, while pointing out ways in which Sarah Palin herself uses her family as a display item and a shield.

Finally: If McGinniss's conclusion is correct that Palin is motivated by wanting attention and money, it is highly unlikely that she will run for President as a Republican candidate. An independent bid seems more fitting for what she wants, which is not actually becoming President. At least I hope not. Based on her handling of Alaska politics it seems like she exceeds Warren Harding in incompetence and Richard Nixon in vindictiveness.

After reading Joe McGinness' book "The Rogue", if only 5% is true , I can only say "Thank God" this dreadful womwan never became a heart beat away from being the President of the United States. What a fraud! And what a great read.

Joe McGinniss is a gifted writer and his well-researched, informative book on Sarah Palin displays the best of his ability. This book is fast-moving and captures the reader's interest, and the streamlined narrative never allows the reader's interest to wander. As an Alaskan, I find that his observations and conclusions are apt and appropriate. Many people have fallen in love with the myth of Sarah Palin. It is painful for them to experience the deconstruction of this wonderful myth. It is, however, necessary for an informed society to understand the difference between truth and story, even if the latter has much appeal. We should be appreciative of the efforts of courageous investigative journalists like Mr. McGinniss to help us better understand our society.

Before reading this book, my feelings about Palin were ambivalent. No longer. McGinniss presents a well written, engaging, thoroughly researched look at this unusual figure in American politics. The army of mindless Palin supporters will of course be outraged, and will slam this book (see the number of one star ratings). But the facts are there. I was initially concerned about the number of unnamed sources because so many people feared reprisals from the Palins if they allowed their name to be used. Recently, McGinniss responded to a question asked about this as follows:
"Bottom line: not only my editor, but Random House attorneys verified every source, in some cases speaking directly to the sources themselves. I have dozens of hours of recorded conversations. Random House attorneys listened to them all, then made an independent judgment about the trustworthiness of the sources. No material from an unverified source is included in the book. Many details were omitted for that reason. Obviously, any writer would like to be able to name every source. In this case, the climate of fear the Palins created in and around Wasilla made that impossible. After seeing how Sarah reacted to my moving next door, many people became afraid for their own safety and said they'd talk to me only if I guaranteed confidentiality. When I felt I had to, I did. Anonymous sources have a long and honorable tradition in U.S. journalism. Look at Woodward and Bernstein and "Deep Throat." Just last week, the NY Times had a story about the Mets third baseman and quoted an anonymous source. In twelve books written over 42 years, I've never been through a legal vetting like this one. It lasted for months."

This book is a must read for anyone who plans to vote in the next election.

Before voting for anyone a must read.

A corrupt woman who used her pretty face and a lazy media who enabled her to wreck hate,divisness,bigotry on our country.

Joe McGinness is a real patriot.

This is a scathing look at who Sarah Palin and her family really are....not good people, actually very scary to think of someone like her in any kind of power. Didn't like her before but now I really don't like her...Joe Mcginniss is in my opinion is a respected and great writer, not the type to make up stuff.....this stuff is really mind blowing...a book thats hard to put down....what is our country coming to! Thanks Joe McGuinniss for your honesty!!!