234 of 333 people found the following review helpful:
A British perspective on a controversial American
Prior to reading this book, I knew little about either Sarah Palin or Alaska and I was interested to learn more about both, especially the book's author. Although famous in America, Sarah Palin could go just about anywhere in Britain completely anonymously as long as she didn't meet any Americans along the way. Frankly, Brits normally only take any notice of American...
108 of 157 people found the following review helpful:
A review of the book, not the person.
I'll admit to being a fan of Sarah Palin, but that does not compel me to write a glowing review of this book. So, here's a try at a quick review of the book without venting my personal politics.
Reading this book is like having Sarah Palin over for coffee and having her tell you stories from her life, starting with her childhood and through her resignation...
Prior to reading this book, I knew little about either Sarah Palin or Alaska and I was interested to learn more about both, especially the book's author. Although famous in America, Sarah Palin could go just about anywhere in Britain completely anonymously as long as she didn't meet any Americans along the way. Frankly, Brits normally only take any notice of American politicians if they become president. There are exceptions such as Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, but they are rare. Contrast the number of reviews of this book posted in Amazon USA with the number posted in Amazon UK for confirmation of the lack of British interest.
I realized early on in this book that I was going to enjoy reading it because Mrs Palin's story is both interesting and well-written. She makes summer in Alaska sound wonderful, although acknowledging that the winters are long and harsh. She discusses many aspects of her life and it is clear that she has strong views on a number of issues.
Although not directly relevant to her political career, perhaps the most intriguing question about her beliefs concerns her stance on the origin of species. At first glance, Mrs Palin appears to be a full-blooded creationist, but she denies this. Apparently, she accepts what she calls microevolution, in which species change and evolve over time, but not that people are related to apes or monkeys. Her stance is interesting, but I prefer to accept Darwin's theory, despite the proof of it still being incomplete.
Not having studied the American political scene closely, I'll leave others to judge the accuracy of the main story, but the politics as described here is explosive stuff. Corruption in Alaska, tales of in-fighting within the Republican party and dirty tricks played by some Democrats - all rather sad, but I'll say straight away that similar things happen elsewhere in the world including Britain. Hey, the summer of 2009 was dominated by the expenses scandal at Westminster, while all British political parties of any significance have had their internal fights at one time or another, in between playing dirty tricks on each other. So in one form or another, most of the political stuff here doesn't surprise me, but some of it is shocking nevertheless.
An unconventional politician in many ways, Mrs Palin nevertheless appears to have brought about significant changes in a number of areas in her home state of Alaska, which may seem to many people (especially in my country) like a frozen wasteland, but which is rich in natural resources and occupies a vast land area, approximately equivalent to France, Spain, Italy and the UK combined. So being governor of Alaska is not equivalent to running a small local council in Britain even though it is sparsely populated (fewer people live there than in the county of Leicestershire in which I live). I suspect that the position of state governor may be equivalent to being leader of the Welsh assembly. The biggest Alaskan story by far in my adult lifetime was the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, which Mrs Palin covers briefly; she later had plenty of political fights with the oil companies (including BP as well as ExxonMobil and others) in her time as state governor.
Mrs Palin has drawn plenty of criticism from a variety of sources and uses the opportunity that this book affords to hit back at those critics, often explaining how things have been distorted by the media. Having had my own relatively minor experience of being in British national newspapers, I have sympathy with victims of media distortion, so I don't blame Mrs Palin for hitting back via this book, but I can see that others will react badly. At least my story was a one-day wonder with no lasting consequences, but things are different for those who go into politics, sport or showbiz.
Mrs Palin clearly isn't impressed by the way the Republican presidential campaign was handled, and clearly feels that she wasn't able to contribute effectively to the campaign, but the aftermath was even worse. While some Republicans were happy to cast her as the scapegoat, some Democrats launched a sustained campaign against her that exploited freedom of information laws. Ultimately, this created problems for the legislative process as well as personal difficulties for the Palin family, all described in detail, causing Mrs Palin to decide that she had to quit as governor with a year still to run, even though she was never found guilty of anything. As she acknowledges, that decision to quit may kill her political career, but Mrs Palin says that she did what she felt was right for Alaska. Inevitably in such situations, people will believe whatever they choose to.
I expect Mrs Palin will return to public life in some capacity eventually. That might be as a presidential candidate, but it might alternatively be as champion of a cause dear to her heart. Her vice-presidential campaign generated enormous hope among disabled people, while her love of Alaska makes her passionate about environmental issues. So there's two obvious issues, but I'm sure there are others.
Would I vote for Mrs Palin, given the chance? I don't know because I'd need to know more about issues not discussed in this book, but I'd like the option.
I can see why this book - and the author - are so controversial. Fans of Mrs Palin will love this book, while critics will be furious. Both are likely to have their opinions reinforced by reading this book. Coming from a position of ignorance, I'll just say that I found this book to be compulsive reading.
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I'll admit to being a fan of Sarah Palin, but that does not compel me to write a glowing review of this book. So, here's a try at a quick review of the book without venting my personal politics.
Reading this book is like having Sarah Palin over for coffee and having her tell you stories from her life, starting with her childhood and through her resignation from the governorship of Alaska.
That might be a pleasant and fun experience, but with a book you can't ask follow-up questions and get more information about a subject that particularly interests you, and with a conversation you can't expect it to be tightly organized.
So, I found myself wanting some more detail about some parts of her life, like what it was like during the campaign (although I got a good idea of why McCain's campaign failed, and I think he deserved to.) And, I wanted a bit more organization. I wanted the material divided into smaller, more focused chapters with a tighter chronology. And I wanted an index, so I find that exact page where she wrote about holding still-warm moose eyeballs in her hands.
The most revealing chapter to me was at the end where she described the use of what I can best describe as "terrorism by lawsuit" to bankrupt her personally and keep her from doing her job as governor. I got the impression that she had been rendered incapable of doing her job as governor before she actually resigned, so what her resignation accomplished was to free her up to do what she thought was important, and it got the state of Alaska a functioning governor again. And finally, this chapter made me glad I bought this book if just a bit of my money went to pay off her legal bills.
Somehow I doubt this will be the last biography of Sarah Palin.
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While I disagree with a lot of Palins Political beliefs I read this book with interest. Admittedly in the beginning I wasn't sure If I could make it through the book because of that but the way that she chronicled her life it really makes it an interesting read.
The book really covers the decisions she has made in her life both political and personal. The reader gets to know her as a person and a politician, her motivations in life.
She was fairly unknown outside of Alaska, thrust into the middle of a Presidential campaign that was already floundering. While she did breath some life into the McCain campaign it wasn't enough. She was put in a tough situation. Clearly she felt that she didn't receive the kind of support that she needed to be an effective Vice Presidential candidate and she discussed that in this book. We get to read about all of the things we suspected were going on in the McCain camp that she wasn't able to talk about during the race.
She sacrificed a lot and her family sacrificed a lot from the demands of campaign from criticism on her political beliefs, the innuendo that the only reason McCain selected her as a running mate is because she is attractive, to the personal attacks about her decision to have her challenged son. She was criticized a lot during the campaign of nearly everything. She talks about the criticisms in the book in detail. She loves her State and tried to make it a better place. She loved it enough to resign thinking that someone else could do a better job running it with out all of the distraction that was heaped upon her by media following her every move both on the local and national front.
Palin talks about life under the media microscope, how it effects to this day her and her family. While most of us including me can't imagine the pressure she was under during the campaign, she lays it out on paper.
This is Sarah Palin speaking her mind, She talks about everything While she didn't change my mind on the political issues that I disagree with her on. She did change my mind about the type of person she is. In her personal life. In writing this book she has subjected herself to more criticism. I applaud her for her strength and conviction. Regardless of your political beliefs you should read this book.
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I very seldom read autobiographical books, but I just couldn't pass this one up.
During the 2008 presidential campaign John McCain made a gutsy move by bringing on a no-nonsense, 10th Amendment touting, individualist, Jeffersonian democrat (the democrats in office and their supporters would be considered federalists in their belief that the Federal government should control a person's life from birth through death, and that the individual is too ignorant to take charge of their own life...several so-called republicans hold the same belief...a Jefferson democrat believes in the individual), middle American, Christian, non-party line woman as his VP running mate.
For over 3 1/2 months she and her family became the point of ridicule and misinformation by the "dark" press and professional rumor mongers.
Whether you agree with her or not, this book is a must read for any fair and open minded individual that believes in the U.S. Constitution, and that there is no such thing as "government money". A person who believes that "the government that governs least, governs best", and the fundamental ideals of America's founders constitute its best interests.
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When she was first elected Gov., and especially when she seemed to be capable of pushback against the trans-national oil companies that practically run Alaska, Alaskans loved Sarah. She lost a lot of popularity during the Presidential election, and then of course when she prematurely resigned.
This book is more than anything a revisionist attempt to vent frustrations and to get even. Sarah herself has nothing of interest to say on the national stage, and this book accurately reflects that.
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In an easy going and thoughtful style Palin, along with ghostwriter Lynn Vincent, covers her early years growing up in Alaska and her political career. She explains her political philosophy and the reasons she calls herself a 'commonsense conservative' clearly and with no apologies. This is a woman who knows who she is and why she thinks and believes the way she does. While she forcefully confronts her critics and discusses in bold detail her experiences during the Presidential campaign, she also graciously thanks those who helped her along the way. Despite it's more than 400 pages, it's also a quick read and makes for an interesting glimpse into the life of one of America's most divisive and intriguing political figures.
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Sarah Palin came on the scene unexpectedly and from the most unlikely of places. She brought with her, to Senator McCain's presidential campaign, such vitality and joie de vivre that she created havoc amongst the political left. Her book, "Going Rogue", is an autobiography, essentially an accounting of Sarah Palin. The book isn't about her husband, not about her children, and not about her friends or colleagues. She tells of them as they relate to herself and who she is. Even at this late date I'm intrigued, no, truly amazed by the strength of the attacks levied against her by her opponents, the political machine of the liberals. I was impressed by the simplicity of her life, and came to understand the roots of her beliefs. Sarah Palin has become a powerful force in American politics, willing and capable of fighting for what she believes in. I was especially grateful for the explanation she provides for her leaving office. Brava! Allow yourself to be impressed.
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Sarah Palin's new book, "Going Rogue," gets its title from an expression McCain staffers made about Palin during last year's presidential campaign, referring to her unscripted interviews with the media. The book is both about her time on the campaign and an autobiography. It provides a revealing look at the real Palin, off the cuff and delivering straight talk. Ironically, after the Senator known for straight talk chose her to be his Vice-Presidential running mate, his staffers tried to stifle her straight talk on the campaign.
The book reads quickly. Written in Palin's no holds barred, colorfully descriptive manner, you can hear her speaking as you're reading it. She writes candidly and caringly about her five children, particularly the very special Trig. She holds nothing back, describing in explicit detail the specifics of hunting and fishing and raising babies. There is a good dose of humor spread throughout the book, such as Palin's response to criticisms of her teenage daughter becoming pregnant. "I was amazed at how many liberal pundits seemed floored by a pregnant teenager, as if they'd all snuck out and had traditional-values transplants." Palin is tremendously proud of Alaska, where she grew up, and provides a unique glimpse into the state most Americans in the "Outside" (Alaskans' name for the lower 48 states) never knew anything about. Her husband Todd is descended from Alaskan Eskimos, and due to that heritage cares deeply about respecting and caring for the environment. Although it is not a politically correct environmentalism, but one that that pragmatically includes fishing and hunting and using our natural resources like oil and natural gas.
Palin is not from a wealthy family, and is an incredibly hard worker. In high school, she cleaned an office building by herself once a week, picked strawberries, and performed other jobs. She put herself through college, working seasonally in the fishing industry with her husband Todd, a job that continued years afterwards. As Mayor and Governor, she stuck to that hard work ethic, refusing to accept many of the perks that came with political office. She ran for Mayor of Wasila on a platform that included decreasing the Mayor's salary and did. She eliminated the governor's cook and would not accept most of the Governor's per diem.
The list of conservative accomplishments Palin achieved in a short period of time while Mayor of Wasila and Governor of Alaska is impressive, more so than virtually any other Republican Mayor or Governor around the country the past few years. It is outrageous the mainstream media virtually ignored her record. Appropriately, she attaches as the last chapter in the book an email written by Dewey Whetsell, a fire chief in Cordova, Alaska, which lists her accomplishments and dares the reader to find anyone who can match them. From cutting government to taking on and beating Big Oil, it is clear why many consider Palin the next Ronald Reagan.
The biggest expose of the book comes when she calls out her opponents and antagonists, some who, like the McCain staffers, should have been working with her, not against her. She names several McCain staffers who retaliated against her speaking unscripted to the media by leaking negative stories about her to the media. During the campaign, McCain staffers restricted what topics she could speak on, prohibiting her from speaking about any of Obama's anti-American associates, such as the Reverend Jeremiah Wright or William Ayers. One is left wondering whether McCain could have won if the team had addressed them. Perhaps his staffers were afraid that if Palin addressed anything substantial, her popularity would eclipse McCain's. At a rally in Florida which took place at the retirement community The Villages, 50,000-60,000 people showed up, more than the few thousand that were showing up at rallies featuring only McCain. Only 10,000-12,000 were expected to show up for a Vice-Presidential candidate.
Ultimately, Palin has nothing negative to say about McCain, reserving her expose for mostly unnamed staffers. What she is too polite to say, but what most people intimately involved in campaigns are aware of, is that McCain could have stopped the exclusive leaks to Fox News reporter Carl Cameron coming from his staffers, but chose not to. The McCain people were looking to save face, and instead of admitting that perhaps the campaign was tanking because McCain was not the best choice for the Republican Party presidential candidate, they decided to scapegoat Palin.
Palin explains why she appeared to do poorly in certain media interviews. The infamous interview with Katie Couric actually took place over a series of several interviews, and Couric cut out portions of each interview in order to make Palin look bad. When Couric asked Palin what news publications she read regularly, Palin had just finished a major campaign appearance and was irritated by Couric's condescension. Palin had submitted an op-ed earlier that year to the New York Times and thought Couric was badgering her. Couric asked her 12 questions about abortion and the morning after pill. Palin says the repeated badgering made her feel like she was in the movie Groundhog Day. Couric made fun of Palin for saying she could see Russia from Alaska, but after the show aired several Alaskans sent Palin pictures of themselves standing on the beach in Alaska with Russia visible behind them.
Palin contrasts this with an interview by Couric of Palin's opponent Joe Biden around the same time. Biden said two clearly ignorant things about history during his interview, but Couric failed to call him on them, then or later. "When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'" Most politicos know or would have found out later when editing the show that FDR wasn't president in 1929, and that television had barely been invented. Palin laments, "What used to be called 'mainstream' national media are, in many respects, worthless as a source of factual information anymore."
The area where Palin is most vulnerable to attack - whether by McCain staffers or the media - is her style of speaking. She hasn't refined her speaking skills to the expected level of clever soundbites and quick comebacks. She explains, "I liked my simpler style, because it meant I never had to spin, I never had to B.S., and good or bad, I never had to struggle to remember what I said last time." Most politicians who reach her level on the political foodchain develop an ability to deliver canned, catchy one-liners. Palin has stubbornly held out, preferring to give honest, from the heart answers. Only time will tell whether this hurts her future political aspirations. If anyone had any doubts as to her overall intelligence, though, this book will firmly put those concerns to rest. Her level of accomplishments could have been attained by very few.
Palin provides a thorough and realistic explanation of why she decided to resign as Governor soon after the presidential campaign ended. Not only were bogus ethics charges beginning to pile up, due to her national stardom - she presents a real threat to the left - but in Alaska the governor and executive staff are required to pay for their own defense against ethics complaints, even the most frivolous. Palin was spending all of her time defending against these charges, instead of running the state, and could not justify continuing to put her staff through it as well. Palin identified the left's assault against her as methods from Saul Alinksy's "Rules for Radicals."
Palin includes a lengthy section at thee end of the book laying out her conservative principles and a critique of the Obama administration. It reads like a campaign platform, and very likely was placed in there for strategic reasons. She never denies being interested in higher office, but instead is open to whatever God would like her to do. In her resignation speech, she cryptically said, "In the words of General MacArthur, 'We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.'" Palin's dad described it this way, "Sarah's not retreating; she's reloading!"
Ever the strong Christian, and "roguely" not caring what politically correct people think about her, Palin concludes the book with a plea to accept the Lord into your life. With this book, Palin has redefined "going rogue" as giving the Republican base the meat and potatoes of conservatism they crave.
After retiring from the military a little over 10 years ago, I've put in long hours to run my three businesses. I've also been a leader in our community, organizing and doing fundraising to build our new County Library, two new Town Libraries, a Free Clinic, and a 5-field regional Soccer-Plex. But while doing these good things, things that were privately funded, I had completely neglected getting involved in politics.
Going Rogue has really made me WAKE UP and pay more attention to what has been (and is) going on around me politically. I realize now that it is a BIG mistake to ignore what goes on in our government offices. But it is a mistake I intend to remedy quickly.
Patriots need to have community organizers too. People with upright principles, who not only build strong businesses and do good things for others, but who pay attention to politics and fight for our freedoms here at home, with our Votes and our Voices.
I've now taken the time to read Sarah Palin's book and several other top conservative books. I will mention some of them below, so that you will see how each one is a companion to hers. We need them all to educate ourselves so we become a Mighty Force against socialism.
Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue, is without a doubt the most impactful books of 2009/2010 and is a must read for every conservative. Although it is heavy on biography, it is a powerful book. Sarah (Baracuda) Palin does give us some marching orders toward the end of the book. Best of all she leads by example in showing Patriots how not to retreat, but rather to RELOAD and get ready for action in 2010-2012!
Palin says she is a Republican because that Party has a platform that is closest to the founding fathers' principles, but she calls herself a common sense conservative. Either way you slice it, she is a Patriot and a fighter for the cause of Liberty. I believe we must all begin to act like Rogues and not follow the recommendations of those who have gotten us into this mess.
Tommy Newberry's book:
The War On Success: How the Obama Agenda Is Shattering the American Dream teaches how to have and follow patriotic principles in politics, just like our founding fathers did. As I said, I'm not much into politics, but this is no longer just politics...it has become personal, because I am now concerned about the safety and wellbeing of my children and grandchildren. Our way of life is being jeopardized.
Newberry's book is like a "Field Manual" which I believe is necessary to have so we can train the army of conservative voters that are needed to stop the war on success and defeat socialism. It is without a doubt the most proactive political book I've read.
Mark Levin's book:
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto is one of the most popular of conservative books and Mark Levin is an outstanding writer who communicates the Conservative Manifesto extremely well. The War On Success as an excellent companion to Levin's book, because it covers how to create business success and how to protect and make stronger the free enterprise system. Newberry's book will help business owners who want to keep taxes under control and to have our government provide resources rather than take them from us.
Michelle Malkin's book:
Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies is an 'eye-opening' book. By reading her book I was able to see why so many in the Military do not respect Obama. His rhetoric and actions have become offensive to those who bravely fight (and die) to keep everyone else safe and free. Sarah Palin's book leaves the ardous work of exposing the socialistic shenanigans of the liberals to Malkin, instead she reveals the tactics that liberals used on her during her election campain while she was running for Vice President. It is important for all Patriots to get educated and fight back.
Glenn Beck's book:
Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government is definitely a book meant to strengthen the resolve of conservatives. This book reminds me of the movie "The Patriot," where Mel Gibson reminds his sons to "Aim Small, Miss Small." We must learn how to be accurate with our facts and to do things purposefully. Like the Marines who are swift and severe, Glenn Beck seems to be the most hated by the liberal socialist perpetrators. However, he is a leader among a conservative free speech media that many Patriots have come to depend on. A stronger freer, wealthier America is best for all and even liberals know that in their hearts. Being a patriot and speaking out for Liberty will most likely cause tension within families who have liberal sympathizers in them, but it must be allowed to happen if we are to prevent socialism.
The hour is late. Obama has already made huge progress against businesses and against our American free enterprise system and has moved us toward socialism and the removal of our personal liberties. I believe it is time for us to wake up and take action.
I realize now that doing nothing was the wrong decision for me to make. I hope that you will not make that same mistake. It is time to speak up and vote for (and fight for) life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and to make America free once again.
Sarah Palin's book gets 5 stars, because it is not only written extremely well, it is exactly what conservatives need and it accomplishes its task of WAKING UP the true majority (i.e. Patriots who love both Country and God) and pulling us all together. If you love America, I recommend this book to you. The last few pages are directed specifically toward giving good advice to liberals, I suggest they buy the book just to read those pages, if nothing else.
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