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on January 5, 2017
Jeffrey Toobin makes you feel like you were there.
on November 22, 2016
A detailed account of all the twists and turns of the 2000 Bush-Gore election--a neat pairing with Trump-Clinton. Toobin's reporting gives us good insights into the peculiarities of our election system, whatever we may do about it. His books are usually good reading. They're for fans of politics, concise and punchy.
on August 19, 2016
It's interesting to read the background after the outcome is already known. I've liked some of his more recent books better.
on August 19, 2016
Must- read for anyone who cares about democracy and real knowledge as to how democracy really works in this country.
on August 14, 2016
I'm old enough to remember the 2000 election but, at the time, I didn't follow the aftermath too closely (I was interested, but not interested enough to immerse myself in it). However, since then I went to college, got degrees in political science and history, so this sort of thing is now in my wheelhouse. I don't say that to brag, I'm just trying to provide a little context/perspective so you know why I would be interested in reading this book. It isn't for everyone, admittedly. It's pretty involved and detail-oriented, but to tell this story properly, it needs to be.
I have to give Jeffrey Toobin a ton (seriously, like a metric ton) of credit for taking on this mammoth project. Oof. The amount of material he must have consumed to be able to write this book had to have been absolutely overwhelming. Hats off to him. I like Toobin a lot (he's a writer and a commentator who also wrote the book on OJ the docu-series was based on) and this book didn't change that opinion. He definitely did a good job making this story one you could understand (and follow). That's not to say it's an easy, breezy read, because it certainly is not. It's a complex story with lots of actors and events to keep track of. But it's a story that, from my point of view, people should know. Interestingly, some of the players are still actively part of the political process today (think Ted Cruz).
Why does Bush v. Gore matter? Partly because it had an undermining effect on the election process, considering the role of the courts as well as the complicated relationships involving some of the parties involved in this case. The Supreme Court chose to end the recount, on a somewhat shaky legal argument, and did so by a 5-4 vote. So, basically, the 2000 election was decided because of the vote of one Supreme Court justice (it's often misstated that the Supreme Court "chose" the winner, which it did not. Its decision stopped the counting of votes in FL, which resulted in Bush being declared the winner.). Because the 5 majority votes were votes of the "conservative" justices, the decision is widely viewed as political, and as an (undesirable) example of judicial activism vs. judicial conservatism. But, let's not get into the nuts and bolts of Bush v. Gore. I don't want to ruin it for you.
I think every political junkie should read this book. It's fascinating, frustrating and, for some, it might even be maddening. This was truly a bizarre moment in U.S. politics, and it's odd that an event which determined the outcome of a presidential election is not more widely known/understood.
I have to give Jeffrey Toobin a ton (seriously, like a metric ton) of credit for taking on this mammoth project. Oof. The amount of material he must have consumed to be able to write this book had to have been absolutely overwhelming. Hats off to him. I like Toobin a lot (he's a writer and a commentator who also wrote the book on OJ the docu-series was based on) and this book didn't change that opinion. He definitely did a good job making this story one you could understand (and follow). That's not to say it's an easy, breezy read, because it certainly is not. It's a complex story with lots of actors and events to keep track of. But it's a story that, from my point of view, people should know. Interestingly, some of the players are still actively part of the political process today (think Ted Cruz).
Why does Bush v. Gore matter? Partly because it had an undermining effect on the election process, considering the role of the courts as well as the complicated relationships involving some of the parties involved in this case. The Supreme Court chose to end the recount, on a somewhat shaky legal argument, and did so by a 5-4 vote. So, basically, the 2000 election was decided because of the vote of one Supreme Court justice (it's often misstated that the Supreme Court "chose" the winner, which it did not. Its decision stopped the counting of votes in FL, which resulted in Bush being declared the winner.). Because the 5 majority votes were votes of the "conservative" justices, the decision is widely viewed as political, and as an (undesirable) example of judicial activism vs. judicial conservatism. But, let's not get into the nuts and bolts of Bush v. Gore. I don't want to ruin it for you.
I think every political junkie should read this book. It's fascinating, frustrating and, for some, it might even be maddening. This was truly a bizarre moment in U.S. politics, and it's odd that an event which determined the outcome of a presidential election is not more widely known/understood.
on August 9, 2016
Like most of Toobin's books, this one too takes you behind the scene of the 2000 recount. The problem, as cited by others here, is that Toobin is so clearly biased that it permeates every page. Fun reading if you can block Toobin out, which I did.
