Best American Political Writing 2009

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Best American Political Writing 2009

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Overview

A must-have anthology for political junkies, Best American Political Writing compiles the year's best political stories from a variety of publications and points of view, in a single, comprehensive volume. Culling from the most memorable reporting of what promises to be a thrilling political year, the 2009 American Political Writing edition will include incisive coverage of the new Obama presidency and its impact nationwide, as well as the most pressing political concerns facing America today -- from the depressed economy to our participation in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786746354
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	10/13/2009
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	952 KB

About the Author

Royce Flippin is the series editor of Best American Political Writing. A former senior editor at American Health magazine, he has written for a number of publications, including the New York Times, Men's Journal, Self, and Parenting magazine. He lives in New York.

List of Illustrations xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction Matt Taibbi xv

Preface Royce Flippin xix

Voting for Change

Battle Plans: How Obama Won Ryan Lizza 3

The Making (and Remaking and Remaking) of McCain Robert Draper 21

The Front-Runner's Fall Joshua Green 43

The Insiders: How John McCain Came to Pick Sarah Palm Jane Mayer 61

The Man Who Made Obama Lisa Taddeo 74

The Spreadsheet Psychic: How Nate Silver Built a Better Crystal Ball Adam Sternbergh 90

Economy in Crisis: Postcards from the Edge

Capitalist Fools Joseph E. Stiglitz 107

Obama's Bailout Paul Krugman 116

No Return to Normal James K. Galbraith 128

The New Liberalism: How the Economic Crisis Can Help Obama Redefine the Democrats George Packer 142

The New New Presidency

The Cool Presidency Michelle Cottle 161

Regarding Michelle Obama Jennifer Senior 169

President of Everything Brain Doherty 174

Joe Biden, Advisor in Chief John H. Richardson 181

Ms. Kennedy Regrets (She's Unable to Be in the Senate Today) Larissa MacFarquhar 201

The Man Who Ate the GOP Michael Wolff 220

Specter's Epilogue Terence Samuel 229

Over There

Obama's Foreign Policy at 100 Han Goldenberg 235

Obama's War Michael Hastings 240

Right at the Edge Dexter Filkins 254

Believe Me, It's Torture Christopher Hitchens 276

U.S. Torture: Voices from the Black Sites Mark Darmer 284

Permissions 323

Contributors 326

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Editorial Reviews

Anthology of essays that attempt to make sense of the historic political drama of 2009. If this year was arguably the most important election year in decades, it's surprising that so many of pieces read like business-as-usual political journalism. There are a few wisely chosen works, most by veteran political scribes like George Packer, Dexter Filkins, Michael Wolff and Jane Mayer, all of whom produce the multilayered, thoroughly researched stories for which they're known. Many of editor Flippin's inclusions, however, do little more than confirm mainstream journalism's abiding fascination with superficial cult-of-personality issues and image. At the bottom of the barrel are several articles that approach political issues the way People or US Weekly might. Michele Cottle's intelligence-insulting profile of President Obama for the New Republic does little more than wonder if he's "cool," or is there a "dork" underlying all this perceived coolness? Only slightly more substantial is Adam Sternbergh's discovery of a baseball-statistics geek, Nate Silver, who now scientifically predicts political contests, and Lisa Taddeo discovers the key to Obama's victory is a 30-something college dropout with a large e-mail list. Like John Richardson's soporific study of Joe Biden for Esquire, most of these profiles display an unhealthy obsession with image-making and the artifice of political "narrative." It's the lone hard-line conservative writer, Brian Doherty, who finally addresses real issues concerning presidential ambition and abuse of power-though not without paranoiac rumblings. "Right at the Edge"- Filkins' expose of the ugly truths behind Pakistan's chummy relationship with the Taliban-isprobably the best of the bunch. Uneven, but holds the occasional flicker of hope for the future of American political journalism.

Kirkus Reviews

Booklist
“A mixture of the biggest names in political opinion journalism and others far less famed stake out a viewpoint, argue it intelligently, and collectively capture the issues and candidacies that energized the electorate in 2008.

From the Publisher

Best American Political Writing 2009

Best American Political Writing 2009

eBook

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Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

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Customer Reviews