The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election

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Overview

The bestselling, truly gripping account of 2008's landmark election, updated through 2009

The election of 2008 shattered political barriers and ignited an extraordinary battle among some of the most formidable political rivals ever to seek the presidency. Now, Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson, two of America's most respected journalists, offer the first complete picture of the strategies-and singular personalities- that accompanied the candidates' first forays into Iowa and New Hampshire through Obama's historic victory on Election Night. Filled with insider details, this riveting, wholly nonpartisan account of the historic election will capture the attention of everyone who witnessed it, as well as future generations who wished they had. A Washington Post and L.A. Times Best Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

Michiko Kakutani
…makes for engaging reading—for both politics addicts interested in small new details and the more casual reader interested in a broad, savvy overview of the run-up to a historic election…if the authors fail to reframe the election in any significant new way, their retrospective does prove useful in reminding us…of the daunting odds that Mr. Obama overcame to win the White House in the first place.
—The New York Times
Ted Widmer
…an impressive effort delivered by two seasoned Washington reporters…The Battle for America boldly asserts its own importance in its title, and unlike many such pronouncements, it largely delivers. Through a judicious blend of facts, anecdotes, close-ups and wide-angle shots, it retells the story of the rise of a politician who was by no means foreordained to win the presidency…thanks to this book, we have a pretty good sense of where we are and how we got here.
—The Washington Post
More Reviews (5) Fewer Reviews
Publishers Weekly
Balz and Johnson offer an incredibly detailed but concise account of the 2008 presidential election, landing on every highlight of the campaign—the debates, Sarah Palin's blunders and the Obama victory celebration in Grant Park. The authors present clear and unbiased interviews with each of the prime candidates as well as behind the scenes accounts of the ups, downs and incessant bickering that made the election so riveting. Dick Hill brings an investigative and theatrical tone to the work; his focused and authoritative delivery draws listeners into the story and earns their trust. A Viking hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 3). (Aug.)
Michiko Kakutani
Makes for engaging reading - for both politics addicts interested in small new details and the more casual reader interested in a broad, savvy overview of the run-up to a historic election.
— The New York Times
Randy James
Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson ... capture the momentous contest in a polished account refreshingly free of last year's breathless sound bites, pundit insta-reaction or fixation on trifling gaffes ... an evenhanded and comprehensive account of the race....
— Time
Kirkus Reviews
A superior piece of political reportage and interpretation by Washington Post writer Balz (co-author: Storming the Gates: Protest Politics and the Republican Revival, 1996) and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and historian Johnson (Journalism/Univ. of Maryland; The Age of Anxiety: McCarthyism to Terrorism, 2005, etc.). By this account, the 2008 presidential campaign began in 2005 "Though George W. Bush no longer was on the ballot," write the authors, "his shadow hovered over all that followed." One of the things that undid Republican candidate John McCain, they note, was his firm support for the deeply unpopular Iraq War, support that he acknowledged as a political liability. It didn't help that McCain had gotten ever closer to Bush, and that his campaign had adopted Rovian tactics that were nasty and often unfair, both to primary opponents such as Mitt Romney and to his Democratic foe, Barack Obama. Meanwhile, the likely Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, made several critical errors during the campaign, many of which would seem to fall under the rubric of underestimating both Obama and the mood of the electorate, which wanted real change. There are a few surprises here, among them the authors' careful exposition of how McCain came to choose Sarah Palin. One motivation was youth, another folksiness in the wake of McCain's inability to remember how many residences he had-which ruled out Romney as running mate, since, in a time of economic turmoil, "Republicans could not present voters with nominees who between them owned nearly a dozen homes." Though Balz and Johnson do not write with the intimacies of Timothy Crouse or the lunacies of Hunter Thompson, their account is engrossingall the same. Although we all know how things turned out, the authors know how to work a cliffhanger, and, as they effectively demonstrate, things could have turned out differently at any number of turns. Essential for watchers of politics and a model for similar electoral analyses in the future. Agent: Flip Brophy/Sterling Lord Literistic
The Barnes & Noble Review
Political junkies who've had to get by lately on stories of stalled health care reform, used car trade-ins, and beer at the White House will find the fix they crave in The Battle for America 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election. Veteran Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Haynes Johnson team up for this exhaustively researched, objective, and lively account of the journey from the New Hampshire primary to Inauguration Day. Focusing on the campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain, the authors show how the unlikely, inspiring, and downright annoying pieces of the marathon contest came together. Don't look for newsmaking revelations. This book is about perspective. The authors -- who in addition to quoting all the key players draw on unnamed sources and leaked memos and emails -- do succeed in exposing some private, telling moments. They show Clinton informing her campaign manager (and longtime friend) Patti Solis Doyle by email that she's being pushed aside. In another email, Sarah Palin gleefully agrees to give a speech accusing Obama of hanging out with terrorists. "Yes, yes, yes," she writes. "Pls let me say this!!!" For the most part, Obama and his team come off looking focused and cohesive (a portrayal consistent with that in Richard Wolff's election book, Renegade). Meanwhile, infighting and strategic blunders continually trip up his more experienced rivals. The authors even give a plausible answer to the question many have asked since McCain tapped Palin as his running mate: "What was he thinking?" --Karen Holt

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780670021116
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
  • Publication date: 8/4/2009
  • Pages: 432
  • Product dimensions: 6.10 (w) x 9.30 (h) x 1.50 (d)

Meet the Author

Dan Balz
Dan Balz
Dan Balz is the lead political reporter for The Washington Post. He has also served as the paper's national editor, political editor, and White House correspondent.

Haynes Johnson is a Pulitzer Prize winner and the author of fourteen books, five of them national bestsellers. He holds the Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Table of Contents

The Battle for America 2008 To the Reader

Takeoff

Book One: They're Off

1. Obama
2. Johnnie Boy
3. Hillary

Book Two: The People

4. "Very Scary Times"

Book Three: The Democrats

5. Hillary for President
6. The Unraveling
7. Iowa: Round One
8. Iowa: Round Two
9. Five Days in New Hampshire
10. Disintegration
11. An Uncivil War
12. Clash of Dynasties
13. King Caucus
14. The Fighter
15. Politics in Black and White
16. Over the Top

Book Four: The Republicans

17. Looking for Reagan
18. Prisoner of War
19. The Implosion
20. No Surrender
21. Can Anybody Play This Game?
22. Phoenix Rising

Book Five: The Election

23. America: Decision Time
24. Citizen of the World
25. Mile High in Denver
26. Palinmania
27. Collapse
28. Endgame
29. President-elect
30. Interlude

Epilogue: The Inauguration

Acknowledgments Notes and Sources Index

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 13 )

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Sort by: Showing all of 13 Customer Reviews

  • Posted August 10, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9781400082773

    A Terrific Summary of an Extraordinary Election

    From the 'to the reader' to the last page, this book is absorbing, clear and enjoyable. It is written with a clarity of style and a summarizing tone that helps to make a typically boring subject matter (politics) into a fast, easy and informative read.

    This book does a wonderful job of setting the stage for the election, fleshing out little known aspects of each candidate, and carefully describing the setting upon which the election was to take place. It does into depth in some areas, highlighting interesting and revealing vignettes about the candidates and other influential persons and also tracks general trends. This establishes a well-rounded description not only of the election and its primary characters, but also of the American people and their uncharacteristic zeal and emotion throughout the race.

    I recommend this to anyone who has any lingering general questions about the election or who'd like to put their own experiences into the perspective of the candidates or of the country as a whole. Even if neither of these apply to you, this books remains an excellent chronicle of the political atmosphere in a period of extraordinary growth and change for America.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted December 14, 2009

    Nothing New here

    If you followed this election, this book will tell you nothing new. Teddy White would turn over in his grave.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted November 21, 2009

    The Battle for America 2008 is history in the present.

    This elightening historical book is hard to stop reading. The data brings out the difficult task of running for public office. It helps the
    reader to see what inspiration drives someone to put their life on the
    line for public inspection. The candidate must have the greatest of
    drive to endure the questions and the time it takes to keep up the
    pace. You see the supporting cast providing their expertise and
    their patience. I am also pleased with Barnes & Noble processing orders
    promptly.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted November 1, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    9780670021338

    For the archives

    for all those who followed the election; whether republican or democrat, this one is for the archives. the accounts engross you in one of the most most thrilling elections in recent history. objective story telling and quite comprehensive. definitely a great gift for a politico at heart.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted October 12, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Well Done Account

    I have admired both authors when they have appeared on Washington Week in Review. The only element their fine account lacks is a fuller account of the Republican nomination process. The reviewer who compared this account to Theodore White's works is right on. In the future someone will write a more complete history of this watershed year. Until that happens, this book will be a good place to start reading.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted October 12, 2009

    THE best book written about the amazing 2008 Presidential race

    This is a thoroughly engaging and infinitely interesting book. If you think you've heard or read all you could possibly know about what went on during the 2008 Presidential race, think again. The behind-the-scenes details previously not known to the public is so revealing and thought provoking I simply couldn't put this book down. The candid interviews the authors had with the candidates and their staff, during and after the campaign, give us more than a glimpse of the rough and tumble world of a campaign during the most amazing race of our lifetimes. Even if you are not into politics, this book will surely catch your interest. Don't miss this one. Read it!!!

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted August 14, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    OUTSTANDING

    Ted White would be proud! A perfect and exciting review of one of the most important elections. Presented in clear and well written matter that reads like a work of fiction.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

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