Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down

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Overview

Sarah Palin, forty-two, a hockey mom and former small-town mayor, thought her dream of making a difference in the male-dominated realm of Alaska politics was over when she went clashed with the state chairman of her Republican party and went head to head with the powerful Republican governor over issues having to do with ethics and openness in government. Yet, the former prep basketball star could not shake a feeling that she was destined for something bigger. In 2006, she became a long-shot candidate for governor, demanding a higher ethical standard in state government. Then, fate intervened. Her populist reform message sudddenly became front-page news when a major political scandal rocked Alaska politics. Alaskans began listening to her. And they liked what they heard. This is the story about how the biggest political upset in Alaska history propelled Sarah Palin into the governor's office where shed was the youngest and first women to serve in the state's highest office.

Editorial Reviews

Alaska Magazine
Wildly popular, she's more than just a pretty face.
Chicago Tribune
There's an undeniable national buzz surrounding the first-term governor, seen by many Republicans as a fresh, new face to represent the party's future.
Fox News Network
Sarah Palin is a politician of eye-popping integrity.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780979047084
  • Publisher: Epicenter Press, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 4/1/2008
  • Edition description: Third Edition
  • Edition number: 3
  • Pages: 164
  • Sales rank: 1,253,583
  • Product dimensions: 5.96 (w) x 8.62 (h) x 0.68 (d)

Meet the Author

Kaylene Johnson is an award-winning writer and author who lives with her family on a small farm near Wasilla, Alaska. In addition to two other books she has written, "Portrait of the Alaska Railroad" and "Trails Across Time," Johnson's work has in numerous magazines and newspapers ranging from Alaska magazine to the LA Times. She received an MFA in Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

GROWING UP SARAH

Honesty became a non-negotiable family standard.
There was an expectation, too, that if you wanted something, you earned it.

Sarah Palin's childhood home faces Alaska's Talkeetna Mountains. In the spring, purple violets, Indian paintbrush, and wild geraniums carpet the mountains' alpine tundra in a bloom of color. In winter, the snow-covered mountains take on a rose blush in the soft alpenglow. Sarah could see these mountains from the front porch of the family's little yellow house near downtown Wasilla.

These mountains would become, like other wild places in Alaska, a place of sustenance and renewal for her boisterous and busy family.

Born in Sandpoint, Idaho on February 11, 1964, Sarah Louise was the third of four children born in rapid succession to Chuck and Sally Heath. The family moved to Alaska when Sarah was two months old. Chuck took a job teaching school in Skagway. Her older brother, Chuck Jr., was two years old, Heather had just turned one, and Molly was soon to come. Chuck Jr. vividly remembers the days in Skagway when he and his dad ran a trapline, put out crab pots, and hunted mountain goats and seals. The family spent time hiking up to alpine lakes and looking for artifacts left behind during the Klondike Gold Rush.

"Dad never stopped lining up new adventures for us," Chuck Jr. said. The kids caught Dolly Varden off a nearby dock. Chuck Jr. loved to catch the Irish Lord, an ugly, creepy-looking fish, for the pleasure of holding it up to his little sisters' faces and making them scream.

In 1969, the Heaths moved to southcentral Alaska, living for a short time with friends inAnchorage, then for two years in Eagle River before finally settling in Wasilla. The family lived frugally. To help make ends meet, Chuck Heath moonlighted as a hunting and fishing guide and as a bartender, and even worked on the Alaska Railroad for a time. Sally worked as a school secretary and ran their busy household.

In 1974, Wasilla incorporated with a population of barely four hundred people. The Heath house sat a few blocks from the center of town, north of the railroad tracks and south and east of woodlands of birch, willow, and spruce. The woods were a wilderness playground—the kind of place where kids play out the imaginative adventures of childhood. They had a white cat named Fifi and a German shepherd named Rufus, a canine sidekick to the kids who shows up in many family photos. The children often hiked the "Bunny Trail" to the home of a distant neighbor who had kids the same age.

In both summer and winter, most of the family's activities took place outdoors. Sarah said that she appreciates the many outdoor adventures she had as a child. Fitness was a big part of family life. "My parents jumped on the bandwagon of the ‘70s running craze," she said. The whole family ran together, competing in five- and ten-kilometer races throughout the summer.

When the family wasn't running or hiking, it was hunting or fishing.

"We could literally go hunting out our back door," Chuck Jr. said. Sarah shot her first rabbit at age ten not far from the back porch. In her teens, she hunted caribou with her father.

The family's freezer was always full of fish and game. Chuck Jr. said he didn't eat a beef steak until he was a senior in high school. Gardening helped fill the family larder.

In summer, Chuck Jr., Heather, Sarah, and Molly spent long sunny days building tree forts, riding bikes, and playing with friends. They took swimming lessons in Wasilla Lake—a pond with water so cold that they huddled around a campfire on the beach afterward to silence their chattering teeth. During the summer, their father put away the television. For entertainment, he put up a basketball hoop with a dirt court in the back yard.

The Heath kids and their friends spent many hours playing ball.

Once a year, the family accompanied Chuck Sr. on a weeklong class field trip to Denali National Park, where camping in view of majestic Mount McKinley left indelible memories with the Heath children.

The family often packed up and drove fifteen miles to Hatcher Pass, a scenic expanse of alpine tundra tucked between jagged peaks in the Talkeetna Mountains. In summer, the family hiked, picked berries, and followed the trails. In winter, they skied and hunted ptarmigan, an Alaska game bird.

At home, Sarah shared a bedroom with her sisters in the upper level of their wood-frame home. Chuck Jr. slept in a closet-sized room next to the kitchen. The three sisters loved listening to the patter of rain on the tin roof above their heads.

The room was unheated except for a wood stove that their father installed when he built an addition onto the house. The kids had to feed wood into the stove to keep the room warm but often they decided it wasn't worth the effort to get out of bed. Instead, they snuggled deeper under the covers, watching their breath condense in the cool air.

The three sisters had a code phrase that helped ward off the chill and the scary shadows of the night. "Do you want to play Sleeping Beauty?" one of them would ask. That was the signal for Sarah, Heather, and Molly to pile into one bed for the night.

"I was afraid of everything," said Molly, the youngest. Even after Chuck and Heather left for college, Molly and Sarah slept in the same room. "I would push my bed next to Sarah's and we would hold hands, even in high school," Molly said.

One of the girls' favorite pastimes was to form clubs to organize field trips. On one occasion, for example, the group hatched a plan to hike at Bodenburg Butte, where a recreational trail overlooked the Knik River Valley. Because the Butte was too far away to bike or walk, an adult had to drive them. Sarah helped broker deals to do chores in exchange for a ride.

"One time, I remember we stacked firewood so that we could earn a ride to the fair," Molly said. But when they finished stacking an enormous pile of wood, the whole stack toppled to the ground. "We just looked at each other and got back to work."

The domestic scene in the Heath family was not without its squabbles. The children fought fiercely over the usual sibling issues and had no qualms about physically taking their differences right down to the green shag carpet. When things got out of hand, however, they agreed on one thing.

"We had a pact," Heather said. "If any of us got hurt, or if we broke something, we promised not to tell."

"We learned to toe the line at an early age," Chuck Jr. said. "If we had a problem with Mom, she'd usually just say, ‘wait ‘til Dad gets home.' " Molly agreed. "Mom was like June Cleaver. I rarely remember her being upset. But when Dad came home, we stood a little straighter and turned down the volume."

Sally Heath has a kindly face and a voice that sounds like a song. Even as adults, the Heath kids enjoy listening to her voice.

Sally quickly puts strangers at ease, and with smiling eyes she expresses genuine interest in everyone she meets. She is a woman of deep faith and strong convictions.

Whenever possible, Sally joined her husband in his outdoor pursuits. When he guided big-game hunts, she traded babysitting with a friend so that she could go along as camp cook and allaround assistant. She hunted, fished, cross-country skied, and ran a marathon.

Today, Sally Heath still plays an integral part in the busy households of her children, all of whom now have children of their own. When needed, she supports the working parents, volunteering as chauffer, tutor, nurse, and cook for her grandchildren. All twelve of them live in Wasilla or in nearby Anchorage.

Chuck Sr. is a wiry man, taut with enthusiasm and highvoltage energy. As a high school cross-country and track coach, he brought out the best in people around him. And he expected nothing from others that he didn't also demand from himself.

During his years coaching the track team, he ran at least a dozen marathons, including the Boston Marathon.

Chuck Sr. brought his passion for the outdoors into his classroom. His classrooms then—and the Heath home now— look like exhibits in a natural history museum with pelts, skulls, and fossils adorning the walls. He continues to hunt and fish and has taken up gold mining. He often takes grandkids on a two and half hour four-wheeler ride to an old friend's mine near Gunsight Mountain.

Even in their so-called retirement, Chuck, sixty-nine, and Sally, sixty-seven, work summers for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services Program. They've trapped fox in the Aleutian Islands, contributing to the recovery of bird populations decimated after the fox was introduced by Russians in the 1750s. They've used pyrotechnics to scare birds off runways in the Pribilof Islands. And they've helped eradicate rats from Palmyra Atoll, one thousand miles southwest of Hawaii. Chuck and Sally even accepted an assignment from the federal agency that took them to Ground Zero in New York City to keep rats away while investigators recovered remains after 9/11. Chuck also substitute teaches and enjoys bringing specimens from home to conduct workshops on wildlife biology.

The Heath children agree that their parents provided the right combination of affirmation, encouragement, and tough love. No infraction was more egregious to either parent than lying. Honesty became a non-negotiable family standard. There was an expectation, too, that if you wanted something, you earned it.

"We always worked," Heather said. "We never had anything handed to us."

Molly agreed. Whether weeding an enormous garden that they shared with family friends or stacking firewood, everyone pitched in. From age twelve on, everyone had a job to earn spending money—picking strawberries at the nearby Dearborn farm, babysitting, or working as a waitress at the local diner. The Heath kids knew what it meant to work.

"We knew on a teacher's salary that we would all have to pay our own way through college. We knew we'd have to be independent," Heather said.

After high school, much to her older brother's amusement, Sarah entered the Miss Wasilla pageant and won.

"I remember asking Sarah why she would enter a beauty pageant when that seemed so prissy to the rest of us," Chuck Jr. said. "She told me matter of factly, ‘It's going to help pay my way through college.' " Her family makes a point of saying Sarah was never the beautypageant type. Even though the scholarship she won did help pay for college, years later Sarah seemed chagrined by the pageant experience.

"They made us line up in bathing suits and turn our backs so the male judges could look at our butts," she said in a 2008 interview with Vogue magazine. "I couldn't believe it!" Sarah had two childhood traits that her family says played trajectory roles in her life. From the time she was in elementary school, she consumed newspapers with a passion. "She read the paper from the very top left hand corner to the bottom right corner to the very last page," said Molly. "She didn't want tomiss a word. She didn't just read it—she knew every word she had read and analyzed it."

Sarah preferred nonfiction to the Nancy Drew books that her classmates were reading. In junior high school, Heather— a year older in school—often enlisted Sarah's help with book reports. "She was such a bookworm. Whenever I was assigned to read a book, she'd already read it," Heather said.

Sarah's thirst for knowledge was nurtured in a household that emphasized the importance of education. There was never any question that all the Heath kids would go to college. With her love for newspapers and current events, Sarah majored in journalism and minored in political science. Her brother, like their father, became a teacher. Heather works for an advertising firm. Molly is a dental hygienist.

Sarah's other trait is what her father calls an unbending, unapologetic streak of stubbornness.

"The rest of the kids, I could force them to do something," Chuck Sr. said. "But with Sarah, there was no way. From a young age she had a mind of her own. Once she made up her mind, she didn't change it."

Sarah's siblings were astonished by Sarah's resolve in the face of a father whose decisions were the final word in their household.

"She never lost an argument and would never, no matter what, back down when she knew she was right," Chuck Jr. remembers. "Not just with me or with other kids, but with Mom and Dad too."

Later on, Sarah's father would enlist the help of people Sarah respected—especially coaches and teachers—to persuade her to see things his way. Yet he concedes Sarah was persuasive in her arguments and often correct. Later, when his daughter became governor, Chuck found it immensely amusing that acquaintances asked him to sway Sarah on particular issues.

He says he lost that leverage before she was two.

That doesn't stop him from speaking his mind, however.

During her campaigns he sometimes called to defend his daughter on talk radio. "Sarah finally asked me to stay out of it, and so I do," Chuck Sr. said. "But it hurts me when people rag on her."

Sarah's niece, Lauden, remarked that the closeness of the Heath family resembles a scene from the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." When the group gets together for a holiday gathering or a sporting event, everyone is loud, opinionated, and gets into everyone else's business. The one thing they all agree on is how hard it is to watch Sarah become a target of her political foes.

"One of her strengths is being able to hold her tongue when she's been unfairly attacked," said Chuck Jr. "By staying true to her beliefs, things always seem to fall into place for her."

Not that Sarah's journey to the governor's office was easy.

From the moment she began making her mark in the politics, she was criticized for being too young, too inexperienced, and too naïve.

Yet, time after time over the years, underestimating Sarah always proved to be a big mistake.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     7
Dedication     9
Introduction     13
Growing up Sarah     15
Heaven & hoops     24
Something about Sarah     33
Sarah takes on city hall     42
Playing in the big leagues     67
Pit bull in lipstick     75
Frank Murkowski's downfall     85
A family decision     88
A simple promise     93
Election 2006     101
For such a time as this     109
Epilogue     133
Appendix     139
Author's Source Notes     147
Index     157

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 47 )

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(19)

4 Star

(9)

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(3)

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(12)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 29 Customer Reviews
  • Anonymous

    Posted September 14, 2008

    A Must-Read for Those Interested in Learning about the Next Vice-President

    First of all, a note regarding individuals on this site posting negative reviews: it is apparent they never read the book before writing their reviews. Had they done this, they would have been aware the author, Kaylene Johnson, conducted personal interviews for this book beginning in October, 2007, with the last interview taking place in January, 2008. The book was published in April, 2008 and, therefore, obviously was not rushed into print due to recent events, as others here have claimed. These basic facts are available in the Author¿s Source Notes at the end of the book. Now, on to the review. Even at only 152 pages, this book manages to provide an insightful, revealing look into Sarah Palin¿s early years, her relationships with family members, friends, and colleagues, and her entry into local and state politics. What is made clear here is that Sarah Palin did not become involved in politics for personal gain. She ran for office initially because she felt she had a duty to improve the lives of those in her community, and then later, the lives of all Alaskans. The impression that I have of Governor Sarah Palin after reading this book is that she is a strong, down-to-earth, principled woman with many God-given talents. She is fiercely devoted to her family and is unequivocally prepared to handle anything that comes her way, including the vice-presidency. As a final note, in the last sentence in chapter nine, the author refers to Palin as ¿the reform-minded maverick Republican who vowed to be an agent of change.¿ It is due to these qualities, among many others, that she was chosen to be John McCain¿s running mate. And thank God for that!

    3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Anonymous

    Posted September 12, 2008

    Eve, a Democrat

    This is well written, informative and enjoyable reading about an intelligent woman. Thanks!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  No   Report this review
  • Posted January 25, 2009

    The story of an extraordinary woman who has infuriated the liberal media and turned Election '08 upside down

    When John McCain picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, the liberal media snickered and started talking about Dan Quayle and Thomas Egleton. But they weren¿t laughing long: Plain faced down media smears, innuendo, contempt, and hostility to deliver a speech for the ages at the Republican Convention ¿ and polls quickly showed that she was more popular than both McCain and Obama. Even better, she¿s a solid, pro-life, small-government, anti-corruption conservative ¿ in sharp contrast to Obama¿s shady origins in the Chicago political machine.

    In Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska¿s Political Establishment Upside Down, Kaylene Johnson introduces the reader to the real Sarah Palin: the governor who, according to none other than the New York Times, ¿is untainted by government scandal and unburdened by political debt¿ ¿ and the amazing woman who has put media darling, the Messiah; Lord Barack Obama ¿ thee most merciful - on the defensive while giving Conservatives new hope.

    Johnson tells the story of a small-town mayor and hockey mom who followed her hopes and dreams in the face of a disapproving political establishment to become the belle of the Republican Convention. Johnson details what it was like to grow up Sarah, explores her personal life and early influences, and shows how she entered politics ¿ and almost immediately started fearlessly taking on city hall.

    Sarah tells the full story of how Palin became the first woman governor in Alaskan history ¿ and enjoyed the highest approval rating of any governor in the nation.

    Obama, Biden and the far-left liberals are looking over their shoulders, getting more and more nervous ¿ as Sarah shows, they have good reason.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 5, 2008

    Oh Come on Now!

    It is obvious that the two one star reviews here are not reviews of the book, but cheap political slaps at someone they just do not like. Well, the book is not out so I can play the same game with a more fair 'recommend' review. The complain it that Sarah Palin has a 'thin' resume. Excuse me but getting elected as Govenor of any state is not 'thin'. You are correct in saying she is no Hillary. Hillary is certainly bright but let's be real. Hillary was given a gift: the New York senate seat because she was Bill's wife. Up until her election what did she do on her own? Sarah came from nowhere and built her own reputation. She may be unknown (which in Washington speak means unimportant and lightweight) but she has done more than Hillary. Having said that I do think Hillary would be better than Obama but I also think Sarah Palin is better than either.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 17, 2012

    Haters are trying to sabotage the rating

    Look at all the anonymous ratings on here that give a one-star rating. So we're to believe that all these people bought the book and hated it, without leaving a word? Obviously, someone or someones are trying to do everything possible to sabotage the truth about Palin being attacked, and there obvious attempts to do so here only serves to validate the author's premise. I wasn't even going to get this book but when I saw the obvious attack being done on it's ratings, I went ahead and purchased it. I think it would be an interesting psychological study for someone to really examine what motivates people who hate Sarah Palin, it's as if they can't even control their unbridled (and unearned) hatred of her. Suck it, haters!!

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  • Posted January 27, 2011

    Deffinetly recommend

    This book kept your interest clear to the end. Everyone should read, I enjoyed it!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 10, 2008

    Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down

    this book makes me proud to be a woman in the U.S.A. it makes me beleive that dreams can come true in this counrty when you beleive in youself and reach for the stars. she has five kids and one is going to Irack! and she makes me proud to be a Christian woman with her faith in Jesus to guide our nation. she will bring the right kind of change to America. she will make abortion illegal. hillary is the worng woman. Sarah is my hero and a maverick and I hope she guides us with a servants heart. God bless Sarah Palin and God bless the U.S.A

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 8, 2008

    Republican spin.

    Sarah Palin is not the person that the Republicans are claiming her to be. This book was obviously rushed to print and filled with bias. Sarah Palin claims to be an abstinence only supporter yet her underage daughter is unmarried and pregnant. In my teenage opinion, that is the hard lesson you learn from having abstinence as your only choice. Mrs. Palin obviously cannot control her children, she also admits to knowing very little about the Iraq war. As a high school student, this scares me because if elected she will be one heartbeat away from the Presidency of the United States. Another issue I have comes from being part of a family of a special needs child. My little sister needed full time care and love from both my parents with huge help from my sister and I. Downs Syndrome children need a lot of time, patience, cognitive and physical therapy, and nurturing from both parents. How can someone be more interested in being Vice President than taking care of their special needs child. Mrs. Palin obviously has the oil industry behind her and thats a powerful thing. However, within the short period of time that most Americans have known who she is her lack of knowledge of world affairs, shady business dealings in Alaska, and arch-conservatism have shown that she has no business being Vice President of the United States.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 6, 2008

    Leaves out So Much

    This is a good read but as that it leaves out so much that is now coming to be known publicly, it seems like fiction. There is much to like about Mrs Palin but a biased biography doesn't help her cause.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 5, 2008

    Concerned over fake book reviews and political opinions

    Shocked and Awed John below is giving an opinion of a book he likely never read. He is only using what should be a forum for expressing opinions about read books as venue to vent his political views. His recommendation of 'The Audacity of Hope' clearly exposes his political ideology. The not so cleverly masked vulgarity in the headline of his review clearly demonstrates what a pinhead he is.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 11, 2008

    Totally biased

    How the heck did this book get printed so fast? It will make Christian Zealots very happy, but is this what our country needs? Ms Palin should not forget the fundamentals of our country...& remember that there needs to be separation of church & state. Also disturbing is her lack of understanding of environmental issues facing this world...

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 13, 2008

    Amazing Leader!

    This is a story about an inspirational female leader. I feel awe at her professional achievements, her personal accomplishments, and her intense faith in God. Her story is both modern and a return to the ideals upon which America was founded.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 11, 2008

    Yes, Jessie is a Democrat, but so much more...

    I have read the book, listened to the speeches, hype and nasty comments that occur on BOTH sides. Whenever there is a political election the claws come out. I would also like to say that I am a woman, a mother of 2 teenage daughters, a soccer Mom, a Social Science teacher, a mother of a Special Needs child, and a devout Christian....so I probably have more in comon with Sarah Palin than I do with Barack Obama. I am also an educated person that has reviewed the facts...and the fact is the book is trash. My OPINION is that Sarah Palin is not ready to be President of the US. And here are some other titles I recommend as an other reviewer accused me of bias. Although these are REAL books about people that we should admire for their contributions to America (yes, even Richard Nixon--one word --China) not rushed stuff written to spin a bunch of hype and make a lot of quick cash.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 12, 2008

    Interesting read

    To answer the earlier review asking 'how did this book get printed so fast?': The book was written before she was named to McCain's ticket. I think the most interesting part of the book is how Governor Palin took on the political establishment in her OWN party. This isn't a partisan hack. She took on the Republicans in Alaska. The other interesting takeaway was that people always underestimate her until they see her in action and work with her.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 11, 2008

    A commentary about the other reviews

    This is not an official review because I have not yet read the book, but I need to say that this should not be a forum from which to criticize or condemn Sarah and the ticket, as some have done. The bias is so obvious. This is designed to be an objective reference to the book, not a biased political commercial. I only rated the book because otherwise this comment would not be possible, so I rated it as generically as I could.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 15, 2008

    Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down

    I thank God for Sarah Palin. Just when I thought there was no way I could vote for John McCain, he had the courage to pick a true CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE who believes that America is under God's protection and guidance. Her story is very inspirational and her faith is pure. She was saved by our lord and savior Jesus Christ, the king of kings. She will work to help steer America back to the fundamnetal teachings of the bible and make sure all follow the Lord's plan. I believe she was sent from heaven in order to guide us all closer to Christ. This is only the beginning!!! God Bless America!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 12, 2008

    an objective democrat and bookseller

    You need to check your facts people. This TRADE PAPERBACK version of this book wasn't rushed to publication as a result of her being named the VP nominee. The hardcover version was released in April. So read the book before you write a review. This was a typical sugar-coated bio. Nothing special. I disagree with her views, but the book wasn't unenjoyable. Just typical.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 11, 2008

    Sarah, a honest public servant, very interesting.

    Sarah is a great book about a crackerjack public servant, be male or female, black or white. How could you not like her, she will save the tax payers money, your money, if you pay taxes. She came from behind, with limited funds and won in Alaska againest all odds.Great story about an American dream come true. I hope she makes mine come true, and she REALLY changes Washington. Would love to meet her in person. Hold on to your hats Congress if she wins!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 3, 2008

    Worth the Read to Learn the Details

    A previous reviewer was a hatchet job, not on the book, but on Gov Palins pick to be VP. An outraged and angry liberal...oops...I repeat myself. LOL The book is about a pretty much normal person who took on corrupt town politicians and town managers and then moved on to take on corrupt politicians of both parties. What is lost in the media is who she really is and her background. They like to say she was a 'beauty queen' as if the is liberal code for she is 'brainless'. They don't mention she also played sports and even played a season very hurt to help her team. But that is just her High School and the media is digging deep to ridicule anyones HS life! LOL As an adult she is a maverick and liberals fear her. She has done some great things since she became governor and has of today has an 86% approval rating of all Alaskans. The highest in the Nation. Having had more executive leadership experience than either Obama or Biden is embarrassing to the Dem party. Read the book and learn the truth about the lady and real person.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 4, 2008

    honest, Informative and Inspiring!

    Informative, inspiring and honest account of the newest political star on the block! Whatever the political persuatrion of the reader, one has to admit that the reforms enacted, and her high popularity, during her tenure as Governor of Alaska, are impressive--A breath of fresh air on the American political scene.

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