 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | On September 3, 2008 Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave a speech at the Republican National Convention that electrified the nation and instantly made her one of the most recognizable women in the world. As chief executive of America′s largest state, she had built a record as a reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual and pushed through changes other politicians only talked about: Energy independence. Ethics reform. And the biggest private sector infrastructure project in U.S. history. While revitalizing public school funding and ensuring the state met its responsibilities to seniors and Alaska Native populations, Palin also beat the political "good ol′ boys club" at their own game and brought Big Oil to heel. Like her GOP running mate, John McCain, Palin wasn′t a packaged and over-produced "candidate." She was a Main Street American woman: a working mom, wife of a blue collar union man, and mother of five children, the eldest of whom was serving his country in a yearlong deployment in Iraq and the youngest, an infant with special needs. Palin′s hometown story touched a populist nerve, rallying hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to the GOP ticket. But as the campaign unfolded, Palin became a lightning rod for both praise and criticism. Supporters called her "refreshing," "honest," a kitchen-table public servant they felt would fight for their interests. Opponents derided her as a wide-eyed Pollyanna unprepared for national leadership. But none of them knew the real Sarah Palin. In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother. She also opens up for the first time about the 2008 presidential race, providing a rare, mom′s-eye view of high-stakes national politics - from patriots dedicated to "Country First" to slick politicos bent on winning at any cost. Going Rogue traces one ordinary citizen′s extraordinary journey, and imparts Palin′s vision of a way forward for America and her unfailing hope in the greatest nation on earth. |
Average Customer Rating:   The complete Sarah Palin Reveals the details of her life and the reasons for her actions. Answers the many questions I had about her goals and ambitions. this book sucks! If you want to read about the real Palin read Going Rouge: Sarah Palin An American Nightmare edited by Kim & Betsy Reed. This book will really open your eyes to the real Sarah Palin, you betcha'. Inspirational and educational After reading this book I learned a lot about the nasty politics that are present. Sarah did a great job explaining the behind scene look in politics in the most professional way without throwing mud or feel sorry for me. This book is not only educational, it is inspirational for every day life. If you want to learn what it's like to be in a presidential campaign or governor of a state with a touch of inspiration; buy this book.
I want the cartoon edition soonest Sarah Palin, Joe McCain, Plumber Joe, former President Double-Dumb-Dumb, Hillary Clinton, (mo)Joe Biden, Michael Skeletor Chertoff, Mad(cow) Albright, Janet BurnBabiesBurn Reno et all - this and thus is the menagerie or rather the bestiary of American politics. And we didn't even add the assembly of blowhard talking heads (think Blitz and Rush and Hannity-Fannity and Dr. Olbie plus penologists Friedman, Krakenheimer and hordes of 'former' you name it - now still delusional generals, disgraced politicians, heroic draft dodgers, financial schemers.
'Oh... life', my husband sometimes states because they've lost their religion and they're now worshiping at the altars of Tweedle-Dee and Double-Dumber and pop, pops Sarah out of seemingly nowhere - she can see Russia and she's therefore an expert and sometimes she can see the Moon, that possibly making her an accomplished lunatic.
But here she is now - the new literary talent and best-selling powerhouse, son Trig in a duffel bag and full of ideas like... I forgot but she's got many. And she tweets and she googles.
So... yeah. I want the cartoon edition soonest.
Simply Not Ready For the National Political Arena I had formed an opinion of Palin during the election and was curious as to whether I might have been too harsh, so I read a biography of her written by an author who is independent of the Palin campaign and found my opinion softening. The final step was to read the authors autobiography and make a final determination about my feelings toward her with the knowledge that autobiographies are almost always written to put the author in the best possible light.
The autobiography begins with Palin growing up in Alaska and her time in school and at college. At times reading like a travel brochure for the state, it paints the picture of a fairly normal teenager in a normal household with normal teenage desires and difficulties.
The next portion of the book is dedicated to her election as mayor and to the Governor's office. It details her opinions about a number of things from how to run government to her feelings about the typical politician and how they conduct business. At times she intentionally misleads the reader slightly with statements that she is the governor of the largest state in the US (which is true geographically, but not by any other measure) and that seems to be her trying to puff up her resume. She does deal with some of the rumors from when she was governor and her opinion of the press during that time.
The final section deals with her being chosen for the position of Vice President by John McCain and is, by far, the most interesting section of the book. She gives her opinion of how the campaign was run and what mistakes were made by the campaign. In fact, she gives the impression that if the campaign staff had listened to her they would have won handily. I am sure there is some difference of opinion on things that happen on the trail, but what I found most interesting was her sniping at a senior McCain advisor who has helped elect a number of Republicans to national office. His only response (he lives near where I live) was that the section of the book dealing with the campaign was misfiled as non-fiction and should be reclassified as fiction.
What comes across most strongly is that Palin is thin skinned and cannot stand to be criticized. Anyone who does criticize her is wrong and biased against her despite what the criticism may be. In addition, she doesn't know how to handle criticism other than to lash out at those who do criticize her. Sadly politics, especially at that level, is a blood sport and you need a very thick skin to be able to survive. The other quality that surfaced about her is that she tends to speak first and then think. This creates misstatements on her part, which she then criticizes the media for covering.
I think it is an important book to read, as it allows the reader to see some of the real candidate. And that is important to discovering the character of a candidate.
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