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

by Haynes Johnson

Hardcover, 2009

Status

Available

Publication

Viking Adult (2009), 432 pages

Description

The election of 2008 shattered political barriers, illuminated undercurrents of race, gender, and class, and ignited an extraordinary battle among some of the most formidable political rivals ever to seek the presidency in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain. The election played out against a backdrop of wars, a shattered economy and deep pessimism about the future. Journalists Dan Balz and Haynes Johnson follow this campaign from the candidates' first forays to Obama's victory celebration. They reveal the strategic mistakes of the Clinton campaign and the story behind Obama's breakthrough organization. They cover McCain's struggle for survival in the Republican primaries, Sarah Palin, and the economic meltdown. Exclusive interviews with the candidates and their top strategists produce intimate portraits of Obama, Clinton, and McCain under stress; they also move far off the campaign trail to listen to voters express their anxieties about the darkening economic climate and the challenges facing the U.S.--From publisher description.… (more)

Rating

½ (22 ratings; 3.7)

Media reviews

“The Battle for America 2008” ...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.
1 more
The range of personalities and the grind of campaigning -- the missteps and outright failures and successes -- are well evoked by Balz and Johnson, who have an eye for plain-spoken truth.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Schmerguls
Even though I read Game Change (on 25 Feb 2010) and this book covers the same election, I thoroughly enjoyed this book also. It is so great to read an account where one knows that it all comes out fine in the end. This book again makes clear how important Iowa was to Obama and how serious for
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Hillary was her failure in iowa. And McCain's weird behavior in September 2008 in response to the economic collapse, combined with his goofy choice for vice-president, detemined the outcome of the election. A very enjoyable book.
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Awards

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2009

Physical description

432 p.; 6.46 inches

ISBN

0670021113 / 9780670021116
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