Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
HarperCollins (2009), Edition: 1st, 432 pages
Description
Sarah Palin, the first female Republican Vice Presidential candidate, recounts her political experiences, her rapid rise on the national stage during the 2008 campaign, and the personal challenges she's faced including balancing her time as a working mother, recognizing the war's impact with her son serving combat in Iraq, having a child with a disability, and supporting her teenage daughter with an unplanned pregnancy.
Media reviews
When [this book's] pages are not dismally boring they are positively alarming, and you can almost see the ashen faces of men who suddenly realised what a ghastly thing had happened to their party. But the book was a terrific read.
For many politicians, family life is sandwiched in between long hours in public service. Palin wants us to know that for her it is the reverse. Political success is an accident that says nothing about you. Success as a wife, mother and citizen says everything.
Do I believe any of this? It
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doesn’t matter. What matters is that she does, and that her readers feel they are hearing an authentic voice. I find the voice undeniably authentic (yes, I know the book was written “with the help” of Lynn Vincent, but many books, including my most recent one, are put together by an editor). It is the voice of small-town America, with its folk wisdom, regional pride, common sense, distrust of rhetoric (itself a rhetorical trope), love of country and instinctive (not doctrinal) piety. Show Less
Would I recommend reading Going Rogue? Yes, definitely, regardless of your political point of view. Liberals, conservatives and independents should read everything by office seekers of the past -- and, maybe, the future.
In Going Rogue, geography is both destiny and distortion. Wasilla is the centre of the universe, then there's the big city of Juneau, then Russia, and then, way on the other side of the Earth, is Washington DC. Washington is a foreign country to Sarah Palin. As for genuine foreign policy or
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diplomacy? Simply not on her radar. Yes, her son is in the military, but Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East – all these float like a singular symbol rather than real places on the planet. "Our boys" go off to "distant lands" that she leaves undescribed: invisible worlds whose only function in this book is to toughen said boys into men and to deliver them back as heroes, martyrs, deer-hunters and, yes, patriots. She relates her most interesting life and her great achievements from a simple background. She is admirable. Show Less
In Palin's snug and self-satisfied world, hockey and basketball matter more than global warming or the spread of nuclear weapons, and a man is judged by his vehicles. (She says of Todd, whom she met in high school: "Not only was he one of the only kids in town who owned his own ride – he owned
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two, the Mustang and a 1973 Ford F-150 long-bed pickup that he used to haul a pair of Polaris snowmachines.") In the course of more than 400 breathless pages, one learns enough to shudder at the thought of President Palin. Show Less
The first half of "Going Rogue" is devoted to Palin's life before becoming famous, the second to settling scores with the McCain advisers and with a "Washington-New York media constellation" that she regards as biased and cruel.
One critic described Palin as being "ungrateful" to the McCain campaign. Why? Because in her book Palin returns fire on the anonymous campaign strategists who called her a "diva" and "whackjob" to eager reporters. What was she supposed to do? Play the role of the orphan Oliver Twist and ask,
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"Please, sir, I want some more"? Show Less
Sarah Palin is selling a personality, not a platform. That's not dumb. She's doing the best she can with what she has to work with. She quotes her father's line upon her resignation this summer as Alaska's governor: "Sarah's not retreating, she's reloading." On evidence of this book, Sarah Palin is
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charging toward 2012 shooting blanks. Show Less
Maybe in their business lives, conservatives are the stern, unforgiving masters of capitalist lore. But when it comes to politics, oh, do they love a whiner!
"Going Rogue" is so obviously a campaign biography that a reader comes away trying to figure out what he thinks of Palin's presidential chances rather than what he thinks of her.
Her critique of the [McCain] campaign's strategy is about as sophisticated as her discussion of policy, and just as circumscribed by her own experience.
"Through it all, Mrs. Palin emerges as a new style of feminist: a politician who took on the Ole Boy network and won; a wife with a supportive husband whose career takes second place to hers; and a mother who, unlike working women of an earlier age, isn’t shy about showcasing her family
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responsibilities. She writes with sensitivity and affection about her gay college roommate, and she confesses her anguish when she found out that she was carrying a baby with Down syndrome. That experience, she says, helped her to understand why a woman might be tempted to have an abortion. This is not the prejudiced, dim-witted ideologue of the popular liberal imagination." Show Less
“Going Rogue” is part cagey spin job, part earnest autobiography, part payback hit job. Its most compelling sections deal not with politics, but with Ms. Palin’s life in Alaska and her family.
A more hateful book won't be published in 2009. Palin spends the bulk of Rogue smearing her critics—an opponent is dismissed as a crazy woman obsessed with falafel, and Katie Couric is an opportunist who manipulated Palin's interviews into incoherence. She twice accuses the Obama campaign of
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stealing its "change" theme from her early Alaskan campaigns (unsurprisingly, she doesn't mention hope). When she discovers that her last son has Down syndrome, she seems most thrilled that she has a personal object lesson against pro-choicers. (Palin also proudly, and literally, uses her daughter Piper as a pro-life poster child.)
There is not one shred of that great conservative ideal, personal responsibility, in Going Rogue. When she's not wielding her children as clubs to prove political points (or complaining that the media can't stop writing about her children), Palin whines about her victimhood—at the hands of the press, McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt (who, she passive-aggressively notes, couldn't refrain from swearing in front of her children), and liberals—until the very end. Show Less
Palin displays virtually no introspection. When McCain asks her to run, she says, ''I certainly didn't think, Well, of course this would happen. But neither did I think, What an astonishing idea. It seemed more comfortable than that, a natural progression.'' Wait a minute: Moving swiftly from mayor
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of Wasilla to governor of Alaska to Vice President of the United States is a natural progression? I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that Palin owes readers a little more than that. Yet maybe that's naive of me. Palin has just done what almost all politicians do — delivered a mediocre, unsurprising, self-serving memoir. Show Less
Lurking behind the moaning and groaning, of course, is a sense of grievance. There’s no question the lady can hold a grudge. Were she ever to be elected to the highest office, after the first playing of "Hail to the Beef," her enemies might duck and run.
Or maybe not.
She can shoot, but the
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problem has always been, she can’t aim. Show Less
Her hymns to the outdoors are the textual equivalent of Thomas Kinkade paintings. Her tales of family life? Sticky sweet as a Cinnabon. The contrast between family and the people, and politics and the press, becomes more stark as the campaign tumbles into the crapper. McCain's “experts” do
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something Sarah cannot abide, and then a call from Track in Iraq, or quip from Piper, gives her strength to carry on.
The evil McCain operatives smoke and swear and scheme. They will not let her talk about Obama pallin' around with terrorists. They will not let her see the people. They will not let her try to save Michigan. She cannot even jog. Those elitists sold her a bill of goods. They were never going to let Sarah be Sarah! There was nowhere else to go but rogue. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member poochness
I'm loving this book (on chapter 5). I want to see Alaska! and I'd like to see Sarah as president. Her common sense approach works for me. My husband and I attended her book signing in Noblesville, Indiana. It was very thrilling even though we had to stand in line for hours just to get a 3 second
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glimpse of this fascinating person and shake her hand. Her smile is dazzling in person, too. She is delightful, warm and engaging. We were thrilled. The book is just a delight. Sarah does a good job of describing her family members, her situation as governor and the campaign with John McCain. She has several good quips, too. I think she has a great sense of humor. All this talk from the left of her whining is ridiculous. I do agree with Sarah as she has said in interviews that people are coming to see her, excited to see her, not because of her but because of what she stands for: a common sense approach to government, a love of country and a respect for tradition. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeaconBernie
Well, an idiot she is not. Indeed, it is astonishing to recollect in just a few days while reading this book, the mud that was flung at Sarah Palin.
Baffling to me, especially after reading her book, was why she took the crap, both from the opposition as well as her own "headquarters." It just seems
At best, this book is an attempt to answer so many things that went unanswered between her nomination August 29 and the election. Yes, it is self-serving, but since nobody else has come forth to tell her side of the story, I'm glad she did.
One cannot fail to ask is she an anomoly or is she the beginning of the future? I believe many would hope the latter but so far she is alone. I can understand why the GOP has had little to say and I can understand while the Democrats and the Liberals continue to vilify her, but it seems to me that there ought to be more of a groundswell behind her and her thinking. It may be that she will continue to be in politics and may even attain additional elective office; it may also be that by 2012, she will have left the national scene. One thing is clear, she needs help from us ordinary citizens.
Baffling to me, especially after reading her book, was why she took the crap, both from the opposition as well as her own "headquarters." It just seems
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so out of character. Certainly, there is room for a Woodward and Bernstein investigation of "headquarters." It seems almost as if there was an intentional undermining of the qualities this candidate could put forth.At best, this book is an attempt to answer so many things that went unanswered between her nomination August 29 and the election. Yes, it is self-serving, but since nobody else has come forth to tell her side of the story, I'm glad she did.
One cannot fail to ask is she an anomoly or is she the beginning of the future? I believe many would hope the latter but so far she is alone. I can understand why the GOP has had little to say and I can understand while the Democrats and the Liberals continue to vilify her, but it seems to me that there ought to be more of a groundswell behind her and her thinking. It may be that she will continue to be in politics and may even attain additional elective office; it may also be that by 2012, she will have left the national scene. One thing is clear, she needs help from us ordinary citizens.
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LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
A good political memoir, and, in fact, one of the best I've read in awhile. Sure it was ghostwritten, but it sounds like Palin had loads of input. And why harp on the ghostwriter anyway? Liberals get mad when you mention Profiles in Courage, and just try to insert a note on Wikipedia about the
Regardless, this proves to you (sort of like Reagan) that Palin is no dunce and no novice. She details her life, how she came to some of her beliefs, and she evens some scores and sets some records straight. She makes a few good government points, such as: it ain't Presidents and governors and big-wigs that keep this country moving, it is local government types that fill potholes and bring businesses to their constituents (p. 154). And, this is the "policy" part of the book that Rush Limbaugh was lambasted for talking about, and it shines through every other page or so. No, this isn't a political tome. It isn't a pseudo-intellectual diatribe like Chomsky, or a philosophical work like Hayek. This is how my mom and dad, how the average citizens of this country, come about their conservative political views. At one point, for instance, her son Track has to wait for several hours in a hospital with a dislocated shoulder until parental permission is granted by Palin for treatment... and Mrs. Palin then wonders why it is okay for thirteen year old girls to walk in and, without any parental consent, get an abortion while her seventeen year old son can't get his shoulder fixed (pp. 168-169). This is how average people come about their political views, how Palin and Reagan came about them not in the ivory-towered, hallowed halls of acadème. An elitist "constitutional law professor" she ain't. Lastly, she evens some scores, explains her views on the 2008 campaign, and the like. This is the part you've probably read about, and it is the least interesting part of the book. More interesting is her drive-time talk with Bristol (pp. 357-358) on how hard it is to open a business with Mr. Obama's tax and spend policies hanging over people's head. This is how the actual movers and shakers of the country talk and think.
All in all, pretty good, not the best, not a piece of crap either.
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possible ghostwriting of HIM Obama's first book!Regardless, this proves to you (sort of like Reagan) that Palin is no dunce and no novice. She details her life, how she came to some of her beliefs, and she evens some scores and sets some records straight. She makes a few good government points, such as: it ain't Presidents and governors and big-wigs that keep this country moving, it is local government types that fill potholes and bring businesses to their constituents (p. 154). And, this is the "policy" part of the book that Rush Limbaugh was lambasted for talking about, and it shines through every other page or so. No, this isn't a political tome. It isn't a pseudo-intellectual diatribe like Chomsky, or a philosophical work like Hayek. This is how my mom and dad, how the average citizens of this country, come about their conservative political views. At one point, for instance, her son Track has to wait for several hours in a hospital with a dislocated shoulder until parental permission is granted by Palin for treatment... and Mrs. Palin then wonders why it is okay for thirteen year old girls to walk in and, without any parental consent, get an abortion while her seventeen year old son can't get his shoulder fixed (pp. 168-169). This is how average people come about their political views, how Palin and Reagan came about them not in the ivory-towered, hallowed halls of acadème. An elitist "constitutional law professor" she ain't. Lastly, she evens some scores, explains her views on the 2008 campaign, and the like. This is the part you've probably read about, and it is the least interesting part of the book. More interesting is her drive-time talk with Bristol (pp. 357-358) on how hard it is to open a business with Mr. Obama's tax and spend policies hanging over people's head. This is how the actual movers and shakers of the country talk and think.
All in all, pretty good, not the best, not a piece of crap either.
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LibraryThing member cbjorke
I read Going Rogue so you don't have to.
As I understand it Sarah Palin locked herself in an apartment somewhere in California and banged this book out on her laptop in about six weeks. That's pretty darned fast by golly!
Other than some very colorful stuff about growing up in Alaska, eating God's
Everything that went wrong with the McCain campaign was the fault of staffers who were trying to control the message and the VP candidate.
Katie Couric was out to get her in order to save her own faltering TV career.
The real answer to the famous "what newspapers do you read" question is AM radio talk shows.
Palin made surreptitious calls to Rush Limbaugh from the campaign bus.
McCain campaign "headquarters" scuttled the McCain campaign in their attempt to suppress Sarah Palin. They should have let her do her own thing.
She doesn't like fancy clothes and would rather have worn her thirft shop wardrobe on the campaign trail.
They told her to take those clothes home. She didn't want them.
People can be really mean. (Actually I already knew this.)
Obama is still really a secret terrorist and he is behind all the bogus ethics charges leveled against Palin since before she was tapped for the McCain campaign, including Troopergate.
Sarah Palin dresses up as Tina Fey for Halloween. (How can you tell she's in costume?)
Saturday Night Live was fun, especially the Sarah Palin Rap scene.
What bridge to nowhere? Never heard of it.
Conservatives are high minded and don't run dirty campaigns. Lee Atwater, who's that?
Todd is still hot.
As I understand it Sarah Palin locked herself in an apartment somewhere in California and banged this book out on her laptop in about six weeks. That's pretty darned fast by golly!
Other than some very colorful stuff about growing up in Alaska, eating God's
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creatures that found their place next to the potatoes and carrying firewood up the the woodstove in the family room above the garage in order to watch The Brady Bunch in comfort I learned:Everything that went wrong with the McCain campaign was the fault of staffers who were trying to control the message and the VP candidate.
Katie Couric was out to get her in order to save her own faltering TV career.
The real answer to the famous "what newspapers do you read" question is AM radio talk shows.
Palin made surreptitious calls to Rush Limbaugh from the campaign bus.
McCain campaign "headquarters" scuttled the McCain campaign in their attempt to suppress Sarah Palin. They should have let her do her own thing.
She doesn't like fancy clothes and would rather have worn her thirft shop wardrobe on the campaign trail.
They told her to take those clothes home. She didn't want them.
People can be really mean. (Actually I already knew this.)
Obama is still really a secret terrorist and he is behind all the bogus ethics charges leveled against Palin since before she was tapped for the McCain campaign, including Troopergate.
Sarah Palin dresses up as Tina Fey for Halloween. (How can you tell she's in costume?)
Saturday Night Live was fun, especially the Sarah Palin Rap scene.
What bridge to nowhere? Never heard of it.
Conservatives are high minded and don't run dirty campaigns. Lee Atwater, who's that?
Todd is still hot.
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LibraryThing member anawkwardreader
I don't know why I did this to myself.
LibraryThing member flameintofire
I'm a big fan of reading biographies and yet I struggled through this one. Its probably the scientist in me but there are so many comments or statements that are thrown around in here without any references or sources. What bothered me the most is how she goes on about how the media misrepresented
If anything this book sold me on how a two party system can be limiting for true governance, how women in politics are judged according to a different standard than men and how much money political campaigns waste.
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her and then uses media sources to attack her opponents. I would have expected someone who had been torn apart by the media to take what these same sources presented as "truth" with a grain of salt. If anything this book sold me on how a two party system can be limiting for true governance, how women in politics are judged according to a different standard than men and how much money political campaigns waste.
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LibraryThing member aarrott
As this book abundantly shows, Palin continues an oft-repeated American story: The authentic leader rejected as country bumpkin by entrenched gatekeepers of a prevailing social-political order. Her story is so reminiscent of Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan that one wonders what
(If you are of the inclination to judge people by their choice of quotations of others, the quotes in this book alone indicate that Sarah Palin's mind is well-centered, incisive, and no-nonsense. )
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greatness lies ahead for both her and the country she serves. (If you are of the inclination to judge people by their choice of quotations of others, the quotes in this book alone indicate that Sarah Palin's mind is well-centered, incisive, and no-nonsense. )
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LibraryThing member NightHawk777
This was a good read. It started a little slow, beginning in her early childhood. Once she gets on a town council, then it gets interesting.
When the last presidential campaigns were going on, and she entered the stage, it was a moment to remember. Ever after that, I wondered, what happened to the
When you get to the sections regarding the 2008 campaign, you will see.
There are also a lot of responses to what I consider an unbelievable amount of garbage being thrown at Sarah, and even worst, her family, kids, grandkids.
I believe this is where a lot of sympathy comes from for Sarah Palin. She doesn't seem to complain about it. But we all see it. Really now, didn't Pres. Obama have his kids out there? Didn't McCain? What about Joe Biden? But I don't recall the press going after these others kids. It's really inexcusable, imo.
I could see this book irritating both die hard Republicans and Democrats.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
When the last presidential campaigns were going on, and she entered the stage, it was a moment to remember. Ever after that, I wondered, what happened to the
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Sarah Palin from that first time when she accepted to run as VP? When you get to the sections regarding the 2008 campaign, you will see.
There are also a lot of responses to what I consider an unbelievable amount of garbage being thrown at Sarah, and even worst, her family, kids, grandkids.
I believe this is where a lot of sympathy comes from for Sarah Palin. She doesn't seem to complain about it. But we all see it. Really now, didn't Pres. Obama have his kids out there? Didn't McCain? What about Joe Biden? But I don't recall the press going after these others kids. It's really inexcusable, imo.
I could see this book irritating both die hard Republicans and Democrats.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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LibraryThing member dele2451
I recommend this book for those on both sides of the US political fence as well as international readers interested in the working of US politics. While I felt the book was both honest and informative, I must say from a literary standpoint, it began a bit slowly. (Much like looking thru somebody
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else's high school yearbook or baby album, reminiscing about childhood memories is usually only interesting to spectators for a short while if they weren't there.) However, once the accounts of city council/mayoral/governor and presidential politics begins, it gains traction and is a much better read. (I'd like to add a personal reminder to my fellow LT reviewers, we're here to rate books, not politicians. If you'd like to express your political views, it would be more appropriate to use the talk/discussion areas of this site, rather than the review section.) Show Less
LibraryThing member lillieammann
I enjoyed reading Sarah Palin's story in her own words. I appreciated that she admitted mistakes she had made, and I especially like that she ended the book with a call to readers to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
LibraryThing member Dangraham
A good insight into the mind of Sarah Palin - helped explain a lot of what happened during the last election.
LibraryThing member hermit
This seemed to be more of a memoir than an autobiography but it gives us a quick introduction to Sarah Palins' life in Alaska growing up, how she met her husband. She seems to be very open about her family and friends. You can tell by the writing style that Mrs. Palin wrote the book herself as the
Sarah Palin shares her drive to help her community that first got her into local politics that would eventually take her into the Governor's mansion of Alaska and then the campaign trail as candidate for the Vice President of the United States on the McCain/Palin ticket. Her competitive no non-sense spirit and practical view of life is one many Americans can relate too. Her record as Mayor and Governor speak for themselves and she does write about how she was able to move through some of her policies for the benefit of the people she governed. But for a quick synopsis of her accomplishments as Governor she allows a rather forthright letter written by an Alaskan Citizen to itemize her gubernatorial accomplishments.
Besides the focus on her family and her ethics what I found very interesting about this book was the behind the scenes look at the national political scene and what transpires to those even when they think they are out of the lime light. The affects on Palins' political and family life that a national election can elicit were amazing. It is not that the reader is not already aware of how the media and certain individuals are not ethical and only know how to destroy persons instead of debate policy; but we see all the affects on a person who is doing all she can to help.
The false allegations that were used to attack her on the campaign trial and when it was over and she tried to return to governing the state. The unethical attacks on her in an ever mounting filing of ethic violations that would cost her more in legal fees than she had ever earned in public office to defend. And to me what makes it worse is that not one filing was a valid complaint, she was found to be free of all wrongdoing and it was she that promoted the ethics procedures. Which as we read apply in Alaska only to the executive branch with no punishment for those who file false claims.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and found that she was just another hard working faith-filled American. But the greater truth of the book in my opinion is it shows why good people will not run for political office. It is amazing that people like Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, are willing to go through all these unjust attacks and false allegations for the good of their constituents. It is a tribute to their strength and sense of duty even if that includes knowing when to step down.
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structure is in her conversational tone and not that of a professional biographer that many use and claim as their own writing. I found this rather refreshing. She shared with us those who had influenced her and assisted her in personal and political life. An interesting story of an American that saw a job that needed to be done and accepted the challenge.Sarah Palin shares her drive to help her community that first got her into local politics that would eventually take her into the Governor's mansion of Alaska and then the campaign trail as candidate for the Vice President of the United States on the McCain/Palin ticket. Her competitive no non-sense spirit and practical view of life is one many Americans can relate too. Her record as Mayor and Governor speak for themselves and she does write about how she was able to move through some of her policies for the benefit of the people she governed. But for a quick synopsis of her accomplishments as Governor she allows a rather forthright letter written by an Alaskan Citizen to itemize her gubernatorial accomplishments.
Besides the focus on her family and her ethics what I found very interesting about this book was the behind the scenes look at the national political scene and what transpires to those even when they think they are out of the lime light. The affects on Palins' political and family life that a national election can elicit were amazing. It is not that the reader is not already aware of how the media and certain individuals are not ethical and only know how to destroy persons instead of debate policy; but we see all the affects on a person who is doing all she can to help.
The false allegations that were used to attack her on the campaign trial and when it was over and she tried to return to governing the state. The unethical attacks on her in an ever mounting filing of ethic violations that would cost her more in legal fees than she had ever earned in public office to defend. And to me what makes it worse is that not one filing was a valid complaint, she was found to be free of all wrongdoing and it was she that promoted the ethics procedures. Which as we read apply in Alaska only to the executive branch with no punishment for those who file false claims.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and found that she was just another hard working faith-filled American. But the greater truth of the book in my opinion is it shows why good people will not run for political office. It is amazing that people like Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, are willing to go through all these unjust attacks and false allegations for the good of their constituents. It is a tribute to their strength and sense of duty even if that includes knowing when to step down.
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LibraryThing member KidSisyphus
Raised as an incubator for a satanic cult in the Ozarks, Reverend Sarah Homilee is mother to dozens of children -- all the unfortunate victims of ritual killing. Her life would change one day when she won a scholarship to Oral Roberts University as the result of a raffle drawing from a traveling
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faith-healer. Although the faith-healer was subsequently cannibalized by the cult, Reverend Homilee was intrigued by the scholarship because she, "...thought there were a bunch of guys named Robert who were into oral." Through wit, charm and sexual favor, Reverend Homilee would work her way from the Ozarks to the university over the span of several weeks. Once there, she would immerse herself in academia and completed both her undergraduate and graduate work for the fledgling discipline of Environmental Engineering in an astonishing nine months. Upon graduation, Reverend Homilee was heralded by Time Magazine as a "Mother Teresa for the Twenty-First Century" and vowed to dedicate her life to providing for the world's needy. Unfortunately, her philanthropic future was squelched when it would be discovered that she utilized her undergraduate internship as a telephone prayer partner with the Trinity Broadcasting Network as a forum for phone sex. Her degrees were subsequently revoked by ORU and she was forced to earn her ministerial certificate through the Nectar of Life correspondence school. Disastrously, her paperwork was confused with the school's other service, mail-order brides, and she was sold to an Alaskan entrepreneur. Tragically, Reverend Homilee has not been seen since the spring of 1998, when she wandered into the Alaskan tundra, nude, to pursue a vision of Christ. However, the native Eskimos claim she has mated with the local fauna, mothering a mutant race of man-beasts. This was dismissed as little more than neo-myth by investigating anthropologists, until they discovered the tracks of several hoofed bipeds near Nome. Show Less
LibraryThing member judithrs
Going Rogue: an American Life. Sarah Palin. 2009. This book was a disappointment. While I found the descriptions of her early life and life in Alaska interesting, the writing was pedestrian and the insights were nothing new.
LibraryThing member Jarratt
I'm not much of an "autobiography" reader, but I really enjoyed this book. I think she outlined her life and work quite well. I'm a staunch conservative, but needed to see for myself what made her the person she is. I was quite impressed with the way she approached the ethics problems and energy
And for those of you who say it was ghost written, just consider this: She WAS a journalism major in college, so it's not like the woman can't write.
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issues in Alaska. Her stint as Alaska governor gives her much more executive experience than Obama has ever had and of course I think her values and political ideas are much stronger--and better proven historically--than BO's. For those of you who think she's just an empty-headed floozy, I'd encourage you to at least read the last two chapters. The 2nd to last outlines her political ideas and values, while the last is an email from a native Alaskan who very succinctly outlined her accomplishments as governor.And for those of you who say it was ghost written, just consider this: She WAS a journalism major in college, so it's not like the woman can't write.
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LibraryThing member Tommie1
I am not big on reading about other peoples lives, however there are some interesting things that handcuffed Sara during her campaign for VP. She raises good points about protocol, or this is the way we do it.
LibraryThing member jpstrat
A must read for anyone who wants to hear "her side" of the story. It is very difficult to understand why she is so hated by some people.
LibraryThing member kathyceo
I agree that this is a good read for anyone who wonders who is this woman, how she became chosen and the inside scoop on the campaign trail. It is very much her voice, with straight talk and you betcha's. She shows herself as a person of conviction, purposeful and thoughtful, regardless of ones
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opionion of her readiness/ competence for national office. Show Less
LibraryThing member br77rino
The first half is an interesting account of an interesting family. The Heaths travel from Idaho to Alaska. Sarah's father was a schoolteacher and a coach, and loved the outdoors enough to move them all to the big country of Alaska. Her husband Todd's family comes from further north, his grandmother
Of course, this lovely life takes a major hit when John McCain calls on her. The second half describing her VP run and what happens after is rather discouraging to read - first the micromanagement by the mysterious and ever-present "headquarters" (and her lamentable acquiescence given the strength she clearly shows in her pre-McCain life), and then the smear campaigns from the left which cross the line over and over again and don't even let up after they lose the election, effectively forcing her to resign as governor of the state which she clearly loves.
But for that first half, it's a great story and well worth the read: portrayals of good people just don't come along anymore (if they ever did). And the pictures are not to be missed! There's a wealth of grainy color family photographs here that are quite engaging. My favorite is the one of her and her son Track at his military graduation. She is absolutely beaming with pride. And we learn from the text that the McCain campaign tried to get her to miss his graduation, but, in that instance at least, she reverted to form and held firm.
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being an Eskimo, and he and Sarah meet in high school and marry soon after. Sarah's political career, taking on the powers that be and becoming first city council member, then mayor, then Governor, is vicariously exhilirating. Of course, this lovely life takes a major hit when John McCain calls on her. The second half describing her VP run and what happens after is rather discouraging to read - first the micromanagement by the mysterious and ever-present "headquarters" (and her lamentable acquiescence given the strength she clearly shows in her pre-McCain life), and then the smear campaigns from the left which cross the line over and over again and don't even let up after they lose the election, effectively forcing her to resign as governor of the state which she clearly loves.
But for that first half, it's a great story and well worth the read: portrayals of good people just don't come along anymore (if they ever did). And the pictures are not to be missed! There's a wealth of grainy color family photographs here that are quite engaging. My favorite is the one of her and her son Track at his military graduation. She is absolutely beaming with pride. And we learn from the text that the McCain campaign tried to get her to miss his graduation, but, in that instance at least, she reverted to form and held firm.
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LibraryThing member highlander6022
Disappointing in regard to revelations of much of anything new - but the book did help me make a decision that while Sarah may have some important things to say (things that should be paid attention to by Americans and the news media without name-calling or immediate dismissal or ridicule), I most
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likely would not support her as a presidential candidate Show Less
LibraryThing member 4bonasa
Worth reading, if she decides to continue in politics a must read before forming an opinon of her.
LibraryThing member wenzowsa
Oh god, if you're wealthy enough to have a ghost writer write your book then at least hire a decent ghost writer.
This book was awful.
This book was awful.
LibraryThing member SigmundFraud
an interesting read. a good take on life in Alaska which is much more frontier than I had realized. It makes one appreciate how one woman pulled herself up by her own bootstraps to become and enormous success and a revered public figure.
LibraryThing member br14alke
Going rogue by Sarah Palin was a “unique” book. It did not hold my attention, and at times i found myself getting lost. Going Rogue is basically about Sarah Palin the Governor of the state of Alaska. The book is about everything from her miscarriage, to The moment Senator John Mccain asked her
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to be his running mate. The only problem, no one cares. Don't get me wrong i'm sure some super GOP member is all over this book, but there was so much information about her childhood that was irrelevant to the story line. I would not recommend this book to anyone, not even a political lover like myself. Show Less
LibraryThing member jclark88
While Sarah Palin isn't going to win any literary awards for her writing, I found this book to be interesting and engaging. The flow seemed to be off somehow as anecdotes and stories sometimes seemed to be added in to a section as an after thought or after the section was already written. She did
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share a lot of interesting tidbits about running for VP (as well as her other campaigns), and she did a good job of refuting things that were said about her and giving her side of the story. However, I couldn't help but wish she would have given even more details and more stories about her VP run. She did a good job of laying it all out there in her own unique style as far as the things she actually talked about but I would have liked even more straight talk and more details. Overall, however, I found it informative and entertaining. Show Less
Awards
Delete Key Award (Finalist — 2010)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
9.29 inches
ISBN
9780061939891