Still A Darn Good Read
A slew of don't-miss books go back a ways
Some of the most illuminating works about the current crop of candidates have been on bookshelves for years:
Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games by Mitt Romney (2004)
• Yes, this is a case study of how Romney saved 2002's debt- and scandal-plagued Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Turnaround does offer enlightening details about Romney's upbringing and his faith. For the most part, though, it's a readable ticktock of how he cleaned house and boosted morale at the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton (2003)
• Though she's coy about some of the scandals that have dogged her and her husband, Clinton nonetheless pulls back the curtain on many episodes in a one-of-a-kind political life, like scheduling a two-hour lunch with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to get advice on raising a child in the White House. She also gripes about being pigeonholed as "either a hardworking professional woman or a conscientious and caring host."
Four Trials by John Edwards with John Auchard (2003)
• Edwards recounts his years as a trial lawyer for injured blue-collar plaintiffs battling the medical and corporate establishments. Brimming with courtroom drama and richly drawn characters, each tale in the quartet ends with an ever larger jury award, even though the future senator usually faced long odds.
Leadership by Rudolph W. Giuliani (2002)
• "America's Mayor" dishes on a proudly heavy-handed management style that helped resuscitate New York City and lead it through 9/11's aftermath.
Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City by Andrew Kirtzman (2000)
• Kirtzman, who covered Giuliani as a Big Apple TV reporter, credits him with bringing the city "back from a state of bedlam," while alleging that "Giuliani's...[need] to destroy those he saw as enemies [was] harrowing to observe."
Faith of My Fathers by John McCain with Mark Salter (1999)
• McCain traces both his bond with the Navy and his maverick streak to his father's and grandfather's naval careers. The senator revels in his forebears' foibles—his grandfather "smoked, swore, drank, and gambled at every opportunity"—as much as their valor. McCain also owns up to a "secret resentment that my life's course seemed so preordained."
Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama (1995)
• Obama tracks his lifelong racial identity crisis as the son of a white American mother and black Kenyan father. After failing to quiet his inner turmoil with drugs and alcohol in high school and attempting to reconnect with the civil rights movement through community organizing, Obama eventually boards a plane for Kenya. There he learns more about his father, who had died years earlier, which helps him come to terms with an unusual heritage.
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