August 3, 2009
A staff writer and editor at the New Yorker
, Hertzberg (Politics
) paints a triptych of the 2008 presidential campaign, opening with “The Wreckage,” mostly Bush's second term (September 10, 2004–June 29, 2007) through “The Marathon” of the primaries (August 10, 2007–June 5, 2008), and closing with “The Sprint” to the presidency (June 13, 2008–November 7, 2008). Fearlessly liberal and passionately partisan (“I've followed the Obama phenomenon with the tracks of my tears”), Hertzberg's book is a “real-time, contemporaneous record” of the last days of the Bush administration and its “crimes and misdemeanors that have inflicted unprecedented disgrace on our country's moral and political standing” as well as a blow-by blow of the campaign, with juicy analysis of the diversionary role played by political pundits. Readers similarly enraptured with the president's “political magic” will bask in the book's informative and witty discussion; those who don't share the author's “Obamaphilia” might find this an effusive and imbalanced rehashing of recent history.
Starred review from August 15, 2009
A collection of astute articles penned as longtime New Yorker writer Hertzberg (Politics: Observations and Arguments, 1966–2004, 2004, etc.) watched Barack Obama's historic presidential campaign.
It was the longest, most expensive and, arguably, the most important presidential election in American history, one that"was as severe a test of stamina and character as any our fundamentally sadistic policy system has ever imposed on a set of candidates." Veteran political analyst Hertzberg, who also served as Jimmy Carter's speechwriter, reveled in every detail. His collection of short pieces, dated from September 2004 (the Democratic National Convention) to November 2008 (the election), provide a real-time synthesis of everything from the early debates to the veracity of the blogosphere—the articles included here are culled from the"Comments" section of the New Yorker's"Talk of the Town" and from Hertzberg's political blog. When parsing Republican nominees and their platforms, the author is consistently fair, though unabashedly liberal. His admiration for Obama is conveyed in eloquent, rigorous prose, and his criticism of attack advertisements and the legacy of the Bush administration are bolstered by deep knowledge of political history and verifiable facts. Hertzberg effectively demonstrates how the election was momentous not just because a Democrat was elected in a time of Republican distress, but because it forever altered the political landscape: A black man won the Democratic nomination for the first time in history; a female vice-presidential candidate challenged the paradigm of political experience; issues such as health care, the environment and the economy trumped the fear-mongering campaigns of the last several cycles; journalism as an industry and an institution was challenged by the egalitarian proliferation of live-bloggers. Without sacrificing the sublime wordplay that devoted New Yorker fans hold dear, the author presents an incisive, profound and intellectually challenging commentary on a landmark series of events in American political history.
The perfect book with which to recall and appreciate the significance of Obama's journey to the White House.
(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
October 15, 2009
The New Yorkers Hertzberg writes a political column the way the best jazzmen play their instruments. He riffs on an established tune but makes you listen in new ways. In this chronicle of Barack Obamas presidential run (beginning in 2006), Hertzberg has the opportunity to improvise around a whole new melody, and those who read these columns when they were originally published in the New Yorker (and as pieces on his blog) were justly impressed with the combination of shrewd analysis and a smart, knowing voice. That real-time view and the attraction of having all of Hertzbergs early writing on Obama in one place (along with an introduction both sharp and sentimental) recommends purchase of this volume. However, theres no mistaking the fact that these essays chronicle events that seem to have happened a very long time ago. Still, an occasional piece seems au courant. In Attack Dog Days, Hertzberg writes about the alternative universe where Obama is called everything from corrupt to enraged, from Communist to terrorist. Now that could have been written yesterday.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)