Political Books

I survived Glenn Beck's Christmas spectacular

Mike Madden — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:40:00 PST

There is, it turns out, something far more terrifying than Glenn Beck, political philosopher. On Thursday night, the world met Glenn Beck, empathetic life coach.

Palin's book sales top one million

Alex Koppelman — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:01:00 PST

From the moment it was announced, it was clear that Sarah Palin's memoir "Going Rogue" would be a bestseller. But the size of the book's success is still pretty amazing: According to Greg Sargent, more than one million copies have now been sold. That's after a first week in which 700,000 were bought.

Democrat goes rogue, declares Palin's book "great"!

Sandra Tsing-Loh — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:20:00 PST

Now hold your horses, you snarky, lefty, NPR-listening, New York Times-subscribing readers of Salon. I haven't jumped ship to declare Sarah Palin herself "great." I'm from California, after all; I am not a creationist, I am not pro-life, I have never shot a moose. Nor is my culinary specialty an Alaskan dish called "moose chili." Here on the Left Coast, along with our hummus, we prefer "turkey chili," which is perhaps less gamey and lower in fat but in the end, I ask you, is it really more humane? (Who killed the turkey? Was it a person or a corporation? This Trader Joe's we speak of -- is he union? Is his name actually "Joe"? And what is his relation to Big Oil's manipulation of the rising price of Bristol Bay canned fishery salmon to 27 cents a pound?) These are the complexities one ponders at night while falling asleep under the gristly if at times oddly tasty caribou stew that is Sarah Palin's new 400-plus-page memoir.

McCain defends former aides from Palin's criticism

Alex Koppelman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:40:00 PST

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has been facing a conundrum lately: Sarah Palin's new book is filled with explicit criticism of his campaign staff, and in some cases even implicit criticism of him personally. But it wouldn't look good for him to lock horns with her publicly, and the Republican base clearly favors Palin anyway. Last week, McCain reportedly asked former senior staffers not to publicly respond to her charges.

"Going Rogue" -- the shorter version

Thomas Rogers — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:18:00 PST

Sarah Palin's memoir, "Going Rogue," finally goes on sale today, after already producing an avalanche of criticism worthy of Proust. (Rush Limbaugh proclaims it "one of the most substantive policy books I've read.")

Palin's book goes rogue on the facts

CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:01:00 PST

Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over time.

Claim in Palin's book already disputed

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:25:00 PST

It wasn't hard to predict that Sarah Palin's forthcoming memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Life," would feature some dubious claims, including ones that would be disputed and even debunked pretty quickly. It is, however, a little surprising to see that one assertion Palin reportedly makes in the book has been challenged days before the book is set to be released, and while it's still under an embargo.

Palin's "Going Rogue" tour will stick to friendly territory

Emily Holleman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:20:00 PST

The itinerary for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s much anticipated “Going Rogue” book tour has some glaring omissions: The liberal bastions of New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle have all been snubbed. Instead, Palin has opted to visit a group of 25 smaller cities in the heart of what she might call “real America,” including Birmingham, Ala., Roanoke, Va. and Fort Wayne, Ind.

"Going Rouge: An American Nightmare"

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:30:00 PDT

It seems former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's book will have a little competition, and from the moment it's released, no less. Palin's memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Story," is set to be released on Nov. 17. On the same day, a small publishing house, OR Books, will be releasing "Going Rouge: Sarah Palin -- An American Nightmare." As you might imagine, it's not going to portray the former governor in a very flattering light.

Our dumb media: Do we need to know more about Lewinsky?

Joan Walsh — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:06:00 PDT

After hailing the possibilities of blogging a book review last week -- in my first thoughts on Taylor Branch's epic "The Clinton Tapes" -- I've found a good reason not to blog, real-time, about what you're reading: You don't have to finish the book to opine about it, and thus (if you're busy) you might never finish the book.

Reading "The Clinton Tapes," thinking about Obama

Joan Walsh — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:31:00 PDT

I need a break from the rhetorical outrage beat. I was going to write about the Newsmax columnist who all but advocated a military coup to bring down Obama, then I was pondering a post about Rep. Alan Grayson's claim that the GOP health reform plan amounts to if you get sick, "die quickly." But I'm tired of overheated rhetoric right now, (plus the indefatiguable Alex Koppelman got to both stories first!) so I took refuge in Taylor Branch's new book, "The Clinton Tapes." I had planned to review it, but it's almost 700 pages, and I have a day job. If I took the time to read it and then write about the whole thing, it would be weeks before I'd get it done -- and I think the book has insights that are supremely relevant to today.

Glenn Beck is the future of literary fiction

Steve Almond — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:10:00 PDT

For lovers of great literature, as well as rational political discourse, the New York Times Bestseller List can be a depressing place to visit.

The un-American way of life

Andrew O'Hehir — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:03:00 PDT

Most adults now living were born during the Cold War, a 45-year standoff between competing political and economic systems that threatened civilization with nuclear annihilation and asked virtually every human being on earth to pick a side. One of those systems was called Communism, and it cast such a long, dark shadow across the 20th century that it's amazing to reflect how thoroughly it has vanished from the scene and how poorly its history is understood.

Body count

Charles Taylor — Fri, 22 Oct 1999 09:00:00 PDT

In 1996, as Pat Buchanan's second presidential campaign was fading fast into irrelevancy, Bill Maher delivered this coup de grbce: "Nobody's following Buchanan now except Simon Wiesenthal."

Counter-evolutionary

Mark Wallace — Thu, 19 Aug 1999 09:00:00 PDT

Why the state of Kansas is not more often recognized as a seat of 20th century American literature is a mystery to me. From Langston Hughes to Truman Capote to William Burroughs, authors have long found in its windswept towns and uncluttered reaches the perfect backdrop against which to conjure remarkable characters.

"The Stakeholder Society"

Dustin Beilke — Wed, 28 Apr 1999 09:00:00 PDT

The idea is at once simple and grand, basic and big: Upon entering college or turning 21 (whichever comes first), every American will receive $20,000 a year for four years, to dispose of as he or she sees fit. Initially the program will be funded by a "wealth tax" on the people who have derived the most benefit from the United States' increasingly skewed distribution of income and property; it will eventually be paid for by $250,000 contributions from the estates of deceased program recipients. The $80,000 will give a genuine head start to every young person, regardless of his or her parents' wealth or parenting abilities; it will also deprive future generations of the excuse that they never made anything of themselves because they lacked the money to pursue their opportunities.