It's much better than some reviews let on, at least so far (I'm about 200 pages in). It looks like book critics just skimmed it in the rush to publish something as soon after the release date as they could.
Mostly the book is a mix of personal stories, recollections of important American historical events, and relatively hardcore political analysis (like how a given candidate made a tactical error that ended up costing him an election, for example). The political material is a somewhat harder read than everything else, but it's well worth it, and on the whole the pages are flying by.
Favorite quotes so far:
--On learning door-to-door retail politics in Arkansas:
--On campaiging for McGovern in 1972:
Mostly the book is a mix of personal stories, recollections of important American historical events, and relatively hardcore political analysis (like how a given candidate made a tactical error that ended up costing him an election, for example). The political material is a somewhat harder read than everything else, but it's well worth it, and on the whole the pages are flying by.
Favorite quotes so far:
--On learning door-to-door retail politics in Arkansas:
...I think it works better than TV air wars. You could talk, but you had to listen too. You had to answer voters' tough questions face-to-face. Of course, you could still be demonized, but at least your adversaries had to work harder to do it. And when you took a shot at your opponent, you had to take it, not hide behind some bogus committee that expected to make a killing from your time in office if its attacks destroyed the other candidate.
--On campaiging for McGovern in 1972:
I worked South Texas with Franklin Garcia, a tough labor organizer with a tender heart, and his friend Pat Robards. One night Franklin and Pat drove Hillary and me over the Rio Grande to Matamoros, Mexico. They took us to a dive with a mariachi band, a halfhearted stripper, and a menu that featured cabrito, barbequed goat head. I was so exhausted I fell asleep while the stripper was dancing and the goat head was looking up at me.