The Politician An Insiders Account of John Edwardss Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That B
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The Politician An Insiders Account of John Edwardss Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That B Editorial Reviews
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“The greatest political saga, the one that has it all, that gets to the real heart of American politics, is the John Edwards story... This isn’t just politics, it’s literature. It’s the great American novel, the kind that isn’t written anymore.” --Michael Wolff on John Edwards's trajectory, on VanityFair.com
The underside of modern American politics -- raw ambition, manipulation, and deception -- are revealed in detail by Andrew Young’s riveting account of a presidential hopeful’s meteoric rise and scandalous fall. Like a non-fiction version of All the King’s Men, The Politician offers a truly disturbing, even shocking perspective on the risks taken and tactics employed by a man determined to rule the most powerful nation on earth.
Idealistic and ambitious, Andrew Young volunteered for the John Edwards campaign for Senate in 1998 and quickly became the candidate’s right hand man. As the senator became a national star, Young’s responsibilities grew. For a decade he was this politician’s confidant and he was assured he was ‘like family.” In time, however, Young was drawn into a series of questionable assignments that culminated with Edwards asking him to help conceal the Senator’s ongoing adultery. Days before the 2008 presidential primaries began, Young gained international notoriety when he told the world that he was the father of a child being carried by a woman named Rielle Hunter, who was actually the senator’s mistress. While Young began a life on the run, hiding from the press with his family and alleged mistress, John Edwards continued to pursue the presidency and then the Vice Presidency in the future Obama administration.
Young had been the senator’s closest aide and most trusted friend. He believed that John Edwards could be a great president, and was assured throughout the cover-up that his boss and friend would ultimately step forward to both tell the truth and protect his aide’s career. Neither promise was kept. Not only a moving personal account of Andrew Young’s political education, THE POLITICIAN offers a look at the trajectory which made John Edwards the ideal Democratic candidate for president, and the hubris which brought him down, leaving his career, his marriage and his dreams in ashes.
The Politician An Insiders Account of John Edwardss Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal That B Customer Reviews:
Average Rating: 4.0 (239 reviews)
Rating: 1 (Don't support this money grab....) Was helpful to 36 from 204 votes
Andrew Young has demonstrated what he is. Buying his book only rewards him for his behavior. You can read all you need to know about him and John Edwards in the media. Don't allow Andrew Young to profit from his attempts to deceive the American public and his turning traitor to his former boss.
Rating: 5 (MIND BLOWING !!!!) Was helpful to 294 from 334 votes
If someone had asked me three years ago what the future for John Edwards would look like, I most certainly would have said he would one day be President of the United States. He had everything going for him--wonderful wife, lovely children, the story of a dad finding the strength to overcome the death of his teenage boy, wealth most of us can only dream of, a background as a tremendously successful lawyer, an already established career as a US senator, charismatic speaking ability, good looks, a clean past, a failed, yet flattering showing as John Kerry's running mate, and a reputation as a populist who was willing to fight for poor people like no one else. Enter 2008 and Edwards' admission of having an affair with Rielle Hunter. And then fast-forward to 2010 and the admission of fathering a child that all of us already knew was his. Oh how the mighty have fallen! The book is written by a true insider, and whether you agree with that idea or not, Andrew Young isn't shy about opening up.
I remember first hearing about the affair back in 2008. I couldn't believe it--not because I enjoy judging people who cheat--that's none of my business--but rather for the unforgivable timing of it...and I think most Americans felt the same way. His wife had incurable cancer for God's sake! And he had been a serious candidate for the democratic nomination. His asking for my vote made the affair "my business" because in most cases (save Clinton) cheating on your wife is an automatic political disqualifier--and Edwards knew this yet did it anyway. I remember saying, "You mean to tell me that this guy was running a serious campaign with the complete knowledge that he had had this intense affair?" What if he had gotten the nomination, won the presidency, and just before the inauguration this had all come out? Democrats would have been ROYALY screwed and Republicans would have been dancing in the streets.
The book makes this point well beyond what I just said. Young not only points all of this out with great depth, but he tells us much more, and it is so shocking that it's hard to believe. But considering that ever since the book's release date was made public, Edwards has admitted fathering the child and the Edwards' have split up, I think the book has solid credibility as a result. They wanted to air all of their dirty laundry before the American people could read about it. Perhaps they were thinking that this would take some of the shock value away. Well, it did no such thing. Most of what is in the book is news to me and will be news to you. It will be interesting to see what parts of it the Edwards' try to deny and discredit, because right now, I want to believe that a lot of this is false.
At first I couldn't believe that a close Edwards ally was disgusting enough to spew all of this private information in a book. But it needed to be written because the Edwards' ran for the presidency while deceiving the American people. And they will pay a painful price for the rest of their lives. They don't need me to pile on. I have compassion for them. People don't have to be perfect for me to like them. Unfortunately, for the Edwards', many people want to worship unflawed individuals. But the book made me realize how the world of high stakes politics can tear even the most decent people down, eat away at them, and lead them to do the unimaginable. It made me wonder if Elizabeth wanted the White House more than John did. I read just about everything to do with the current political discourse and climate. I'm a political junkie. And if you like reading about the intimate details of a family clawing its way to the powerful, political top, and want to understand the mind-blowing things that can happen on that journey, "The Politician" is for you. I've read two books this year that stopped me in my tracks and shook the heck out of me--71 Days: The Media Assault On Obama by Michael Jason Overstreet and this one. Both are extraordinarily and shockingly eye opening and historically powerful. 71 Days: The Media Assault On Obama will likely get some people in the media FIRED!!!
Rating: 5 (Fantastic, a page turner) Was helpful to 128 from 150 votes
I bought this book and read it in one sitting and you will too. It is almost impossible to beleive that this is not fiction. It reads like one of the best of Dominick Dunne's tales of power and privelege run amok. But its all true, nobody comes out of this one smelling like a rose, nobody, but Edwards and the women who surround him are actually frightening!
Whatever the authours sins of ommision or commision are, he is a nice man who is clearly trying to put his life back in the face of a surfeit of failed idealsim. Not one wasted page, its a gripping read, most fun book I have read in a long while.
Rating: 1 (Author reveals the BOOK IS NOT TRUTHFUL) Was helpful to 20 from 122 votes
In court last week Andrew Young was pressed about the truthfulness of his book. Andrew's response? "I will not allege the book is truthful." What a waste of everyone's time. Why didn't he just fess up he was writing FICTION. Nothing but scums in this whole sordid story. I only worry about Elizabeth and the children. They never deserved this.
Rating: 4 (How Gullible... Most Edwards Fanboys Are, LOL.) Was helpful to 34 from 51 votes
With all due respect, Mr. Gordon. Mr. Edwards was never an established anything other than as a trial lawyer. A medical malpractice trial lawyer, that is (wonder how our health insurance is so high?). I live in Mr. Edwards hometown and I have never once believed in a thing he said. He spent most of his short time as a senator campaigning for president of vp. He did not do a thing for the people of NC as a senator. Most people, mostly because of the liberal press, fell in love with him because of what? He was good looking? His nice hair? Some had even likened him to JFK. Can you come up with a better insult to JFK than that? Edwards's eyes blink 50 times a minute when he speaks. As he has admitted it himself, he is nothing but narcissist. It is an irony that the he made a name for himself with his speech, on the senate floor as a freshman senator from NC, of all things, criticizing Bill Clinton for the then President's affair with the Monica;-). His wife's image was all fabricated by the press as well. Her illness aside, this is a woman who "stood by her man" even after she found out that he had cheated on her on the campaign trail. Did she do that for him? the country? the Democratic Party? No, no, and no. She did that for her. She wanted to be the First Lady; she loved the spotlight as much as he did. Both of them a nothing but a power hungry, selfish couple. You are who you are. You deserve what you deserve (not including her illness, of course).
... I like the book. It is interesting. Cant wait to finish Game Change either.
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