Helpful Score: 9
Governor Palin was obviously unprepared for the national political scene, but vice versa. The best part of the book for me was her take on the 2008 campaign and the way McCain's team (not necessarily McCain, himself) essentially threw her under the bus. The first 2/3 of the book is her biography, which is very interesting when she describes growing up in Alaska, but kind of tedious when she details the political scene in that state. Keeping in mind that this is her personal spin on everything, it is obvious that there is much more to her story than is being shared, probably because of her future aspirations.
At times she is all sour grapes, especially when she discusses her infamous interview with Katie Couric. And her jabs at Obama (mild), Democrats, the media and vegans show a general disrespect for those with which she disagrees. She is not as venomous as Ann Coulter, but Palin speaks with the voice of a divider and not a uniter. She also showcases her thin grasp of both the political process and global affairs throughout the second half of the book. But her compassion for special needs children and her pledge to have government do more for them makes one believe she might be able to effect a positive change in that sphere, should she choose to focus on that important work.
I was interested in her story because I wanted to get it straight from her and not from the national media she so abhors (a somewhat justified position). Whether or not the reader is a political supporter of Gov. Palin, her story is quite fascinating.
At times she is all sour grapes, especially when she discusses her infamous interview with Katie Couric. And her jabs at Obama (mild), Democrats, the media and vegans show a general disrespect for those with which she disagrees. She is not as venomous as Ann Coulter, but Palin speaks with the voice of a divider and not a uniter. She also showcases her thin grasp of both the political process and global affairs throughout the second half of the book. But her compassion for special needs children and her pledge to have government do more for them makes one believe she might be able to effect a positive change in that sphere, should she choose to focus on that important work.
I was interested in her story because I wanted to get it straight from her and not from the national media she so abhors (a somewhat justified position). Whether or not the reader is a political supporter of Gov. Palin, her story is quite fascinating.
Helpful Score: 4
I wasn't sure I was all that interested in reading this, but I got it as a gift and I loved it! I was always a fan of Palin's during the campaign, and this book was a real eye-opener to what she is really all about and her background. The first half of the book deals with her growing up and early years with her husband and her first jobs in the public sector. The second half of the book starts with the McCain camp calling her up and the campaign and the aftermath. She clarifies a lot of the lies and half-truths that were circulating about her during the campaign (and after) and the reason why she wasn't able to defend herself or even have her Alaska staff clarify. I recommend this one for anyone who has an interest in politics or seeing America change for the better.
Helpful Score: 3
BORING!!!!! I made it 125 pages until I started skimming and then gave up altogether. It started out well enough, but it lost my attention after she was elected governor. Rest assured, she has never done anything wrong, she is a wonderful mother, politician (even though she is so unconventional that she is not a politician at all) and wonderful human being. That being said, regardless of her political aspirations etc, I think she is just a regular person who got caught up in a lifestyle she was not ready for. I attempted the read because I though she was just a rregular person, but I think some Washington has seeped in, especially given she almost broke her arm patting herself on the back!
Helpful Score: 2
My friend Ron likes the cute pictures of Todd on the inside and the back cover.
Helpful Score: 1
In all fairness, I decided to read this book after reading Game Change and wanting to hear from the horse's mouth her experience in the 2008 election. The election didn't show up until the very end, so I will start by saying - I enjoyed the first two parts of the book.
Part one - Palin tells of her absolute and unending love for her state - Alaska. I felt like she was writing a love story to Alaska and writing a book trying to convince everyone to move. Me and my dislike for cold weather - I am not convinced!
Part two - Palin's political career pre-2008 election. I found this to be the most interesting part, basically because she was able to brag about her successful career in both the mayor and governor's offices. A great local politician, I believe Palin made a great impact in Alaska. She enacted several initiatives that will benefit Alaska for years to come, but maybe she should have stayed focus on what worked.
Part three- The part that was full of excuse after excuse and left me feeling like I was listening to someone whine, complain and find fault in everyone except herself. I wish I had skipped this part because I could have left with a great feeling of "wow, she has done a ton in her short career," except I left thinking "wow, I don't want her to be President ever." I kept reading this part, hoping that I would become a fan and potentially support her if she made any future runs towards a higher office. I was not convinced because I felt like she kept pointing fingers in every which direction, instead of looking in the mirror and stating that she made some mistakes along the way.
The book - yes, I would recommend it. I loved reading about her family and career in Alaska. Did it make me feel like I would support her future endeavors? Nope, don't think so. Unfortunately, I think she wrote this book in order to gain some support for some future career aspirations.
Part one - Palin tells of her absolute and unending love for her state - Alaska. I felt like she was writing a love story to Alaska and writing a book trying to convince everyone to move. Me and my dislike for cold weather - I am not convinced!
Part two - Palin's political career pre-2008 election. I found this to be the most interesting part, basically because she was able to brag about her successful career in both the mayor and governor's offices. A great local politician, I believe Palin made a great impact in Alaska. She enacted several initiatives that will benefit Alaska for years to come, but maybe she should have stayed focus on what worked.
Part three- The part that was full of excuse after excuse and left me feeling like I was listening to someone whine, complain and find fault in everyone except herself. I wish I had skipped this part because I could have left with a great feeling of "wow, she has done a ton in her short career," except I left thinking "wow, I don't want her to be President ever." I kept reading this part, hoping that I would become a fan and potentially support her if she made any future runs towards a higher office. I was not convinced because I felt like she kept pointing fingers in every which direction, instead of looking in the mirror and stating that she made some mistakes along the way.
The book - yes, I would recommend it. I loved reading about her family and career in Alaska. Did it make me feel like I would support her future endeavors? Nope, don't think so. Unfortunately, I think she wrote this book in order to gain some support for some future career aspirations.
Helpful Score: 1
It's funny how all of the previous reviewers reviewed the person and not the book. With the disclaimer..."I'm reviewing the book not the person... or I'm a liberal Democrat".
The truth of the matter is this book was about her background. Plain and simple, no more and no less.
She is a strong woman with MORAL VALUES. Something that most in this country lack. I guess this is why she is so threatening and "controversial". By the way, she didn't make herself controversial, the left wing media did. She actually through this book seemed like a down to earth, strong and smart family oriented woman.
This book is basically the conservative version of the Audacity of Hope. But I guess Liberals choose to only have an "open mind" only when it comes to their Liberal counterparts.
Like it or not, she represents the Core Values of America and I for one will support that proudly.
The truth of the matter is this book was about her background. Plain and simple, no more and no less.
She is a strong woman with MORAL VALUES. Something that most in this country lack. I guess this is why she is so threatening and "controversial". By the way, she didn't make herself controversial, the left wing media did. She actually through this book seemed like a down to earth, strong and smart family oriented woman.
This book is basically the conservative version of the Audacity of Hope. But I guess Liberals choose to only have an "open mind" only when it comes to their Liberal counterparts.
Like it or not, she represents the Core Values of America and I for one will support that proudly.
Must read for all voters.
You cannot read this book and not be impressed. I pity the poor souls who rely on the main stream media - CNN, MSNBC, the networks, NY Times, etc. for all their Palin "facts".
Of course they are going to lie to you. Get the real story from "Going Rogue".
You cannot read this book and not be impressed. I pity the poor souls who rely on the main stream media - CNN, MSNBC, the networks, NY Times, etc. for all their Palin "facts".
Of course they are going to lie to you. Get the real story from "Going Rogue".
Full disclosure first, I started out as a fan of hers and was anticipating getting this book as a gift, so I had started reading it with the expectation that I already liked it. I didn't know much about her except what you would see in the news, I work long hours and do not dedicate much of my attention to politics. I remembered seeing several stories in the news that just seemed outrageous and strange, and so I was looking forward to finding out the background stories of all the craziness. In that way, it didn't disappoint. Also, I live at the complete opposite end of the country from Alaska, so life in that area is interesting to me as well. On that front, it was also an interesting read. Lots of interesting bits of "day in the life" moments that we don't experience here in the Southern US.
The story was almost what I would call of two voices ... there was the narrative, fact-telling voice of the step-by-step series of events, and then there was the defensive, wounded and outraged voice. Just as an example, you can describe hunting and the process of hunting, and everyone knows what hunting is. Everyone gets the idea that you shoot or trap something, and it ends up on your dinner plate later. However, throughout the book there were constant references to hunting using euphamisms instead ... "obtaining local organic protein sources" and variations of the same ... constantly. I don't like the defensiveness. You know what hunting is, you do it, it's a part of your life and culture, you're not ashamed of it, it is useful to you, so why be defensive about it? The voice of wounded outrage showed itself when describing the many times various staff members backstabbed or leaked information or lied to gain something for themselves ... again, it just came across badly. Anyone who's ever been in business (any business) for any length of time, or who has worked in any office environment of any size, knows the dirtiness of office politics. The fact that it is using YOU, and not, say, office supplies or customer records, makes it personal and I can understand feeling outraged about that. However, it just rubbed me the wrong way for the book to portray these actions as if this was unusual in any way. YOU are the commodity, people who are looking to further their careers by any means possible will not care what happens to you, so why place any faith in them, or be surprised if they betray you? Also, the level of insults and personal attacks she was subjected to in the very short campaign season was utterly staggering, I've never seen anything like it. There were too many times in the book I really thought she responded to stupid insults that didn't need to be dignified with a response - such as the times she was derided for attending the University of Idaho instead of, say, Harvard or whatever.
Looking back over my review it seems as though I didn't like the book. I did, I found lots of it very interesting, and was really pleased to find out the full story behind the stories that came out during the campaign that just seemed bizarre.
I'm glad I read the book and glad I know a little bit more - she names names, tells on herself whether good or bad, and isn't afraid to reveal the less flattering aspects of her short time on the national campaign trail. My only wish would have been that somehow the book had been written before the election - in just the fact telling, step-by-step voice, as I found those parts of the book way more interesting and informative. I liked about 80% of the book, but overall, learning what I did about the campaign and the questions I had, made reading it all worthwhile. I give it a B for pacing, A for juicy details. I recommend it if you are curious about all the nonsense and crazy rumors that went on during the campaign.
The story was almost what I would call of two voices ... there was the narrative, fact-telling voice of the step-by-step series of events, and then there was the defensive, wounded and outraged voice. Just as an example, you can describe hunting and the process of hunting, and everyone knows what hunting is. Everyone gets the idea that you shoot or trap something, and it ends up on your dinner plate later. However, throughout the book there were constant references to hunting using euphamisms instead ... "obtaining local organic protein sources" and variations of the same ... constantly. I don't like the defensiveness. You know what hunting is, you do it, it's a part of your life and culture, you're not ashamed of it, it is useful to you, so why be defensive about it? The voice of wounded outrage showed itself when describing the many times various staff members backstabbed or leaked information or lied to gain something for themselves ... again, it just came across badly. Anyone who's ever been in business (any business) for any length of time, or who has worked in any office environment of any size, knows the dirtiness of office politics. The fact that it is using YOU, and not, say, office supplies or customer records, makes it personal and I can understand feeling outraged about that. However, it just rubbed me the wrong way for the book to portray these actions as if this was unusual in any way. YOU are the commodity, people who are looking to further their careers by any means possible will not care what happens to you, so why place any faith in them, or be surprised if they betray you? Also, the level of insults and personal attacks she was subjected to in the very short campaign season was utterly staggering, I've never seen anything like it. There were too many times in the book I really thought she responded to stupid insults that didn't need to be dignified with a response - such as the times she was derided for attending the University of Idaho instead of, say, Harvard or whatever.
Looking back over my review it seems as though I didn't like the book. I did, I found lots of it very interesting, and was really pleased to find out the full story behind the stories that came out during the campaign that just seemed bizarre.
I'm glad I read the book and glad I know a little bit more - she names names, tells on herself whether good or bad, and isn't afraid to reveal the less flattering aspects of her short time on the national campaign trail. My only wish would have been that somehow the book had been written before the election - in just the fact telling, step-by-step voice, as I found those parts of the book way more interesting and informative. I liked about 80% of the book, but overall, learning what I did about the campaign and the questions I had, made reading it all worthwhile. I give it a B for pacing, A for juicy details. I recommend it if you are curious about all the nonsense and crazy rumors that went on during the campaign.
This book was well written, and an easy read for the most part. I only found it a bit confusing when the writer described the political aspects of certain issues because Im not well versed in those areas. Overall, I enjoyed reading it and learning the story behind Sarah Palins journey in life and across the campaign trail. I appreciated her candid voice, and spirit. Her writing was clear and the chapters all flowed together well for me. I also liked the pictures that were included.
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In reading this book, I learned who Sarah Palin is, where she came from, and a little bit of what she stands for.
For a first book, I feel she has accomplished exactly what she had set out to accomplish. She wanted to let people get a look at her, her family and her level of government experience. While reading the book there are several things you may want to concider. If you like her, you'll like the book. If you don't like her you won't like the book, but you will get a personal view of her drive and determination.
Now, I personally think that she has set the political agendas (liberals, consertives and progressives alike) on their ear. Yes, she is a lightening rod of a personality, but I believe that is EXACTLY what our country needs at this time.
Take a momemt to open your mind and you will begin to understand where she is coming from in her political views. Keep your mind closed and... well, you get the point.
I enjoyed the book, but I kept in mind that this is only her perspective and her history, nothing more, nothing less.
I read for the enjoyment of reading and I enjoyed this read.
For a first book, I feel she has accomplished exactly what she had set out to accomplish. She wanted to let people get a look at her, her family and her level of government experience. While reading the book there are several things you may want to concider. If you like her, you'll like the book. If you don't like her you won't like the book, but you will get a personal view of her drive and determination.
Now, I personally think that she has set the political agendas (liberals, consertives and progressives alike) on their ear. Yes, she is a lightening rod of a personality, but I believe that is EXACTLY what our country needs at this time.
Take a momemt to open your mind and you will begin to understand where she is coming from in her political views. Keep your mind closed and... well, you get the point.
I enjoyed the book, but I kept in mind that this is only her perspective and her history, nothing more, nothing less.
I read for the enjoyment of reading and I enjoyed this read.
I listened to the audio book and loved it. I appreciate her honesty and the way she uses common sense to solve things. Indeed a wonderful mother, as well as a politician. It has been said before that a woman with a Bible, a shotgun and a baby can't be all bad.
I loved this book! Sarah Palin is an engaging writer and her story is inspiring. I now have the audio version of this book and will listen to it over and over. I wish all potential political figures had to write a book like this. Then I would know who I was really voting for.
Sarah Palin explains in commonsense terms her reasons and the truth behind many of the accusations she and her family faced during the 2008 election. She remains the All-American girl, and many people would choose her if they had the chance. Her unusual taste in hobbies and her down-to-earth life can allow people of all ages to understand her and to feel drawn to the ease whith which she turned her back on the governorship of Alaska, to try her best to bring some semblance of order to the chaotic political scene in the United States.
It lets the reader see a side of her that the media distorted. A good read.
Learned a lot about Sarah and how she operates
It had some fine points, but not uber exciting.
After reading both of Governor Palin's books I find that she has a firm grasp of her beliefs and the history of both her state of Alaska and he United States. Her love of her family and commitment to her principals really come through. She is a person I would really like to sit done with and have a long conversation with.
An interesting look at the life an American public servant (mayor, governor, candidate for President)-- also an interesting look at her personal life
Even if you are not a Sarah Palin fan, you'll love this book. She is the "real deal". Raised in the hardships of living in Alaska, she learned how to take care of herself, and rose to Governor. Interesting and funny at times.
I enjoyed this book. I found it very interesting.
