Beth H. (suburbanalien) reviewed on + 63 more book reviews
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.
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