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whitneysederberg's review against another edition
3.5
3.5
Had to pick this one up considering the current political climate/election… I was inspired to read it after Trump got shot and a lot of my friends were speculating that this event would help his campaign.
Most of this book is definitely not timeless. I liked the first two essays in particular because they touched on important historical moments and trends that are very relevant today (politcal theater and US involvement with Latin America). But much of this book I didn’t find to be particularly interesting or relevant to myself.
Didion’s commentary on the pageantry of conventions and campaigning in her essay “Insider Baseball” was fascinating. On Dukakis trying to seem more relatable:
“Kara Dukakis had tossed the ball to her father. Her father had caught the ball and tossed it back to her.
‘OK,’ one of the cameramen had said. ‘We got the daughter. Nice. That’s enough. Nice.’
The CNN producer then on the campaign told me, later in the day, that the first recorded ball tossing on the Dukakis campaign had been outside a bowling alley somewhere in Ohio. CNN had shot it. When the campaign realized that only one camera had it, they restaged it.
‘We have a lot of things like the ball tossing,’ the producer said. ‘We have the Greek dancing, for example.’”
In “Eyes on the Prize,” Clinton employing the car salesman skills he learned from his father into politics:
“Instead of talking about Democrats lifting someone out of poverty, describe the party’s goal as helping average Americans live the good life.
Instead of saying the Democrats want to provide healthcare for the poor, focus on making sure all working Americans have coverage…”
The idea I found most interesting was Didion’s condemnation on the two party system. It prevents dialogue, keeps us focused on “carefully chosen/symbolic issues, American elections are necessarily debated on “character,” or “values…””
Had to pick this one up considering the current political climate/election… I was inspired to read it after Trump got shot and a lot of my friends were speculating that this event would help his campaign.
Most of this book is definitely not timeless. I liked the first two essays in particular because they touched on important historical moments and trends that are very relevant today (politcal theater and US involvement with Latin America). But much of this book I didn’t find to be particularly interesting or relevant to myself.
Didion’s commentary on the pageantry of conventions and campaigning in her essay “Insider Baseball” was fascinating. On Dukakis trying to seem more relatable:
“Kara Dukakis had tossed the ball to her father. Her father had caught the ball and tossed it back to her.
‘OK,’ one of the cameramen had said. ‘We got the daughter. Nice. That’s enough. Nice.’
The CNN producer then on the campaign told me, later in the day, that the first recorded ball tossing on the Dukakis campaign had been outside a bowling alley somewhere in Ohio. CNN had shot it. When the campaign realized that only one camera had it, they restaged it.
‘We have a lot of things like the ball tossing,’ the producer said. ‘We have the Greek dancing, for example.’”
In “Eyes on the Prize,” Clinton employing the car salesman skills he learned from his father into politics:
“Instead of talking about Democrats lifting someone out of poverty, describe the party’s goal as helping average Americans live the good life.
Instead of saying the Democrats want to provide healthcare for the poor, focus on making sure all working Americans have coverage…”
The idea I found most interesting was Didion’s condemnation on the two party system. It prevents dialogue, keeps us focused on “carefully chosen/symbolic issues, American elections are necessarily debated on “character,” or “values…””
natalieavida's review against another edition
4.0
Changed the way I saw politics but some of it is so grounded in a time unfamiliar with me and throws around names I’m not familiar with. The beginning of the book and final essay are the best parts.
jashegerova's review against another edition
3.0
really liked the first half, waded through the second.
steeperthandeep's review against another edition
5.0
I finally finished reading these essays for the second time. It was well worth it; a chronicle of politics in America in the eighties and nineties; not surprising how not that much has changed. The deck chairs have been rearranged since then. Perhaps the youth of that time have grown into more enlightened grownups. Perhaps not.
Joan Didion. An invaluable American voice.
Joan Didion. An invaluable American voice.
zellm's review against another edition
2.0
Some interesting information, but overall not really engaging. Didion's descriptions are interesting, but it feels like these lack context. As someone who wasn't alive when most of these happened, I felt I was missing a lot of important information.