GAME CHANGE

Game Change is the book that pulls back the curtain on the 2008 presidential election, revealing confusion, chaos disaster, unbelievable good fortune, ruthlessness, naked desire, and campaign chest full of gossip. Warning: This book is dangerously wonky. If you have been lured to it by the titillating teasers on every talk show from Hardball to Today, don’t bother. Finding out that Hillary uses Quilted Northern rather than Charmin simply isn’t worth the 400 + pages you’ll have to read through. On the other hand, if you are truly fascinated by the political process, if you want to see how the big boys do it, warts and all, this is the book for you.

Authors John Heillemann and Mark Halperin are both long-time political reporters and analysts. Though they don’t name their sources, the depth of their knowledge makes it obvious that they did a thorough job. Warning 2: Keep a dictionary close by. The book is liberally sprinkled with $2 words that I not only didn’t know the meaning of but had never even seen.

Even though the talk shows promoted the book for the wrong reason – the petty bickering and backstage BS that doubtless goes on in any campaign – this is a great read for anyone who wants to know: where the money comes from; where the money goes; how decisions are made; who the real movers and shakers are; and why the campaign is more important than the candidate. I recommend it.