Coming this month: Life Among the Cannibals: A Political Career, a Tea Party Uprising, and the End of Governing As We Know It by former Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA).
Politico reports that Specter does Rick Santorum no favors in the memoir writing that Santorum was “vital” in his 2004 primary win against conservative Pat Toomey because he “tried to provide him with political advice ahead of a career-changing vote in 2009, and lobbied him to quell a conservative rebellion over judicial nominees.”
Coming soon: The Rules of Influence: Winning When You’re in the Minority by William D. Crano.
Coming in May: Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power by Bob Ingle and Michael G. Symons.
We’re giving away five copies of Why Capitalism? by Allan H. Meltzer.
Despite financial market bubbles, fraud and a widening income gap, the author defends capitalism as the only economic system which maximizes both growth and individual freedom. Along the way, he systematically analyzes the role of government, positing that regulations are static, but markets are dynamic, usually seeking ways to skirt the rules.
For a chance to win, please read on…
Coming soon: The Rent Is Too Damn High by Matthew Yglesias.
Douglas Brinkley reviews The Obamas by Jodi Kantor:
“The difference when a head of state’s spouse performs an advisory role is that both the content and its consequences resonate through a lot more than one household. And that’s the point of Jodi Kantor’s new book, The Obamas. Call it chick nonfiction, if you will; this book is not about politics,
it’s about marriage, or at least one marriage, and a notably successful
one at that.”
Getting into a public argument with President Obama apparently does wonders for book sales: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s book, Scorpions for Breakfast, is now at #177 on Amazon’s bestseller list.
A must-read: Do The Impossible My Crash Course On Presidential Politics Inside The Howard Dean Campaign by
Kate O’Connor.
Coming soon: The New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right by Arthur Goldwag.
The book explores “the disturbing pattern of fear-mongering, demagoguery, and the never-ending quest for scapegoats that has existed from Colonial times to our own.”
The Financial Times picks the best political books of the year:
Cables from Kabul by Sherard Cowper-Coles.
A Contest for Supremacy by Aaron L Friedberg.
That Used To be Us, by Thomas L Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum.
George F Kennan: An American Life, by John Lewis Gaddis.
DarkMarket: CyberThieves, CyberCops and You, by Misha Glenny.
The End of the West: The Once and Future Europe, by David Marquand.
Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia, by Thant Myint-U.
Can Intervention Work?, by Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus.
The Return: Russia’s Journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev, by Daniel Triesman.
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China, by Ezra F Vogel.
The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World, by Daniel Yergin.
The New York Times lists its 100 notable books of the year and includes these five:
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard — “A deranged man shot James Garfield, but it was his incompetent doctors who killed him.”
George F. Kennan: An American Life by John Lewis Gaddis — “Gaddis has written a magisterial biography of the man who both invented the cold war policy of containment and was one of its most perspicacious critics.”
The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama — “What countries are capable of ‘getting to Denmark’? Fukuyama’s answer emphasizes the role of contingency.”
The Quest by Daniel Yergin — “This comprehensive study makes clear that energy policy is not on the right course anywhere.”
Why the West Rules — for Now — “A Stanford historian argues that we face an immediate choice — East-West cooperation or catastrophe.”
Just published: Almost President: The Men Who Lost the Race but Changed the Nation by Scott Farris.
The book profiles a dozen men who have run for the American presidency and lost — but who, even in defeat, have had a greater impact on American history than many of those who have served as president.
Jason Stanford writes how he and co-author James Moore lost their publisher for a book on Rick Perry once his campaign imploded.
“It’s hard to remember when there was once a bidding war for Adios, Mofo in New York. Six publishers made our agent promise to give them a chance to bid on the proposal once Perry announced for president. When he rocketed to the top of the Republican field and looked like a tea-vangelical Ronald Reagan from the red states, a heartthrob for the angry mob, Moore and I ended up with a book deal that made national news.”
“And then Perry opened his mouth. Bless his heart.”
Just in case you’re not going to read Michele Bachmann’s new book, Core of Conviction, the Daily Beast highlights the six most interesting bits.
Stuck in an airport over the holiday weekend? Download Election 2012: The Battle Begins by Tom Bevan and Carl Cannon.
Just published: What It Means to Be a Democrat by former Sen. George McGovern.
This promises to be very good: Where He Came From: The Story of Barack Obama by David Maraniss.
Just out: You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney.
One finding with particular relevance to politics: “Our brains resist new ideas, instead paying attention only to findings that reinforce our preconceived notions.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.