Quest for the Presidency 1992

Now, I'm not going to deny that I'm a political junkie, and have re-read Teddy White's books on the Making of the President several times, but this is actually, to my mind, a superior book. It's certainly written in a much more interesting and accessible manner. The most interesting sections of the book, to me, were those that dealt with Ross Perot. I was one of the many who, at the time, was infatuated with the idea of the Saviour from Texas. Unfortunately, the very things that made him so interesting to so many people also held the seeds of his demise in 92. Surprisingly, to me at least, one person who seems to come out of the book surprisingly well, is Dan Quayle. While not a genius, he is shown in a much better light than you would have expected given the brutal press coverage he received from 1988 on. All in all, I would heartily recommend this book to anybody who has an interest in the way we chose our Presidents, and what we put them through on the road to the White House. Howard

I found this book to be extremely interesting and full of insight about the candidates and their campaigns. It also effectively represents the overall mood of the campaign and the issues facing the US at the time. Fascinating for anyone who is interested in presidential elections, and politics generally.

It seems unnecessary to point out that this book is only for the true political junkie, since it's unlikely that anyone else would pick up a 700-page book with Clinton, Bush, and Perot on the cover in the first place. But for diehard politicos like myself, this book is a terrific account of the '92 campaign. The lengthy passages on political strategy may be trying for some, but the behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the three major campaigns (not to mention those of Jerry Brown, Pat Buchannan, et al) are fantastic.