What It Takes

By Richard Ben Cramer,

Book cover of What It Takes: The Way to the White House

Book description

"Quite possibly the finest book on presidential politics ever written, combining meticulous reporting and compelling, at times soaringly lyrical, prose." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

An American Iliad in the guise of contemporary political reportage, What It Takes penetrates the mystery at the heart of all presidential campaigns: How do presumablyā€¦

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Why read it?

4 authors picked What It Takes as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

For my money, this book is the best work of journalismā€”certainly of political journalismā€”of its time, meaning the last half-century.

Six politicians, including two presidentsā€”the first George Bush, and Joe Bidenā€”emerge not as mere ambitious strivers but as tragic heroes, each as much the victim as the master of America's predatory political culture. I felt I knew each of them and what they'd been through as intimately as if I'd been their brother.

Why would anybody in their right mind put themselves through the agonies of a presidential campaign? And what does it take to win? Cramerā€™s account of the crowded 1988 campaign is less about strategy and tactics than the personality and character of the candidates (including Joe Biden, Bob Dole, and George H. W. Bush). Ego and ambition, courage and cowardice are on display here, but so too is an almost across-the-board sense of honor and duty thatā€™s in rare supply today.

From Patrick's list on presidential campaigns.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer wrote what IMO is the best book ever written chronicling a run for president from the primaries to the general election. The author followed the 1988 election and provides deep and detailed revelations about the six candidates and their campaigns. I was pleasantly surprised how good this book was.

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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorā€”and only womanā€”on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route upā€¦

I wonā€™t kid you: I wish this book were about 200 pages shorter. But then it would not feel as bone-deep exhaustingā€”and exhaustiveā€”as an actual presidential campaign. And before one wields political power in America, there has to be a campaign. No one has taken us inside the psychological demands and personal toll of campaigning at the highest level like Cramer. Indeed, no journalist conceived that such an epic could be written until Cramer wrote it. And since his deep dive into the 1988 campaign, candidates have sworn never to be so exposed. Thus, this book is a revelation unlikelyā€¦

From David's list on how American politics really works.

If you love What It Takes...

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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorā€”and only womanā€”on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route upā€¦

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