Product Description

One year ago, Sarah Palin burst onto the national political stage like a comet. Yet even now, few Americans know who this remarkable woman really is.

On September 3, 2008 Alaska Governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention that electrified the nation and instantly made her one of the most recognizable women in the world.

As chief executive of America's largest state, she had built a record as a reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual and pushed through changes other politicians only talked about: Energy independence. Ethics reform. And the biggest private sector infrastructure project in U.S. history. And while revitalizing public school funding and ensuring the state met its responsibilities to seniors and Alaska Native populations, Palin also beat the political "good ol' boys club" at their own game and brought Big Oil to heel.

Like her GOP running mate, John McCain, Palin wasn't a packaged and over-produced candidate. She was a Main Street American woman: a working mom, wife of a blue collar union man, and mother of five children, the eldest of whom was serving his country in a yearlong deployment in Iraq and the youngest, an infant with special needs. Palin's hometown story touched a populist nerve, rallying hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to the GOP ticket.

But as the campaign unfolded, Palin became a lightning rod for both praise and criticism. Supporters called her "refreshing" and "honest," a kitchen-table public servant they felt would fight for their interests. Opponents derided her as a wide-eyed Pollyanna unprepared for national leadership. But none of them knew the real Sarah Palin.

In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother. She also opens up for the first time about the 2008 presidential race, providing a rare, mom's-eye view of high-stakes national politics—from patriots dedicated to "Country First" to slick politicos bent on winning at any cost.

Going Rogue traces one ordinary citizen's extraordinary journey and imparts Palin's vision of a way forward for America and her unfailing hope in the greatest nation on earth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1 in Books
• Published on: 2009-11-17
• Released on: 2009-11-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061939891
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From The Washington Post
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by by Matthew Continetti Like a lot of people, as soon as I got my copy of Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue," I immediately thought of the German literary critic Hans Robert Jauss. Jauss is known as the father of critical reception theory. According to Jauss, every book is read in a social context. In his view, the reader's attitudes, beliefs, values and judgments are just as important as the text. Sometimes more. Palin probably didn't set out to write a book that tested Jauss's thesis. But, in so many ways, the reaction to "Going Rogue" is as interesting as its content. Palin's memoir is everything you'd expect from a politician who has no intention of leaving the national scene. With the aid of Lynn Vincent as her ghostwriter, she tells homespun stories, cracks a few jokes, provides juicy campaign gossip and lets the reader know where she stands on issues such as the right to life, government taxes and spending, health care and climate change. Like a good Republican, she invokes Ronald Reagan's name at every opportunity. The book is so packed with facts, history and encomiums about her state, she's practically a one-woman Alaska Division of Tourism: "We have the highest number of pilots per capita in the United States." Palin tells her side of a story that's usually told by her opponents. It's the tale of how she rose from small-town mayor to the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee to her current status as global celebrity and one of the most polarizing figures in American politics. She writes in the warm, casual, occasionally corny voice that has made her so lovable to some and revolting to others. I'll go out on a limb and predict that if you like Palin, you'll like "Going Rogue" -- and if you don't like Palin, well, I hear the new Stephen King is pretty good. What's unusual is that "Going Rogue" has ignited such a media firestorm. After all, politicians write books like this all the time. Nobody pays any attention. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Bill Frist, John Ashcroft, Mike Huckabee, Joe Biden, Henry Waxman -- and many, many more -- have all put pen to paper (often with help from collaborators) in order to record the authorized accounts of their political and personal lives. But they don't often go on "Oprah." For the typical pol, a book serves as the news peg for a media tour. He gets to go on "The Daily Show," comment on public affairs and remind his constituents and campaign donors that his opinions matter. Then the book disappears. The pol returns to other business. Palin is different. Her book has become the occasion to re-litigate the 2008 presidential campaign. All the raw cultural battles over abortion, feminism and populism that erupted when she strode into the limelight have sprung up again. All the stand-up comics who had a blast last year reducing this conservative reformer to a cartoon are ridiculing her once more. The press and established powers in Washington consistently hold Palin to a higher standard. The AP assigned a team of 11 reporters to "fact-check" Palin's book. I don't remember Harry Reid's "The Good Fight" getting that treatment, but then, hardly anybody remembers "The Good Fight." Among the AP's discoveries was the fact that -- I am not making this up -- Palin is ambitious. One critic described Palin as being "ungrateful" to the McCain campaign. Why? Because in her book Palin returns fire on the anonymous campaign strategists who called her a "diva" and "whackjob" to eager reporters. What was she supposed to do? Play the role of the orphan Oliver Twist and ask, "Please, sir, I want some more"? Through no fault of her own, Sarah Palin has become a sort of political lens, refracting the different ways conservatives and liberals see the world. To her supporters, she is, as she puts it, a "common-sense conservative" who isn't afraid to make moral judgments. To her detractors, she's a moronic zealot who has no place in American public life. The two interpretations are concrete. "Going Rogue" won't do much to change any minds. But for what it reveals about our current political culture, Hans Robert Jauss would say it can't be beat. bookworld@washpost.com
Copyright 2009, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author

Sarah Palin grew up in Alaska towns, from Skagway to Wasilla to Anchorage, while her dad taught science and coached high school sports. She and her future husband, Todd Palin, graduated from Wasilla High School in 1982, and she went on to earn her college degree from the School of Journalism at the University of Idaho. Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council, then two terms as the city's mayor and manager, and was elected by her peers as president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. She then chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. Palin was elected Alaska's youngest, and first female, governor, serving from 2006 to 2009. While serving her state she was tapped as Senator John McCain's running mate in 2008, becoming the first female Republican vice presidential candidate in our nation's history.

The Palins reside in Wasilla with their five children, including a son in the U.S. Army, and one grandson. They enjoy an extended family throughout Alaska and the Lower 48.

Customer Reviews

Ain't afraid of no Vietcong king
There are many kinds of truth. There are truths based on facts, truths based on faith, and truths based on something that sounds as if it should be true (truthiness). Then there's the kind of truth we find in Sarah's book: stories and concepts that become truths simply because she states them. She's a lot like our Lord and Savior, Glen Beck, in that respect.

Sometimes, she states truths that would be considered ludicrous if uttered by someone else. Her claim that the McCain campaign forced her to spend $150,000 in RNC funds to dress her family in designer clothes is one example of that. Although it might be easier to believe that she acted like a trailer park Zsa Zsa who'd found a credit card left behind at a possum feed, she blames McCain staffers. That's good enough for us, because we have faith; we want to believe her truths.

But the book isn't perfect. As much as I enjoyed the few short paragraphs in which Mrs Palin laid out her policy objectives, she could have condensed it all into one sentence: "I'm going to grab an Oxo Good Grips Stainless Serving Spatula and go all mavericky on your non-white, non-Christian and non-heterosexual butts."

The book also fails to expose Mrs. Palin's intellectual brilliance and keen grasp of foreign policy issues. Why wasn't the text of her recent speech in Hong Kong included? Although it remains secret, it's rumored that she viciously rebuked the Vietcong king for his assault on the Empire State Building. That's a speech we've been waiting for nearly 75 years to hear. It's big news and should have been included.

As you read other reviews of this book, please remember that Mrs. Palin has many enemies who are eager to pan her work. The Palin family's most potent nemesis, Levi's johnston, is no dpubt fully erect and ready to spew globs of misfortune upon them for a third time. And reason-adoring intellectuals are certain to point out that an interview on Good Morning Topeka doesn't qualify as a policy summit in the Far East.

But a few bad reviews won't stop her. She's seen much worse from her kitchen window. It can't be pleasant to gaze upon Antichristograd every morning as you brew your coffee.

My review isn't complete, but I think I'll quit anyway, because writing reviews, like governing, is just too darned hard to finish.

I don't get it
I'm really not "getting" this book. Was Sarah Palin intent to put her best foot forward with an eye on future opportunity, or charm the already charmed? I think it must be the latter. Am I the only one who is finding these escalating contentions that is dividing America frightening? If it was her intent to put her best foot forward, I would think she would have showcased herself as a wise leader and lay off the retaliation politics.

Her lack of empathy in the fears of anyone other than her base makes me uncomfortable and makes her look extreme. Her fans feel she stands for America, but we are a pluralistic nation and I'm surprised she doesn't see the danger in escalating hatred between Americans. She is not the only one who understands conservative fiscal responsibility but why does she never asks herself what might motivate the opposing views? Are all her critics just wicked, wicked people? Or maybe oil barons or welfare queen? A little insight goes a long way. And yet, I believe she really does think this hated that is consuming us good for the country. I, for one, do not share this view, but it's good to know where she stands.

Okay, I read most of it but, I admit I skimmed through some pages before I had to return it to the library. And her early life was interesting enough, with that bubbly, can-I-be-any-more-clever attitude, although some of her motivations made me scratch my head, it was readable. And, as to the truth of her accounts, well, Google them yourself. Everyone will see what they want to see. The last part of the book is what everyone is talking about, the McCain campaign. I personally think she comes off as naive. What was she expecting in her run for vice president? Of course you would be handled by strategists who coordinate the campaign. It was their job to keep the candidates in synch, tell them what to wear, what issue to emphasize. Her job was to listen, work hard, and be prepared. Not every situation calls for a rogue. This I-got-to-be me stuff can be abrasive to many. And while she doesn't directly criticize him, I think a little more loyalty to the man who gave her chance would have been gracious.

So, I gave it three stars, not because I became a fan of SP, but because the book was revealing, has solid contents and is well enough written. I see most the reviewers here are offering their opinions on SP, slinging little nasties at their neighbors, and side tracking issues. On that note, let me say, obviously she does connect with some, but I found her voice to be whiney, rather snarky, and paranoid, with an inability to listen well to others. In the end, OMG, she's no rogue, she is just like us! So, to her fans, call me all the names you want, I just don't see what you see. These qualities make her neither hero nor a villain, they just make her common.

Pretty good, not great
A good political memoir, and, in fact, one of the best I've read in awhile. Sure it was ghostwritten, but it sounds like Palin had loads of input. And why harp on the ghostwriter anyway? Liberals get mad when you mention Profiles in Courage, and just try to insert a note on Wikipedia about the possible ghostwriting of HIM Obama's first book!

Regardless, this proves to you (sort of like Reagan) that Palin is no dunce and no novice. She details her life, how she came to some of her beliefs, and she evens some scores and sets some records straight. She makes a few good government points, such as: it ain't Presidents and governors and big-wigs that keep this country moving, it is local government types that fill potholes and bring businesses to their constituents (p. 154). And, this is the "policy" part of the book that Rush Limbaugh was lambasted for talking about, and it shines through every other page or so. No, this isn't a political tome. It isn't a pseudo-intellectual diatribe like Chomsky, or a philosophical work like Hayek. This is how my mom and dad, how the average citizens of this country, come about their conservative political views. At one point, for instance, her son Track has to wait for several hours in a hospital with a dislocated shoulder until parental permission is granted by Palin for treatment... and Mrs. Palin then wonders why it is okay for thirteen year old girls to walk in and, without any parental consent, get an abortion while her seventeen year old son can't get his shoulder fixed (pp. 168-169). This is how average people come about their political views, how Palin and Reagan came about them not in the ivory-towered, hallowed halls of acadème. An elitist "constitutional law professor" she ain't. Lastly, she evens some scores, explains her views on the 2008 campaign, and the like. This is the part you've probably read about, and it is the least interesting part of the book. More interesting is her drive-time talk with Bristol (pp. 357-358) on how hard it is to open a business with Mr. Obama's tax and spend policies hanging over people's head. This is how the actual movers and shakers of the country talk and think.

All in all, pretty good, not the best, not a piece of crap either.