Polls, pundits and polarized voters
REVIEWS BY SUKEY HOWARD
In just six months we'll be going to the voting booths. If you know where you and your candidate stand,
you can find some strong backup in the audios below (all in CD format). If you're undecided, listen,
learn and consider the issues.
The subtitle of John Podhoretz's Bush Country: How Dubya Became a Great President While Driving Liberals Insane leaves no doubt about where this author stands. Podhoretz, who reads here, too, sets out to show that George W. Bush was "put on this earth to lead the United States into the third millennium with all its terrifying challenges" and is doing so with "high seriousness" and "daring."
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If that gets your political hackles up, tune in to
The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America by
Eric Alterman and Mark Green and listen to their carefully researched critique of this
"very determined guy"—"determined to serve his political base, extremist elements of the Republican Party,
the religious right, Fortune 500 CEOs, especially from the oil patch, and neoconservative ideologues, at the
expense of the rest of the nation." The authors' aim, to separate the rhetoric from the policy, the words from
the actual deeds, is aided by Nick Sullivan's unflagging narration.
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The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty by Peter and Rochelle Schweitzer, read by Harry Chase, is billed as
the full story of "the most successful political family in American history." But you won't find many warts or
dirty secrets in this account of the family's rise from "humble origins" in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to
enormous wealth, political prominence and power. You will gain insight into what the Schweitzers describe
as the distinguishing feature of this clan: their free-flowing, pragmatic and opportunistic style.
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A look into the inner workings of the Bush White House is provided by Ron Suskind in
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, The White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill.
Based on lengthy discussions with the former Treasury secretary and thousands of documents on domestic and foreign
policy, Suskind shows us a secretive, cynical administration where policy decisions are driven by politics and what
will please "the base."
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More inner workings are revealed in investigative journalist Craig Unger's controversial
House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties,
narrated by James Naughton. Unger
traces the "amazing weave of Bush-Saud connections" that began three decades ago and continues to impact
our foreign policy, business dealings and national security.
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In Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War, as yet the only audio about the Democratic Party's
candidate, historian Douglas Brinkley goes well beyond Kerry's naval career, giving us a portrait of Kerry—and
his personal and intellectual development—before he enlisted in 1966 and well after he spoke out against the war
in 1971 and began his public life. He received both the Bronze Star and Silver Star for heroism and three Purple
Hearts during his tour of duty in Vietnam and, in a way, has extended that tour, serving in the Senate for almost
20 years. Douglas Brinkley reads.
There's bound to be more political listening coming up and I'll try to keep you posted as we navigate toward November.
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