Dogfight: The 2012 Presidential Campaign in Verse
593603
The very funny history of the 2012 presidential election.  Trillin is a masterful wordsmith.  Liberals will love it.  I'm not so sure about conservatives.
4128458
If you think we have never seen a presidential campaign like the one that is now playing out between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, think again. Exhibit A: This is a description of which presidential campaign? "party divisions that had been growing for a decade burst into acrimonious campaigning, slanderous charges, and backroom dealing." Answer: Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

What a fun book on the presidents! It is long at more than 750 pages, but worth the time and commitment it takes to plow through it. For each president, author Kenneth C. Davis has snippets of speeches, fun facts you probably never knew, a brief story-like tale of the man's accomplishments before, during and after his time in the White House and a bulleted list of major events that occurred while he was president. He then grades each president from A+ to F and explains why. For as long a book as it is, it's a relatively quick read.

I chose to read the book cover to cover, but it is also an excellent ready reference book. Have a question about a particular president? Just read that chapter.

Best of all, it's filled with bizarre trivia!
 Find out why liquor became known as "booze" during the campaign of William Henry Harrison.

 Find out who may have been our first gay president. (The love letters were destroyed by both of the men's families, so the evidence is circumstantial at best.)

 Find out which highly-respected and much lauded president was well known for his raunchy and racy jokes.

 Which president had little more than one year of formal schooling and who had none?

 Which vice president took the oath of office totally snockered on whiskey and then gave a rambling, slurred drunken speech to the Senate?

 It wasn't just the Bush-Gore election of 2000. Find out the three other times that the winner of the popular vote was not elected president.

 Find out which 19th century president had a "love child," the news of which made the campaign much like the tabloid-driven campaigns of today.

 Our youngest first lady was just 21 years old. Can you name her?

 Who was the only president to serve two terms non-consecutively? Hint: He was married to the youngest first lady.

 Who was the first president to invite a black man--Booker T. Washington--to dine at the White House? He took a political beating for it, too, from Southern voters.

 Two presidents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. One is John F. Kennedy. Who is the other one?

 Which two presidents were cheerleaders in college?

 As a young man, which president appeared as a model in Cosmopolitan?
400357
Marjorie Perloff offers 'Differentials' with her usual erudition, humor, and interdisciplinary insight. These essays, written between 1999 and 2004, address performance poetry, concrete poetry, multimedia poetry, constricted writing, and how teachers might help their students make sense of it all.

Perloff's prodigious knowledge of twentieth century artistic movements allows her to relate the work of Ezra Pound to Marcel Duchamp, to explain "differential poetry" that varies according to the medium of presentation, to compare the performance poetry of Laurie Anderson, Joan Retallack and Caroline Bergvall, and to elaborate on distinctions between Kenneth Goldsmith's rule-generated writing and Ronald Johnson's verbivocovisuals.

And how to teach 'experimental' poetry? Take nothing for granted. Insist on close readings. And a close reading must account for all the elements in a given text, not just the ones that support a particular interpretation, she reminds us.
3931015
I was very pleased with this purchase.  I chose it because I am very much into politics and especially the 2008 presidential election.  I would recommend it to all the political junkies.
1444893
This book was great fun to read.  You may wonder why there are some reviews that are so harsh and vehement negative.  I think politics be the clue.

The writer seems (well, to me) to be referring to George when he writes: "The president was a boob, a brainless figurehead who had a talent for winning elections but little else."  There are enough references to the VP and Secretary of Defense to create a sense if currency in his descriptions of the immoral executive branch of the government.  The Secretary of Defense describes the protaganists as "professors, probably ultraliberal Looney Tunes" reflecting some of the attitudes of the current administration.

I'll bet political disagreements with the author are the real sources of the vehemence of the negative reviews.  The percentages seem about right. :)
3404266
The only guy who wasn't a winner was Romney.  Great read about the background of what happened in the 2012 race.  The story was quick-paced, but sometimes, the timeline was hard to follow, since it was jumping all over the place.  Personally, I liked the original Game Change more because of the characters involved (Sara Palin; and the tough Cllinton v. Obama race).

This is a great read for anyone interested in learning about what happens in Presidential politics in modern day America.
2618319
This slim little volume is made up of charcoal/graphite sketches from events that took place on Obama's path to the White House. All the words in the book are taken from his speeches and some of his best lines are in here.
The sketches are quick and spontaneous and capture the excitement of the time. In plain black and white, but with astonishing accuracy, the illustrator captures some of the most memorable images from the campaign. The lettering is a calligraphy reminiscent of the letters of our declaration of independence and adds to the historical significance of what the artist is depicting.
This is not a large book and certainly it is not meant to replace a collection of his speeches. It does capture what this election has meant to so many of us and will grace my shelves for many years to come.
393249
I recently read a book of Robert Frost poems.  Donald Needham has a much better grasp of rhyme and alliteration and clarity of subject matter.  Four Pulitzer Prizes for Robert Frost must definitely mean Donald is in the running for one himself.  Good work and maybe next edition have those animal pictures that will help the children in all of us follow the topics.  Look forward to more to come.
378198
I enjoyed reading this while the early campaign for the real presidency is ongoing. I enjoyed the humor and the patriotism in the book and the alignment with real national issues.
4587113
"No He Can't" by Kevin McCullough reveals the background of the Obama administration. In this book is a play on words on Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan "Yes We Can" and his presidency. McCullough gives multiple examples about the promises that were made during Obama's campaign and the truth how those promises never happened after he was elected.

I'm not a political person, and this eye-opening book did take me a little bit to get into it, but it was very informative and I learned much and enjoyed it thoroughly. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares or has concerns for the future of America. Whether you follow politics or not.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
1784362
This collection of free verse is by a poet currently living in my own area of southernmost Texas, thus it's no surprise to find it expressing a poignancy befitting the borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico. My favorite poem in this relatively brief volume is "Born of water," which symbolizes the narrator's stages of traveling not only geographically but, as a result, through jarring changes in life. That one was nearly surpassed in my estimation by "I have lost so much," with its revelatory reply to those who question the narrator's accent.

The subtitle is an early hint not just of the book's division as 2 "chapters," but also the bilingual format. I deem myself more practiced in English and was thereby able to spot bits of that text that still could've been improved. Yet with my effort to read the Spanish also, I was able to compare and to realize what the original tongue was conveying. This became immediately evident in the Prologue, which frankly baffled me in its English rendition, yet unexpectedly came across more clearly in Spanish (even while its vocabulary was a workout for me).

I couldn't help notice the element of water as the book's prominent theme; I also appreciated the nod to Nahuatl in the poem "Three hearts." I loved the way each of the final seven entries is named after a different animal, though I admit these were the most difficult for me to grasp -- this may be more due to my own difficulties with the genre of modern poetry. Nonetheless, I found the imagery enthralling, notably with the "Coyote" as the female leader of a pack; and the "Butterfly," specifically the transformation and journeying of the monarch.
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Good news. There's FINALLY a book of quote by American Presidents that isn't the usual, extremely fat, ponderous and boiler-plate collection of quotes that seem mostly culled from old history books. There is FINALLY a complete but reasonable-length, unpadded book that is a must-own for students at all levels, journalists, political scientists, political junkies - anyone who not only is looking for a book of quotes from Presidents that has the often used ones, but some new ones and some witty and informal ones. What more can I say then I now keep it on my computer next to my computer and travel with it and that I've used it three times already in some of the columns and special online articles I write?

Kudos to historical researcher Pierce Word, who reportedly spent two-and-a-half years to cull this truly enlightening -- and at times highly entertaining -- collection of-quotes from 235 years of American history and 44 Presidents. His sources included well-known speeches, interviews, articles, personal letters, diaries and informal conversations. Want a serious quote or thought? It's there. Want a really lively quote? You'll find it. The biggest compliment about this book is that unlike many books of Presidential or political quotes you can TRULY keep this on your nightstand and read it before you go to bed and it'll be f-u-n to read.

There are too many quotes to site here and I won't try, but I used this one in a Cagle Cartoons column that I wrote, from President Teddy Roosevelt: "The American people abhor a vacuum." I love this gem from President Warren Harding: "I don't know much about Americanism, but it's a damn good word with which to carry an election." I recently used this quote from Dwight Eisenhower at the end of a piece I did for The Week's online edition: "Only Americans can hurt America." Here'e one from Woodrow Wilson that liberals will love: "A conservative is someone who makes no changes and consults his grandmother when in doubt." James Garfield: "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable." And many more.

To repeat: this is REQUIRED reading and owning for bloggers, journalists, students, and political speech writers. And for anyone who loves to read but wants ponderous quotes to also be peppered with some more conversational and lively ones. P.S. It'll make a great gift to a young person for Christmas (or Hanuka).
2543936
As they did in an earlier version of this splendid book, John Broesamle and Anthony Arthur explode the myth that history is boring. Twelve Great Clashes that Have Shaped Modern America explores and exposes the dramatic conflicts that have shaped American history. Unlike so many politically imbalanced books, this volume goes to great pains to present both sides of a confrontation. The book challenges those on the left and right to reconsider their beliefs and conclusions. In chapter after chapter, idealists confront realists-ideas bang into ideas with breakneck speed and lasting consequences. The book's final chapter examines the Bush/Kerry election, and does so with some surprising observations.  While both serious and casual students of history will enjoy this book, AMERICANS will benefit from a read through these beautifully written pages. Twelve Great Clashes is history come to life-with vibrancy and passion.
376295
This is his last book with new poems.  He is regarded as one of America's greatest poets.  Among his many honors are four Pulitzer Prizes and an appointment as Consultant in Poetry at the Library of Congress.

At John F. Kennedy's inauguration on Jan. 20, 1961, he was called the Poet Laurete of U. S. A.  to be acknowledged by such an educated president to take part.  He was such an old man, he fumbled his papers, as he read "The Gift Outright."  This was the first time when a poet had been so honored and marked a high point in his long and distinguished career.

When the English poet W. H. Auden wrote an essay in praise of Robert Frost, he made the observation that he was literally in a class by himself: "the class of nature poets who have worked with the land and actually know how to milk cows and, in general, can life the life of a Yankee farmer.  In his elder years, in Florida, he planted orange groves and other fruits.

He was more than a poet and man of letters.  He was a public figure and had by the time of his death in 1963 become a nation's symbol.  His most famous poems are "Stopping by Wood on a Snowy Evening" and "Mending Wall."  In his book, NORTH OF BOSTON, you will find a long poem/fable called "The Generations of Man."

Since I am a bird fancier, I chose "Looking For a Sunset Bird in Winter" (as I look for birds year round in this town which hates starlings and pigeons.

The west was getting out of gold,
The breath of air had died of cold,
When shoeing home across the white,
I thought I saw a bird alight.

In summer when I passed the place,
I had to stop and lift my face;
A bird with an angelic gift
Was singing in it sweet and swift.

No bird is singing in it now.
As gilt to gold that wouldn't show,
A brush had left a crooked stroke
Of what was either cloud or smoke --
From north to south across the blue.
A fpercing little star was (shining) thru.

In YOU COME, TOO, Noel Perrin write in his foreword, that Frost was determined to use "the ordinary language of ordinary people, and to transmute that plain Yankee speech into shining verse."
President Kennedy is quoted, "...has bequeathed his nation a body of imperishable verse from which Americans will forever gain joy and understanding."

NORTH OF BOSTON was written along with all sorts of briefer things in rhyme in a form suggested by the eclogues of Virgil.  He'd tried for years to get his poems published in 'Atlantic Monthly who automatically rejected each and every thing he submitted.  I used to love poetry but could not write it; Tristan, on the other hand, was such a writer, though his dad Zach was more into prose like his old mom, except for the science fiction and sports.  Robert Frost was a true classic.
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"Poetry Slam" by Gary Mex Glazner is part-anthology, part-history, part-description of slams, slam poets, and slam poetry. It romanticizes the image and description, but excels as a history. As an anthology, it has much room for improvement, but this could be a result of the limits of performance poetry.

Kerouac's ghost must wonder at how formulaic slam poetry has become. From the aggressive, ideological depth of Ginsberg and Burroughs, we now have the regurgitated flavors of Whitman-wannabes evoked pretentiously in the pop-soliloquys now barraging modern poetry readings. Yet, the slam has introduced thousands of young poets that poetry is worth their time. Glazner demonstrates this inconsistency, but not intentionally as we see the up and down quality of the poetry samples he provides.

An excellent part of the book is the description of poetry slam rules, distinguishing local and national rules, and how this form is meant as an oral art form, not a written one. This is the challenge faced by every slam poetry book: how to present it. Some poems here make the transition, and there a few gems worth a read. Marc Smith, founder of the slam, has "My Father's Coat." An interesting poem called "Ali" by Michael R. Brown. opens with the compelling "Five inches shorter than his fighting height" shows some fine imagery and intriguing approaches to poetry meeting culture.

For a deeper look at Beat literature, see the "Beat Reader," or for poetry only, "Beat Poets" edited by Carmela Ciuraru. "Poetry Slam" is a good start, but these books will provide better examples of the style and quality slam poets esteem to reach.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
4709964
"We live in a political World". (Bob Dylan) The golf business does not appear cleaner than any other business. I read Ted Bishop`s strong story practically non stop. I guess same story happens all the time.
185128
The last legs of the 1999 Presidential election wore me out on politics, so I have been putting off reading this novel.  I now realize that I could have overcome my boredom with the political process sooner by reading The Election:  A Novel.
As opposed to the usual manipulative politics for personal gain and campaign funds, The Election proposes a stark alternative:  A principle-based candidate, Michael Edwards, who walks his talk.  Needless to say, there are plenty of manipulative politicians and donors in this book, so you get the classic contrast of right versus wrong as the main story line.
Edwards is a network news talking-head, so he knows how public opinion is formed.  That experience causes him to be disgusted with presidential politics.  With a successful business background, he also has ideas for improving the country that deserve the attention only a presidential campaign can provide.
Another main theme of the novel is how the United States might be improved by stopping the prohibition on illegal drugs, and by focusing on renewable forms of energy and other raw materials.  If you have never thought much about these issues, you will get plenty on both sides here to help you form your own opinion.
Every compelling novel shares information that everyone wishes they had known before.  What will probably intrigue you most about this novel is its considerable depth on little-known implications of the electoral college.  That sounds dull, doesn't it?  The strength of this novel is that these details are presented through fast-paced action.  Between having gone to law school and viewing the recent presidential election, I thought I had the process all down pat.  Mr. Field introduced me to several interesting twists and turns that I enjoyed.  If you are like me, you will too.
The novel's length in setting the stage is its main drawback.  Like many novels, it begins slowly.  You will, however, find yourself turning the pages rapidly after the first half.  The action is rapid and compelling at that stage.
The book's main value is in proposing a scenario for rising above party- and interest-based politics.  I hope that idealistic people who would like to run for the presidency of the United States will examine this novel with care.  They will get several good ideas for how to run a third-party candidacy that works.  Many despair that there is no candidate flawless enough to survive that route.  The novel makes an interesting case for dealing with that issue, as well.
If you had to choose between following the last election and reading this novel, you would have done better to have ignored the last election and read The Election.  The fact that we had so many disputes and they dragged on so long points out that politics-as-usual is breaking down.  Why don't we replace our party-based sytem with something better that serves our needs?
After reading this book, I hope you will reconsider your involvement in the political process.  If you could advance a valuable idea, shouldn't you do so?  Few people ever run for president of the United States, but most can run for school board, library board, or city council.  Check into what needs doing better in your community.  See if you can find a candidate who stands for making that improvement.  If not, consider running yourself.
May open debate about important ideas and the revealed truth from that debate set us all free!