An Amazing Adventure

From Barnes & Noble

U.S. senator Joe Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, look back on the wild and crazy ride that was the 2000 presidential campaign, in this unique dual commentary on one of the most controversial -- and litigious -- elections ever.

Publishers Weekly

Readers expecting political insights, in-depth policy analysis or entertaining and gossipy insider information about the 2000 presidential election will have to look elsewhere than this diary-like account. Instead, the former Democratic vice-presidential candidate and his wife avoid any risk of controversy and offer a politically safe recounting of the campaign that does double duty as a preview of the centerpiece themes of a potential 2004 Lieberman run at the presidency. The narrative begins when Senator Lieberman learns he is on the short list of candidates and continues through the wrenching loss of Florida's electoral votes. The Liebermans alternate impressions, sometimes describing the same event. Suffice it to say there is no Rashomon-style disconnect, but rather unabashed and uninformative praise by each for the other. Hadassah Lieberman's view is the more novel, as she describes how the scrutiny that follows elevation to the national stage takes over her wardrobe, her personal routines and her natural voice as she is encouraged and cajoled by her campaign staff to "stay on message." The Liebermans are observant Jews, and their discussions on the role of religion in their lives and in American politics are thoughtful. But in the end this is a frustrating effort, as the Liebermans skate the surface of issues, content to wrap what could have been an interesting and dramatic insider story in a surfeit of praise for each other, Al Gore, their staffs, the Secret Service and all things American. Photos. (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

When active national politicians publish books, it is usually a telltale sign that they want the presidency. John F. Kennedy began the modern precedent with Profiles in Courage, assisted by speechwriter Theodore Sorenson. Here, Senator Lieberman, the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate, and wife Hadassah, a first-generation American and child of Holocaust survivors, offer a joint memoir of the 2000 campaign, in which Lieberman's ticket captured the popular vote but lost the electoral vote in Florida's surreal voter count and recount. It is apparent that Al Gore tapped Lieberman, the first Democratic senator to condemn Bill Clinton's Monica Lewinsky affair, as damage control; an observant Jew, Lieberman daily offered a sharp contrast to Clinton's looseness. As with most campaign memoirs, this work offers few deep insights, though the reader captures a flavor of the modern campaign organization. Still, political buffs and Lieberman supporters will enjoy this memoir, which throws the senator's hat into the 2004 ring. Recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/02, as Going to the People.]-William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Side-by-side diaries from the first Jewish candidate for vice-president and his wife chronicle some laughs and some letdowns, but no regrets. The Liebermans take refuge at every opportunity in platitudes about faith, freedom, diversity, and other perceived "only in America" attributes, but no one can say they don't come from the heart. The couple's account of the harrowing emotional roller coaster that the Democratic national campaign was for them also displays a regrettable tendency to inject well-worn Seinfeldian humor whenever there's a lull in the action. There are, however, some genuinely funny moments. Witness the Lieberman tribe walking its dutiful mile and a half to Sabbath services in Connecticut interspersed with a Secret Service platoon whose members try to blend in by wearing those white silk skullcaps usually reserved for gentile guests at weddings and bar mitzvahs—until somebody points out that they stand out like a bunch of, well, Secret Service guys. There are few political surprises in Joe's recounting: Bush surprised Gore in the TV debates, he feels; gun-owning Democrats were a big vulnerability; and he still believes his ticket would have taken Florida and thus the presidency had all the votes cast been counted. The only time the senator shows any real rancor, however, is in condemning Ralph Nader ("once my hero") for falsely lumping mainstream Democrats with Republicans as running roughshod over the environment on behalf of big corporations. Hadassah's narratives seem fresher than her husband's, and quite revealing about the energy-sapping triviality of the spousal role in a national campaign. She loves her Joey and truly respects Al Gore as presidential material,but couldn't she please, after all, have her own airplane, even if it's just a little one? Heavy on affirmative experiences; light on political insight.