Publishers Weekly
Brazile's lifelong love affair with politics culminated in September 1999, when she became Al Gore's presidential campaign manager. She was also the first African-American woman to head a mainstream national presidential campaign. Both achievements are the subject of this lively, sometimes moving memoir. After joining the Dukakis campaign at age 21, through wise strategy choices and sheer ability, Brazile carved out a place at the table with the primarily male, white, middle-aged political elite. Her colorful observations about the high-profile politicians she met (black and white) are often entertaining, although she tries not to slam the door on potential future campaign positions. Bill Clinton "had the mind of six men..."; Rev. Jesse Jackson "was brilliant in terms of politics and he was a master of manipulation when it came to the media." Yet for all the insider look at the Gore campaign, the book's strength is Brazile herself, a self-described "abrasive Black woman." And while some may find self-serving her penchant for distancing herself from the Gore campaign's mistakes, readers will respond positively to the loving description of her Louisiana roots, her remarkable sense of purpose and her fierce loyalty to friends and family. Being a black woman informs all of Brazile's experiences, and readers get an invaluable glimpse of what it is like to be who she was, where she was, during one of America's most tumultuous political moments. Agent, Robert Barnett. (June 4) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
This engaging memoir by a consummate Washington insider offers a unique look at the intersection of race, gender, and politics in the context of national campaigns. Brazile, the first black woman to manage a national presidential campaign as head of the Gore campaign in 2000, has served as adviser, emissary, mediator, broker, and, on occasion, window dressing. One of nine children in a working-class New Orleans family, she chose politics as her game early in life. Having worked on behalf of Democratic presidential candidates from Jimmy Carter on, Brazile dishes the kind of dirt that will fascinate political junkies, particularly about the role of Rev. Jesse Jackson. She also describes with great charm the family back in New Orleans who supported her in what appeared to be a risky set of career decisions. That Brazile remains at the Democratic National Committee as chair of its Voting Rights Institute is testament to her considerable political acumen. Recommended for libraries with a large readership in politics and in African American subjects. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/04.]-Cynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Al Gore's presidential campaign manager explains what went wrong. Among other topics, that is, including the long struggle for voters' rights in longtime Democratic operative Brazile's native Deep South: racism prevailed in the '60s, racism prevailed in Florida in 2000. While working to make Gore president, Brazile writes, she remarked to a Washington Post reporter, "As a Black woman, I was the most invisible person on the planet. And I told her, 'I'm in the White boys' world now and I've got to beat them just to get a seat at the table, but I'm ready for them.' " Which, of course, led to wounded cries of reverse racism on the part of offended white politicos, who dug up graveyards full of dirt on Brazile: her having been fired from the Dukakis campaign in 1988 ("I had ended up flying all over the country with Dukakis just so he could avoid having an all-White campaign," she grumbles) and her involvement with gay-rights organizations. "Race is the third rail of American politics," she observes, theoretically off-limits until, as if by magic, it becomes an issue-usually, the author suggests, thanks to Republican machinations. ("Whenever Republicans go down in the polls, they unleash the most horrific personal attacks on a candidate.") Not that the Dems are faultless, she notes: to her anger, Gore refused to accept the possibility, at least publicly, that racism had a role in the disenfranchisement of black voters in Florida, which contributed to his losing the election. And, Brazile hints, not that Gore was any great shakes; after the race he abandoned leadership of the Democratic National Committee, putting it back into the hands of the Clintons and shunting her aside in favor of TerryMcAuliffe "without consulting the Black leadership." In other words, politics as usual. Though not without bland tropes of its own ("God never abandoned me on my journey," etc.), Brazile's insider account will appeal to wonks, activists, and reformers. Agent: Bob Barnett
