The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory |  | Author: David Plouffe
Publisher: Viking Adult
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Seller: cseereader
Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 164
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 0670021334
Dewey Decimal Number: 324.9730931
EAN: 9780670021338
ASIN: 0670021334
Publication Date: November 3, 2009 (New: Last 30 Days)
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Product Description
The architect of the Obama campaign reveals how it all happened- and how it will revolutionize our politics
David Plouffe not only led the effort that put Barack Obama in the White House, but he also changed the face of politics forever and reenergized the idea of democracy itself. The Audacity to Win is his story of that groundbreaking achievement, taking readers inside the remarkable campaign that led to the election of the first African American president.
For two years Plouffe worked side by side with Obama, charting the course of the campaign. His is the ultimate insider's tale, revealing both the strategies that delivered Obama to office and how the candidate and campaign handled moments of great challenge and opportunity. Moving from the deliberations about whether to run at all, through the epic primary battle with Hillary Clinton and the general election against John McCain, Plouffe showcases the high-wire gamesmanship that fascinated pundits and the drama and intrigue that captivated a nation.
The Audacity to Win chronicles the arrival of a new moment in American life at the convergence of digital technology and grassroots organization, and the exciting possibilities revealed by a campaign that in many ways functioned as a $1 billion start-up with laser-like focus and discipline. In this extraordinary book, David Plouffe unfolds one of the most important political stories of our time, one whose lessons are not limited to politics, but reach to the greatest heights of what we dream about for our country and ourselves.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
Good campaign histrory, narrow focus November 24, 2009
David Fourer (Chicago, IL United States)
Big political campaigns are a strange world apart from everything else. Lots of message points, demographics, tactics, strategies, principals, organizational challenges, media markets, and fund-raising. It runs at a fever pitch, 16-hour days, thousands of staff and volunteers all under 30 years of age. Of course there is the candidate, a unique quality in any campaign, and then there is the motivation, the idealism or pragmatism or personal interest, or whatever people care about. So this is a book about all of that.
I am not particularly interested in election campaigns, so there had to be some other reason to read this book. I was a little dissappointed when it read like a day-to-day, blow-by-blow chronicle of the presidential primary and general election campaigns. Fortunately, Plouffe stands back and gets some wider perspective once in a while. Obama's election was special to me and everyone I know. Plouffe understands that it's about more than just engineering an election win. It's written through a certain narrow lens, but I learned things about American national politics and about President Obama. I also could remember headlines from the two year campaign, because it happened so recently, and learn a more about the events I remember.
Personally, I never paid any attention to the candidate's packaged and refined and message. Apparently it's the most important thing. To me it was always over-simplified. I am mystified that so many people care about the talking points in debates, advertisements, billboards, speeches, and news reports. For two years I just blanked it all out, from all the candidates, Clinton, Obama, and John McCain. That's not to say I wasn't passionate about the campaign, the election, and the candidate. The book was worth reading because I really cared who got elected. I understand better how the president did get elected. I also understand just a little better what kind of person President Obama is.
Plouffe tells how this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience even for a professional campaign manager, who also is probably the top talent in the whole country. He also has a take-home message for people like me who find the campaign a curiosity, but care about the country.
 This is Fox News "KRYPTONITE" November 23, 2009
Yuma Michaels (Duarte, CA United States)
In the midst of so much FOX News negativity, this book could not have come at a better time. For those of us who appreciate and respect Obama - who still believe in the audacity of hope - who are smart enough to understand that it takes more than 10 months in office to undo eight years of catastrophic policy implementation, this is our book. It's such a powerful read. As healthcare is being argued over, and Republicans seek to tear Obama down at every turn, this book reminds us of the strength that can come about when millions of non-racist, open-minded, smart, honest, hardworking people come together as a united, unbreakable front. Plouffe has given history a gift, and decades from now, his strategies will be studied in political science courses all over the world. The two "must read books" for 2009 are "The Audacity to Win" and "71 Days: The Media Assault On Obama." Both are gems.
 Accurate but boring November 23, 2009
Green in Hellertown (Hellertown, PA)
I am listening to the Audible unabridged version of this book. I don't know what the listening equivalent is to watching paint dry but this is it! I respect Mr. Plouffe's integrity but poll figures and Electoral College strategy? I wanted some red meat.
Not for everyone November 22, 2009
S. R. Schnur (ME USA)
David Plouffe was President Obama's campaign manager. He wrote a very good book about how the campaign was run. It is hard to figure out how many stars to give his book. For political junkies (of whom I am one) it gets five stars. Just as the campaign was run, the book is clear, easy to read, and coherent about aims and reasoning The campaign and election were historic. What's not to like?
On the other hand, we have people who are interested in history but for whom the "sausage making" part of a political campaign tells them more than they care to know. Those people will definitely get bogged down in the book and possibly even be turned off by the whole political process because the book is very detailed. For those people I give the book two stars. (Good writing and lots of detail means it couldn't possibly be given only one star.) People don't have to know every little thing about a political campaign to be involved citizens or even to be involved in a campaign.
You know which person you are. You decide whether or not to read the book.
An Insider's View of the Game November 22, 2009
Donna Brown (Kennewick, WA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In The Audacity to Win, David Plouffe says of the boss he got to know so well during two years of campaigning together, "He is a chess player in a town full of checkers players."
An idealist, a courageous man with a brilliant and innovative mind, Barack Obama tends to surround himself with people of like attitudes and aptitudes. That Plouffe himself is such a man is evident in this book, which is analytical but clear, high-minded but very human. Himself a chess player, Plouffe provides a fascinating insider's look at how the the two historic matches against Hillary Clinton and John McCain played out the way they did.
Those who followed the campaign closely may find Plouffe's book both enlightening and nostalgic. For those still unfamiliar with the principles and goals of our current president, the book should provide a reassuring look into the heart of the man and the kind of organizations he builds. For anyone sick and tired of the constant media chatter about Palin, Beck, and the hysteria surrounding the Tea Party movement, the book offers a calm, intelligent respite.
"The president believes deeply that the American people want to have an honest and complex dialogue about the direction of the country," says Plouffe. I hope the president is right. If so, this book is a valuable contribution to the national discourse.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 29
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