| Going Rogue: An American Life |  | Author: Sarah Palin
Brand: Harper Collins Publishers
List Price: $28.99
Buy Used: $1.57
as of 9/5/2010 13:39 MDT details
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Rating:  1304 reviews
Sales Rank: 964
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 6.2 x 1.5
MPN: 9780061939891
ISBN: 0061939897
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931092
EAN: 9780061939891
ASIN: 0061939897
Publication Date: November 17, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
On September 3, 2008 Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gave a speech at the Republican National Convention that electrified the nation and instantly made her one of the most recognizable women in the world. As chief executive of America′s largest state, she had built a record as a reformer who cast aside politics-as-usual and pushed through changes other politicians only talked about: Energy independence. Ethics reform. And the biggest private sector infrastructure project in U.S. history. While revitalizing public school funding and ensuring the state met its responsibilities to seniors and Alaska Native populations, Palin also beat the political "good ol′ boys club" at their own game and brought Big Oil to heel. Like her GOP running mate, John McCain, Palin wasn′t a packaged and over-produced "candidate." She was a Main Street American woman: a working mom, wife of a blue collar union man, and mother of five children, the eldest of whom was serving his country in a yearlong deployment in Iraq and the youngest, an infant with special needs. Palin′s hometown story touched a populist nerve, rallying hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans to the GOP ticket. But as the campaign unfolded, Palin became a lightning rod for both praise and criticism. Supporters called her "refreshing," "honest," a kitchen-table public servant they felt would fight for their interests. Opponents derided her as a wide-eyed Pollyanna unprepared for national leadership. But none of them knew the real Sarah Palin. In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Palin paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska; meeting her lifelong love; her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family; and the unique joys and trials of life as a high-profile working mother. She also opens up for the first time about the 2008 presidential race, providing a rare, mom′s-eye view of high-stakes national politics - from patriots dedicated to "Country First" to slick politicos bent on winning at any cost. Going Rogue traces one ordinary citizen′s extraordinary journey, and imparts Palin′s vision of a way forward for America and her unfailing hope in the greatest nation on earth.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 1304
 A British perspective on a controversial American December 26, 2009
Peter Durward Harris (Leicester England)
295 out of 426 found this review helpful
Prior to reading this book, I knew little about either Sarah Palin or Alaska and I was interested to learn more about both, especially the book's author. Although famous in America, Sarah Palin could go just about anywhere in Britain completely anonymously as long as she didn't meet any Americans along the way. Frankly, Brits normally only take any notice of American politicians if they become president. There are exceptions such as Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, but they are rare. Contrast the number of reviews of this book posted in Amazon USA with the number posted in Amazon UK for confirmation of the lack of British interest.
I realized early on in this book that I was going to enjoy reading it because Mrs Palin's story is both interesting and well-written. She makes summer in Alaska sound wonderful, although acknowledging that the winters are long and harsh. She discusses many aspects of her life and it is clear that she has strong views on a number of issues.
Although not directly relevant to her political career, perhaps the most intriguing question about her beliefs concerns her stance on the origin of species. At first glance, Mrs Palin appears to be a full-blooded creationist, but she denies this. Apparently, she accepts what she calls microevolution, in which species change and evolve over time, but not that people are related to apes or monkeys. Her stance is interesting, but I prefer to accept Darwin's theory, despite the proof of it still being incomplete.
Not having studied the American political scene closely, I'll leave others to judge the accuracy of the main story, but the politics as described here is explosive stuff. Corruption in Alaska, tales of in-fighting within the Republican party and dirty tricks played by some Democrats - all rather sad, but I'll say straight away that similar things happen elsewhere in the world including Britain. Hey, the summer of 2009 was dominated by the expenses scandal at Westminster, while all British political parties of any significance have had their internal fights at one time or another, in between playing dirty tricks on each other. So in one form or another, most of the political stuff here doesn't surprise me, but some of it is shocking nevertheless.
An unconventional politician in many ways, Mrs Palin nevertheless appears to have brought about significant changes in a number of areas in her home state of Alaska, which may seem to many people (especially in my country) like a frozen wasteland, but which is rich in natural resources and occupies a vast land area, approximately equivalent to France, Spain, Italy and the UK combined. So being governor of Alaska is not equivalent to running a small local council in Britain even though it is sparsely populated (fewer people live there than in the county of Leicestershire in which I live). I suspect that the position of state governor may be equivalent to being leader of the Welsh assembly. The biggest Alaskan story by far in my adult lifetime was the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, which Mrs Palin covers briefly; she later had plenty of political fights with the oil companies (including BP as well as ExxonMobil and others) in her time as state governor.
Mrs Palin has drawn plenty of criticism from a variety of sources and uses the opportunity that this book affords to hit back at those critics, often explaining how things have been distorted by the media. Having had my own relatively minor experience of being in British national newspapers, I have sympathy with victims of media distortion, so I don't blame Mrs Palin for hitting back via this book, but I can see that others will react badly. At least my story was a one-day wonder with no lasting consequences, but things are different for those who go into politics, sport or showbiz.
Mrs Palin clearly isn't impressed by the way the Republican presidential campaign was handled, and clearly feels that she wasn't able to contribute effectively to the campaign, but the aftermath was even worse. While some Republicans were happy to cast her as the scapegoat, some Democrats launched a sustained campaign against her that exploited freedom of information laws. Ultimately, this created problems for the legislative process as well as personal difficulties for the Palin family, all described in detail, causing Mrs Palin to decide that she had to quit as governor with a year still to run, even though she was never found guilty of anything. As she acknowledges, that decision to quit may kill her political career, but Mrs Palin says that she did what she felt was right for Alaska. Inevitably in such situations, people will believe whatever they choose to.
I expect Mrs Palin will return to public life in some capacity eventually. That might be as a presidential candidate, but it might alternatively be as champion of a cause dear to her heart. Her vice-presidential campaign generated enormous hope among disabled people, while her love of Alaska makes her passionate about environmental issues. So there's two obvious issues, but I'm sure there are others.
Would I vote for Mrs Palin, given the chance? I don't know because I'd need to know more about issues not discussed in this book, but I'd like the option.
I can see why this book - and the author - are so controversial. Fans of Mrs Palin will love this book, while critics will be furious. Both are likely to have their opinions reinforced by reading this book. Coming from a position of ignorance, I'll just say that I found this book to be compulsive reading.
Skeptical at first, but genuinely impressed December 12, 2009
Iowegain (Iowa)
88 out of 133 found this review helpful
Fan or not of Sarah Palin, this is a good book. I was honestly a little skeptical about her, and about this book, but I picked it up and then could not put it down. It kept my attention, I learned many new things about her personally, her experience, the 2008 election, and her views. It's nice to hear it directly from her mouth so you know exactly where she stands.
Know what you're getting when you buy this book. It's part personal story, part politics, and I'm sure part Sarah wanting the truth to get out on all the things you've heard about her and her family.
The book was much better than I expected and I truly enjoyed it.
Well writen and gives you an insight of Gov. Palin's life December 28, 2009
Chuck (Washington, D.C.)
45 out of 68 found this review helpful
I am a big fan of politicians who are, well, for the lack of a better phrase, not born with a silver spoon in her/his mouth. When you have to work to pay for little things others take for granted, e.g. your own education, you have a true sense of what it takes to reach your goals in life. For this reason, I admire people like Pres. Clinton and Gov. Palin greatly. Clinton's "My Life" is one of my all-time favorite autobiographies.
As I read through this book, it became clear to me, much like Pres. Clinton, Mrs. Palin is far from a perfect human being and she has not been without fault. To her credit, she did not try to hide everything in the book. She admitted to many of the mistakes she made during the campaign and her life in general, and she tried to give a hindsight review of what went wrong and how she should/would have done differently, although I wish she had played less of the blame game in the book overall. As a political moderate, I can't say I always agree with Gov. Palin's opinions and stances on different issues, but I respect her because she formed them based on her own personal beliefs and experiences and did not blindedly follow "party leaders". The book also was Gov. Palin's first fair chance to explain some of the controversies that plagued her VP campaign, including the Troopergate, the Couric interview, the pregnancies (both herself and Bristol) and many more stories we never heard. Whether or not you want to take her words with a grain of salt, it at least is her side of the story that the media never presented us.
All in all, a very good read that took us from her childhood days in Alaska as a tomboy who loved sports and outdoors, to her struggles in early adulthood with her husband and children, and eventually to her glamorous appearance along side Sen. McCain on the campaign trails. Whether you agree with her politics, I think this book presents much we could learn from her life.
This is my honest review of the book and how much I enjoyed it, not the person or her political positions. I pre-ordered on Kindle and finished in a little less than two days.
Going Rogue Sounds Like a Revolution...BE CAREFUL If You Join It January 25, 2010
DrProactive Randy Gilbert (DrProactive on facebook and twitter)
106 out of 162 found this review helpful
Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue, is without a doubt the most "impactful" book of 2009 & 2010 and is a must read for every American who wants to be informed of what is happening politically in America. It also gives you a front row seat to see the replay of events that went on during the 2008 Presidential election.
Although Sarah Palin was a veteran politician when she was nominated for Vice President (and had the highest approval rating of any State Governor at the time) she stepped into a battle that became a political war bigger than anyone had ever seen in our lifetime. It was difficult for her to get her bearings, because even those who were supposedly on her side, had turned against her because of her consistent conservative values and beliefs.
In the end, Sarah realized that a new revolution was needed to stop against the tyranny of socialism, which had begun tearing apart the fabric of the U.S. Constitution had begun and she had no choice but to "Go Rogue" and jump into the fight with both feet. She has become a Mel Gibson type of character from "The Patriot" and the kind of leader every great cause looks for.
"Going Rogue" gets 5 stars from me for two reason. First, I believe it is written extremely well and makes the 2008 election story come alive. Secondly, it accomplishes its intended purpose of recruiting others (i.e. Patriots who love both Country and God) like myself into this American Revolution 2.0. If you love America and want your children to continue enjoying freedom and liberty, then I highly recommend you read this book ASAP.
Palin says she is a Republican because that Party has a platform that is closest to the founding fathers' principles. However, it is very obvious from her book that she believes many Republicans have become misguided and have abandoned the principles that have made America great. I believe that Party affiliation doesn't matter, Palin is a Patriot and a fighter for the cause of Liberty. She had convinced me to go rogue too and band together with those who oppose politicians like Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and others who continue to lead us further into Socialism.
A WORD OF CAUTION: If you feel the same way and begin speaking out and/or taking action to defend Liberty, there is a very high chance that those who embrace social governmental control (and the removal of our U.S. Constitutional rights) will become offended. And, because they don't have a high regard for following laws (because they equate liberty with the freedom from moral discipline), they might try to accuse you of false wrong doing (i.e. lie about you and perhaps call you a racist) and otherwise try to harm your reputation.
Therefore, I would highly recommend getting another book called, Wild West 2.0: How to Protect and Restore Your Reputation on the Untamed Social Frontier. As a Patriot, it is inevitable that you will run across people who will try to ruin your online reputation (like they do to Sarah Palin). This book tells you exactly where to look for the problems that Liberals might cause and then how to repair them.
Loved it! September 5, 2010
Erin Waters (Kansas)
I would just like to point out the the majority of the people who gave this book a one star rating probably didn't even read it. (:
I actually READ this book. (: (: (: (: (:
I really enjoyed this book! I now think of Sarah as any old American. Not a half black half white man who had a pampered life living as an elite and yet can somehow relate to the black Americans that live in the ghetto? If you are lost I am referring to Obama. My point is that Sarah's story is about an all American lady who did not attend an Ivy League school yet served in public office and raised her family at the same time- which is a difficult path to forge in today's society. Although there are some things I can say I disagree with, I think she is a genuine person that does not carry a specific agenda like many of our politicians. I can relate to her more than others. Especially a beautiful, conservative, family-friendly female. Sarah has it all- a wonderful family and a job serving in public office. She is inspiring. I hope I can do it all someday like her.
Republican or Democrat, whatever you are, you should give Sarah a chance. The media trashed her reputation unfairly while giving Obama and his crew the upper advantage. She has a great story. If anything else, you will have an appreciation for Alaska. I have no desire to live in a cold place like Alaska, but I loved the description of her homeland. Thank you Sarah for sharing your story with us! I know you are ignoring the close minded liberals that have no life other than to give your book a one star rating and create new accounts to try and make your rating go down.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1304
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