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aliceboule's review against another edition
4.0
Susan Bordo's account of what she considers the destruction of Clinton was a fabulous albeit troubling read. It sickened and nauseated me, just as the election and events before and after that fateful day did. But it was a necessary read, especially when crafted as well as Bordo does it. If you want to know more about Clinton and the events that unfolded, I really recommend this book.
hellsbell's review against another edition
4.0
originally posted on HellyReads
I started reading this a while ago, but put it to one side because it was making me feel really sad! Then I started reading Post-Truth and thought that the two fit really well together.
This tells the story of how Hillary Clinton was fighting an uphill battle from way before she even won the Democratic nomination. There are explanations of double standards within the political system, misogyny, basic sexism, differing expectations, manipulations of facts and many more things that all added together meant that she didn't really stand a chance.
We all know what happened in the 2016 Presidential contest and election, but this does an amazing job of explaining WHY things panned out in the way they did.
I admit that there is an obvious pro-Hillary bias here, but it can be seen that the timelines discussed=something pretty fishy...
Judge for yourselves. A highly recommended political read!
I started reading this a while ago, but put it to one side because it was making me feel really sad! Then I started reading Post-Truth and thought that the two fit really well together.
This tells the story of how Hillary Clinton was fighting an uphill battle from way before she even won the Democratic nomination. There are explanations of double standards within the political system, misogyny, basic sexism, differing expectations, manipulations of facts and many more things that all added together meant that she didn't really stand a chance.
We all know what happened in the 2016 Presidential contest and election, but this does an amazing job of explaining WHY things panned out in the way they did.
I admit that there is an obvious pro-Hillary bias here, but it can be seen that the timelines discussed=something pretty fishy...
Judge for yourselves. A highly recommended political read!
jonbot666's review against another edition
5.0
The most comprehensive analysis of the election I've read in terms of what was at play. Amazing and quick read. Everyone should read this that cares about democracy and feminism.
daniel_benkendorf's review against another edition
5.0
Bordo's account of the destruction of Hillary Clinton as a public figure and political candidate is expertly written in clear and clean prose. I couldn't put it down. The case that Bordo lays out to explain why Clinton's campaign for the US Presidency failed is quite compelling. The evidence is incontrovertible.
In essence, Clinton was no better at the campaign stuff than most presidential candidates but her loss can be mostly attributed to (1) a media that is profit and ratings driven and that mostly abdicated it's responsibility for truth finding in favor of horse race coverage and false equivalencies, (2) a highly profitable and decades-long smear campaign from the right that shape-shifted and changed its arguments in self-contradictory ways to fit the current narrative, (3) Bernie bros and the "Bernie-or-bust" call-out campaign from the left that threw Hillary out of their self-defined "progressive" camp, (4) a rogue FBI Director, and, YES, (5) entrenched misogyny and gendered ideas of leadership. All of this Bordo deftly defends in the book.
It was healing to read an account that didn't blame Clinton for everything from bed bugs to long lines at Walmart. In truth, Clinton was the most progressive Democratic candidate ever nominated as well as (arguably) the most prepared and distinguished major party candidate in history. The lessons from the 2016 election are much more disturbing than if we simply say Clinton was an awful candidate who defeated herself. The actual explanations are more complex and difficult to swallow. I expect reading this book will be a healing and vindicating experience for Hillary's fans (myself included) but will infuriate those who already rejected her. Of course that fury would underscore Bordo's thesis. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to anyone with an open mind or anyone who was and is inspired by Clinton.
In essence, Clinton was no better at the campaign stuff than most presidential candidates but her loss can be mostly attributed to (1) a media that is profit and ratings driven and that mostly abdicated it's responsibility for truth finding in favor of horse race coverage and false equivalencies, (2) a highly profitable and decades-long smear campaign from the right that shape-shifted and changed its arguments in self-contradictory ways to fit the current narrative, (3) Bernie bros and the "Bernie-or-bust" call-out campaign from the left that threw Hillary out of their self-defined "progressive" camp, (4) a rogue FBI Director, and, YES, (5) entrenched misogyny and gendered ideas of leadership. All of this Bordo deftly defends in the book.
It was healing to read an account that didn't blame Clinton for everything from bed bugs to long lines at Walmart. In truth, Clinton was the most progressive Democratic candidate ever nominated as well as (arguably) the most prepared and distinguished major party candidate in history. The lessons from the 2016 election are much more disturbing than if we simply say Clinton was an awful candidate who defeated herself. The actual explanations are more complex and difficult to swallow. I expect reading this book will be a healing and vindicating experience for Hillary's fans (myself included) but will infuriate those who already rejected her. Of course that fury would underscore Bordo's thesis. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to anyone with an open mind or anyone who was and is inspired by Clinton.
mmichellemoore's review against another edition
5.0
I was a Hillary Clinton supporter for her 2016 bid for the election, and I appreciated this book's examination on what happened during that campaign and the aftermath. I think Bordo took an interesting and highly probably view of the role that the media played, not just in the rise of Trump, but the, what was later called, miscalculation of early polls. It looks at the role Comey's investigations and annoucements (or lack thereof played), and how the democratic vote was split. Quick short read with a lot of good information.
wadesworld's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure I was ready for a postmortem on the campaign yet, but I was wrong. Incredibly emotional and thoroughly researched, Bordo does an excellent job of examining ALL of the forces that worked against Sec. Clinton. I would highly recommend to anyone wondering how the most intelligent person to ever run for president was reduced to a cold, calculating, unrecognizable caricature. This has become an instant favorite.
mrsnagappala's review against another edition
3.0
It's hard to say I liked this one. The information is undoubtedly good, but if you are in any way the least bit sympathetic to HRC, reading this is gonna make you unfathomably depressed. From Bernie supporters who wouldn't deign to vote for her, to Trump's innumerable tantrums and scandals that should have each been enough to disqualify him, to the clear witch hunt going on at the FBI with respect to "her damned emails"...it's a lot to absorb, and we lived through it all less than a year ago. Maybe that's partly why the book feels sort of rushed. (There were also at least three glaring typos.) It's blessedly short at under 200 pages not including the notes, so there's that.
marisacarpico's review against another edition
4.0
Initially worried that we weren't far removed enough from the election to really process the experience, but this really worked as a recording and analysis of what happened during the campaign and how we got to the result. Future generations will read this and get a pretty good understanding of how the Trump administration came to be.
That said, Bordo's stated bias is not going to sit well with everyone reading it now. The truth in what she says can be a tough pill to swallow depending on the opinions the reader already holds of Clinton. The wounds might still be too fresh for people to stand back and analyze the situation objectively.
That said, Bordo's stated bias is not going to sit well with everyone reading it now. The truth in what she says can be a tough pill to swallow depending on the opinions the reader already holds of Clinton. The wounds might still be too fresh for people to stand back and analyze the situation objectively.
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