McCain's Promise
Aboard the Straight Talk Express with John McCain
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Narrated by:
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Henry Leyva
About this listen
That's the question David Foster Wallace set out to explore when he first climbed aboard Senator John McCain's campaign caravan in February 2000. It was a moment when McCain was increasingly perceived as a harbinger of change, the anticandidate whose goal was "to inspire young Americans to devote themselves to causes greater than their own self-interest". And many young Americans were beginning to take notice.
To get at "something riveting and unspinnable and true" about John McCain, Wallace finds he must pierce the smoke screen of spin doctors and media manipulators. And he succeeds - in a characteristically potent blast of journalistic brio that not only captures the lunatic rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign but also delivers a compelling inquiry into John McCain himself: the senator, the POW, the campaign finance reformer, the candidate, the man.
©2008 David Foster Wallace (P)2008 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Wallace conveys a geniuine disillusionment at the sham of the whole arrangement: the endless political posturing, the robotic news coverage....At the same time, he recognize's McCain's essential magnetism." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)
"Bracingly insightful." ( New York Times Book Review)
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- By Laurie on 10-15-08
By: Anonymous
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The Front Runner (All the Truth Is Out Movie Tie-In)
- The Week Politics Went Tabloid
- By: Matt Bai
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In May 1987, Colorado Senator Gary Hart seemed a lock for the party’s presidential nomination and led George H. W. Bush by double digits in the polls. Then, in one tumultuous week, rumors of marital infidelity and a newspaper’s stakeout of Hart’s home resulted in a media frenzy the likes of which had never been seen. Through the spellbindingly reported story of the senator’s fall from grace, Matt Bai, Yahoo News columnist and former chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, reveals the Hart affair to be far more than one man’s tragedy.
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Excellent writing and performance
- By S. on 12-06-14
By: Matt Bai
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What It Takes
- The Way to the White House
- By: Richard Ben Cramer
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 54 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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An American Iliad in the guise of contemporary political reportage, What It Takes penetrates the mystery at the heart of all presidential campaigns: How do presumably ordinary people acquire that mixture of ambition, stamina, and pure shamelessness that makes a true candidate? As he recounts the frenzied course of the 1988 presidential race, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer comes up with the answers, in a book that is vast, exhaustively researched, exhilarating, and sometimes appalling in its revelations.
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Great political book
- By Hebern on 09-11-20
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A Slobbering Love Affair
- The Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media
- By: Bernard Goldberg
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 4 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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According to Bernard Goldberg, the media crossed an important line in the 2008 presidential race, moving from their usual unthinking liberal bias to crass partisanship of the crudest kind, practically acting as spin doctors for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. In A Slobbering Love Affair, his most provocative book yet, Goldberg demonstrates how the media launched an unparalleled effort to ensure the election of the man they regarded as the One.
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spot on!
- By Eunice on 05-28-09
By: Bernard Goldberg
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Antisocial
- Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation
- By: Andrew Marantz
- Narrated by: Andrew Marantz
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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From a rising star at The New Yorker, a deeply immersive chronicle of how the optimistic entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley set out to create a free and democratic internet - and how the cynical propagandists of the alt-right exploited that freedom to propel the extreme into the mainstream.
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Amazing read!!!
- By Nick H on 10-23-19
By: Andrew Marantz
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The Book of Joe
- The Life, Wit, and (Sometimes Accidental) Wisdom of Joe Biden
- By: Jeff Wilser
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The aviators. The Amtrak. The ice cream cones. The memes. Few politicians are as iconic, or as beloved, as Joe Biden. Now, in The Book of Joe, Biden fans will finally have the definitive look at America's favorite vice president - and what he can teach us. Structured around key moments in Biden's life and career - and filled with Biden-isms like "That's a bunch of malarkey" and "I may be Irish, but I'm not stupid" - this blend of biography, advice, and humor will reveal the experiences that forged Joe Biden, and the lessons we can use in our own lives.
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I LOVED it!!!
- By Leslie on 11-19-20
By: Jeff Wilser
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Live Right and Find Happiness (Although Beer is Much Faster)
- Life Lessons from Dave Barry
- By: Dave Barry
- Narrated by: Dave Barry
- Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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An uproariously funny examination of what one generation can teach to another - or not - from the Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times - best-selling author of You Can Date Boys When You're Forty and Insane City. During the course of living (mumble, mumble) years, Dave Barry has gained much wisdom* (*actual wisdom not guaranteed), and he is eager to pass it on - to the next generation, the generation after that, and those idiots who make driving to the grocery store in Florida a death-defying experience.
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Clever!
- By Sharlotte on 01-31-17
By: Dave Barry
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Better than Sex
- By: Hunter S. Thompson
- Narrated by: Scott Sowers
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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A pioneer of the New Journalism movement, Hunter S. Thompson wrote with a fire that captured the attention of millions. Here Thompson delivers a mind-bending view of the 1992 presidential race, packed with all the horror, sacrifice, lust, and glory that made this campaign so utterly fascinating.
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A Classic for One Chapter
- By Michael Friedman on 12-08-12
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Unhinged
- An Insider's Account of the Trump White House
- By: Omarosa Manigault Newman
- Narrated by: Omarosa Manigault Newman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Few have been a member of Donald Trump’s inner orbit longer than Omarosa Manigault Newman. Their relationship has spanned 15 years - through four television shows, a presidential campaign, and a year by his side in the most chaotic, outrageous White House in history. But that relationship has come to a decisive and definitive end, and Omarosa is finally ready to share her side of the story in this explosive, jaw-dropping account.
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Take if for what it's worth...
- By Clay on 08-14-18
What listeners say about McCain's Promise
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jacob Ford
- 04-23-17
It’s dangerous territory,
but listen to this gently as DFW’s parting words. Not exclusively or cryptically or in any coded sort of way—it is an essay on being on the trail and not a suicide note—but it is notably DFW’s last published work, before all subsequent published works would have to be qualified as posthumous.
Try to stay awake.
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- Ella Mc
- 10-26-18
Recursive, Discursive, funny & classic DFW
Took the time to listen to this just to escape from today's political muck. I found myself wishing this article was longer and DFW had been around to report on Obama and now Trump and the races since. His thoughts on leadership vs. salesmanship are better than any political reporting I've read recently. Someone should pick up that ball in 2018. I'd recommend this to Wallace fans, political junkies and those who want to travel to a time when we thought politics were hitting rock bottom... I came away with respect for the author, the subject and a wry smile at the sweet naivete of Wallace on the campaign trail.
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- Jerald D. Cole
- 10-29-22
Great short introduction to DFW
This is a great short example of the brilliance of DFW as the seminal writer of his age. He is the master of the first person narrative account, laced with pithy observations about the absurdity of life.
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- Shiran
- 03-07-13
David Foster Wallace's Best Nonfiction Work
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I've listened multiple times and recommended to many. This is DFW's most compelling, least self-indulgent non-fiction. Consistently witty, funny and full of timeless insights. A masterpiece of the genre.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The book is part anthropology of a presidential campaign trail, part John McCain character study, and one last (most important) part philosophical observations about the crossover between politics and marketing and what that means for the voter/consumer. The most compelling part, however, is a straightforward description of the horror of John McCain's shoot-down, capture, and torture in the hands the Vietnamese and his decision not to leave the Hanoi Hilton ahead of other prisoners as demanded by protocol. DFW's interjections and reminders as he tells the story for the listener to stop and visualize what he/she would do in such a situation is as simple as it is stunningly effective. The passage remains one of my favorite nonfiction passages of all time as it is not only emotional and stirring, but also achieves its goal of having the listener empathize with the situation and forever cognizant that whatever one thinks about John McCain's politics, it cannot be denied that he is (or at least was), a man of astonishing physical strength and moral certitude, whose commitment, in the face of isolation, torture and potential death, to principles that were inconsistent with his own self-interest, mark him as one of the rare political figures, about which we KNOW that his political pursuits were more than just the gratification of personal ambition.
What about Henry Leyva’s performance did you like?
A nuanced performance. Gets the DFW tone (i.e., the bemused outsider) spot on.
If you could give McCain's Promise a new subtitle, what would it be?
David Foster Wallace's Best Nonfiction Work
Any additional comments?
This book is about the culture and characters of a certain time and place. It has a lot of insights about McCain but is not a McCain book. That said, regardless of political ideology, it will likely make you regret that the 2000 McCain didn't win the republican nomination (i.e., beat Bush) and aware that, in many ways, the 2008 version of the man was merely the withered faint shadow of the once energetic, practical, intellectually flexible candidate.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Dr. Dan
- 11-03-08
Slow moving, not really about McCain
This book is not really about McCain, but rather the political process of running for president. Yes, there are a few tidbits about the candidate, but most of the attention is on the press corps.
I was surprised by some of the language used -- but I guess I shouldn't have been based on the original intent of the author's work (Rolling Stones magazine).
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3 people found this helpful