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What It Takes
- The Way to the White House
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 54 hrs and 35 mins
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Publisher's summary
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 - and scours the psyches of contenders from George Bush and Robert Dole to Michael Dukakis and Gary Hart - 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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In my 'Top Ten' books of all time!
- By karen on 09-17-13
By: Stuart Woods
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Oil!
- By: Upton Sinclair
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 19 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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As he did so masterfully in The Jungle, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Upton Sinclair interweaves social criticism with human tragedy to create an unforgettable portrait of Southern California's early oil industry. Enraged by the oil scandals of the Harding administration in the 1920s, Sinclair tells a gripping tale of avarice, corruption, and class warfare, featuring a cavalcade of characters, including senators, oil magnates, Hollywood film starlets, and a crusading evangelist.
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an outstanding book
- By Gregory on 05-18-08
By: Upton Sinclair
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Talking to Canadians
- A Memoir
- By: Rick Mercer
- Narrated by: Rick Mercer
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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What is Rick Mercer going to do now? That was the question on everyone's lips when the beloved comedian retired his hugely successful TV show after 15 seasons - and at the peak of its popularity. The answer came not long after, when he roared back in a new role as stand-up-comedian, playing to sold-out houses wherever he appeared. And then COVID-19 struck. And his legions of fans began asking again: What is Rick Mercer going to do now? Well, for one thing, he's been writing a comic masterpiece.
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Mercer Killed and He Will Kill Again
- By Quinn M on 11-28-22
By: Rick Mercer
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Lady Bird Johnson
- An Oral History
- By: Michael L. Gillette
- Narrated by: Corinna May
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Over a span of 18 years, Lady Bird Johnson recorded 47 oral history interviews with Michael Gillette and his colleagues. These conversations, just released in 2011, form the heart of Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History, an intimate story of a shy young country girl's transformation into one of America's most effective and admired First Ladies.
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Fantastic
- By Syd Young on 06-01-19
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The Politician
- An Insider's Account of John Edwards's Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal that Brought Him Down
- By: Andrew Young
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Like a nonfiction version of All the King's Men, The Politician offers a truly disturbing, even shocking, perspective on the risks taken and tactics employed by a man determined to rule the most powerful nation on earth.
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Politician Phony. A must listen!!!
- By Sherman on 02-09-10
By: Andrew Young
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They Said This Day Would Never Come
- Chasing the Dream on Obama's Improbable Campaign
- By: Chris Liddell-Westefeld
- Narrated by: Chris Liddell-Westefeld, Dion Graham, Graham Halstead, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In the year leading up to the Iowa caucuses, few thought a freshman senator named Barack Hussein Obama would be able to win the Democratic nomination - not to mention become the most popular leader in the world. But something was stirring. Hundreds of young people from all over the country began assembling first in Iowa. These "kids" became the foundation of one of the most improbable presidential campaigns of the modern era. Chris Liddell-Westefeld was one of those kids. He and thousands of other staff and volunteers dedicated their time, intelligence, and resources to help elect Barack Obama.
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2008 re-lived
- By Miss Effie on 07-01-20
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Finale
- A Novel of the Reagan Years
- By: Thomas Mallon
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of the acclaimed novel Watergate comes a galvanizing new novel about the tumultuous administration of the most consequential and enigmatic president of modern times - Ronald Reagan. Finale takes listeners to the political gridiron of Washington in 1986, the wealthiest enclaves of Southern California, and the volcanic landscape of Iceland, where the president engages in two almost apocalyptic days of negotiation with Mikhail Gorbachev.
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Gore Vidal for the 21st Century
- By philip on 10-31-15
By: Thomas Mallon
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Plain Speaking
- An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman
- By: Merle Miller
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Plain Speaking is a book based on conversations between Merle Miller and the thirty-third President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. From these interviews, as well as others who knew him over the years, Miller transcribes Truman’s feisty takes on everything from his personal life, military service, and political career to the challenges he faced in taking the office during the final days of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.
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One of my favorites, so far!
- By johnsoneliza on 07-23-20
By: Merle Miller
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The Kennedys
- An American Drama
- By: Peter Collier, David Horowitz
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 20 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Who are the Kennedys? Are they the brilliant, heroic, extraordinary people their admirers believe them to be? Or are they arrogant, competitive, self-absorbed children of a willful and immensely rich patriarch, as their detractors claim? In fact, they are all of these things, and more.
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Well-written (and narrated) Kennedy history.
- By SBG on 09-17-19
By: Peter Collier, and others
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My Grandfather's Son
- A Memoir
- By: Clarence Thomas
- Narrated by: Clarence Thomas
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words.
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Wonderful read
- By Amazon Customer on 10-17-21
By: Clarence Thomas
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Catholics don’t believe in “Works Righteousness”
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Primary Colors
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Primary Colors has its rich rewards as a savvy insider’s look at life on the stump. But it travels far beyond mere gossip and exposé to discover a convincing world of its own, peopled by smart cookies, nutcases, and wheeler-dealers, whose public and private lives illuminate each other—sometimes by casting dark shadows. This story spans the novelistic spectrum from bedroom farce to high moral drama, and it paints a picture of the political state of the nation so vivid and authentic that one finds in it the deepest kind of truth—the kind of truth that only fiction can tell.
By: Joe Klein
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Primary Colors
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Primary Colors offers a richly detailed look at life on the political stump. As former congressional aide Henry Burton is dazzled and lured into presidential hopeful Jack Stanton's fledgling campaign, he becomes a cog in Stanton's unstoppable political machine. Burton illuminates, through his actions and observations, the sometimes seamy, sometimes steamy and sometimes surprisingly noble ascent to the presidency.
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- By Laurie on 10-15-08
By: Anonymous
What listeners say about What It Takes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- RZ
- 08-11-20
Great book and an AMAZING performance.
Great book and an AMAZING performance. Truly a Herculean feat to manage this many characters and voices as ably as Sellon-Wright did.
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- Sam
- 07-05-21
Political classic
This is a must read/listen for any political or historical enthusiast! A
Phenomenal deep dive into the 1988 presidential election.
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- Picasso Tucasso
- 10-01-23
Over the top narration
Because of the narration, I'm not sure if I liked the book all that much. 54 hours and the narration is SLOW! Worse than that, though, is how the narrator tries to imitate (badly) different speakers. Fake laughs, accents, gender tones, etc. Just read it straight, like we do in our heads, and the overall experience would be MUCH better. It takes someone with some very good acting chops to pull that sort of narration off (e.g. Ray Porter in Michael Herr's "Dispatches"). I've heard worse than this, but not much worse . . . especially for such a long book. I listened to the whole thing, and many times found it excruciating.
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- Matt B
- 12-21-21
A world class political saga
What an epic undertaking. "What it Takes" is an unrivaled chronicle of the 1988 presidential election and the 6 prominent candidates that take part in it. You will learn the stories of every one of those men with excruciating detail from childhood through to the months following the general election. This text has unparalleled insight into the political machines each candidate wielded in their careers, before and during the 1988 cycle. Truly a massive undertaking executed with precision and care. I was sad to hear the end credits, so immersed in the storytelling I was. I hope you enjoy it too.
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-22-24
The detail is insane
Robert Caro is the gold standard and RBC might have surpassed. One of, if not the, best political non-fiction I’ve ever read.
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- Anonymous
- 06-13-21
One of my absolute favorite books and readers
Truly a joy to listen to. Great insights into the candidates and process abound throughout.
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- Paula Lynch
- 10-03-23
Fascinating Read
Entertaining book about the 1988 primaries and development of 6 of the main contenders told at length
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- Hebern
- 09-11-20
Great political book
It took more than a month, but I finally finished the longest book I’ve listened to thus far, clocking in at more than 54 hours. This was a detailed account of the primary season for the 1988 presidential election. It followed six candidates: George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, Mike Dukakis, Gary Hart, Joe Biden and Richard Gephardt. The title of the book refers to two things. What it takes to BE President and what it takes to BECOME President. For the second, it is the good and bad of what it takes.
The author at the outset apologized/explained why Jesse Jackson was not one of the featured candidates. He said that Jackson simply wouldn’t slow down enough to grant him the access he needed. He didn’t want to write about these men from simply research. He wanted access so that he could present much of the material from the point of view of each. And in fact, that is a feature of the book. There isn’t really a political bias to the book. The bias is that it is subtly biased toward each man when the discussion is about that man. At least initially. In the extensive biographies of each man it shows that each had what it takes to be President. However, deeper into the book in showing why 5 of the 6 didn’t have what it takes to become President, flaws are explored.
It is a long book, but was of great interest to me. At the time of the events depicted, I was a political science major at NC State. I was fortunate enough by that major and being at a large university to have a small connection with many of the people in the book which made what others may see as excessive detail, interesting trivia to me. I met Dukakis on NC State’s campus during primary season and shook hands with him. That fall, one of my Political Science professors gave me his tickets to a filming of Firing Line. There I was able to see up close and in person: William F. Buckley, Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, George McGovern, Jack Kemp and Judge Robert Bork. I’ve always been very thankful for that professor giving me those tickets. It’s doubtful I’ll ever have an opportunity to attend something like that again.
I really enjoyed the book. It was very well done. I only have two small complaints. First, given the detail of the coverage on the primary it was a shame to have just a two hour summary of the general election. Second, I think the book would have been better if Jackson was substituted for Gephardt since Jackson was ultimately in the final two on the Democratic side. Plus, Jackson was historic as the first black candidate to really contend in a Presidential election. However, the author did explain the why on that.
As for the audio, it was excellent. The reader was a very good one for the subject matter. His imitation of Dole was really good, but surprisingly his imitation of Reagan was not given everyone used to “do” Reagan. Overall, he did a very good job with the MANY voices in the book.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Chris Corsini
- 05-20-21
Finally!
This was a notable absence for years from the audiobook catalogue. I am pleased to see the ivory tower eggheads finally came to their senses. A must listen for anyone who likes American politics.
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- reviewer
- 08-31-21
A classic
Probably the best book about the process of running for president. Especially worth reading today, because there is a lot about Joe Biden, much of it heartrending.
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