Man of the People
The Life of John McCain
Published on 31. October 2002
416 pages
978-0-471-43236-4 (ISBN)
Description
A captivating look at one of America's most prominent andfascinating public figures
Bestselling author, war hero, presidential candidate, champion ofthe most politically sticky issue to rock Washington sinceWatergate-campaign finance reform- there may be no better knownsenator than John McCain. From Democrats to Republicans, manyAmericans relate to John McCain's straight-talking form ofpolitics.
In Man of the People: The Life of John McCain, political journalistPaul Alexander offers the only objective, in-depth account of thisremarkable politician's journey-from Naval Academy student toPresidential hopeful. Readers will follow McCain from his rich Navyroots through his twenty-one year tour in the Navy, and then beholdas he evolves into one of our country's most distinguished yetcontroversial political leaders. With insider access, Alexanderflushes out the personal history to present a candid portrait ofthe political evolution of McCain. From the WWII hero grandfatherwho aggressively helped destroy the Japanese military machine toMcCain's growth from Navy plebe to Reagan foot soldier, Alexanderuncovers what makes McCain tick, how he evolved into a politicianwith a cause that has endeared him to Democrats and antagonized theRepublican party leadership.
Political insider, radio talk show host, and well-known journalistPaul Alexander followed McCain from the Presidential campaign trailto stumping for campaign finance reform. McCain's life is not onlythe story of the most compelling politician since Ronald Reagan butalso the history of the transformation of American politics overthe last thirty years. Through McCain's personal history-fromVietnam veteran to Reagan go-to guy to a key figure in the KeatingS&L crisis to military campaign critic, Alexander pulls backthe public curtain to reveal the private man. In doing so, heexposes military machinations, Vietnam controversy, POW torture,mental depression, and political intrigue. John McCain continues topush the political system, thus capturing the attention of theAmerican public. The straightforward, no-nonsense style that hasbecome his hallmark shines through every page of this tellingbiography.
Reviews / Votes
Alexander has written lives of Sylvia Plath and James Dean, but hebecame a political journalist in the 1990s and recently wroteseveral articles about Republican Senator McCain of Arizona forRolling Stone. The first two-thirds of this biography retell thestories (third-generation navy, five years as a POW in Hanoi) we'vealready heard, in McCain's own Faith of My Fathers (1999) andRobert Timberg's The Nightingale's Song (1995) withoutsubstantially revising the public understanding of McCain. In fact,Alexander's version occasionally seems politically naive. He dealswith McCain's transition from military officer to aspiringcongressman, for example, in just a few pages, never questioningthe motives for this career change. This lack of politicalperspective may stem from Alexander's populist adulation of hissubject, whom he calls "the one current politician who bestarticulates the hopes and dreams of the common man." It's nosurprise, then, that the blow-by-blow coverage of McCain's run atthe White House is sharp, richly detailed journalism.Unfortunately, the story trails off after McCain drops out of therace; there's some material on the campaign finance reform bill,and an interesting rumor that the Democrats tried to lure thesenator out of the Republican Party in early 2001, but then there'sreally nowhere else to go (the book's epilogue was not availablefor review). Alexander, a fellow at the Hoover Institution andco-host of WABC radio's Batchelor and Alexander, offers an adequateenough account of McCain's life, but it will have a tough timecompeting against McCain's latest memoir, Worth the Fighting For(Forecasts, Sept. 23). (Nov.) (Publishers Weekly, October14, 2002) "offers an informative, politically astute biography that isrecommended..." (Library Journal, November 15, 2002)More details
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Person
PAUL ALEXANDER is cohost of the highly rated WABC radio show with John Batchelor, Batchelor & Alexander. He has become a widely read political journalist in recent years, and his articles have appeared in George, Mirabella, The Advocate, and Rolling Stone. He is the author of biographies on Sylvia Plath, James Dean, and J.D. Salinger. In addition, his cultural reporting has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, New York, the Village Voice, Worth, Interview, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, Out, The Nation, Cosmopolitan, Premiere, Gear, Travel & Leisure, the New York Observer, and The Guardian. During the fall of 2002, he was a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Content
Prologue.
1. Admiral McCain.
2. Anchors Away.
3. Vietnam.
4. Coming Home.
5. The Congressman From Arizona.
6. One Hundred Kings.
7. The Senator From Arizona.
8. Presidential Politics.
9. "The Dirtiest Race I've Ever Seen".
10. The Best Man.
11. Man of the People.
Epilogue.
Source Notes.
Index.
