Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power | John Harwood, Gerald F. Seib

Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power | John Harwood, Gerald F. Seib | Excellent Book

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Pennsylvania Avenu...

	Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power John Harwood, Gerald F. Seib Random House, 2008 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Prizewinning journalists John Harwood and Gerald F. Seib show how today?s Washington power game really works, through stories of people who are making a difference on Pennsylvania Avenue, America?s power street. These new power brokers, some of whom are rarely seen and are largley unknown, have figured out how to make their voices heard, and how to get things done, amid the complexities of today?s gridlocked Washington. With unprecedented access to Washington insiders, and with deep insight into the unspoken rules of the road in the capital, Harwood and Seib explain why progress is so difficult and illuminate what it takes to succeed in the high stakes game of politics.

Pennsylvania Avenue, the 1.2-mile stretch between the White House and the Capitol, is where the influential and ambitious congregate. Through stories of party strategists, money men, policy-makers, fixers, socialites, lobbyists, spinners, deal-makers, and more, Harwood and Seib explore the great political transformations that have altered in a fundamental way the relationship between Americans and their government. A new class of politician and radically different ways of conducting business now exist in Washington. Harwood and Seib showcase such master players as Ken Duberstein (the Fixer), a onetime aide to President Ronald Reagan turned superlobbyist, whose contacts and insider knowledge help clients sidestep Avenue jam-ups; Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein (the Businessman), a new breed of power broker who pioneered the age of ?big money? in Washington; Rahm Emanuel
(the Democratic Strategist), whose aggressive fundraising and crisis-room campaign enabled the Democrats to retake Congress in 2006; Debbie Wasserman Schultz (the Rising Star), a first-term Democratic representative from Florida whose meteoric ascent in the House has earned her influential allies as well as critics; Hilary Rosen (the Advocate), a former entertainment industry lobbyist who skillfully reframed the debate about same-sex marriage; and more.

Inspiring and wonderfully written, Pennsylvania Avenue takes us inside America?s center of influence to show how our government really functions, and the insiders who make things happen.

"Through a series of sharp vignettes and character sketches, the authors of "Pennsylvania Avenue," John Harwood and Gerald F. Seib, take the reader behind some of the more imposing facades along the refurbished road, introducing the famous and not-so-famous, and explaining how business gets done in the new Washington. Though they accept the common view that the old rules have changed, their analysis is fresh and stimulating."
--The New York Times

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Food for Thought

I finished reading the book a while ago, and I find it gives me food for thought during this political season--particularly when I see one or another of the profiled people quoted or interviewed. Though I work in Washington, I have little interaction with the world depicted in Pennsylvania Avenue--but, having read it, I now know a lot more. We all think of ourselves as jaded, but I was really startled by the sheer volume of money that Harwood and Seib describe as flowing through the political world. They may not be partisan, but they do describe a system that desperately needs change.

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Excellent Book

Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power by John Harwood and Gerald Seib is an excellent book. It gives an overview of what politicans are really like, while including big names( i.e. Rove and Dubinstein) and not so big names( Wasserstein-schultz, although she is becoming popular)and using a bi-partisian approach. Harwood and Seib showed their journalistic skills by providing this overview for the common man and for folks who are non-Washingtonians. But, it also is a good read for History/Political Science buffs who want to have an easy read and want to learn more about the political climate bipartisian style from Washington. This book is highly recommended for all readers who may be interested in Washington Politics. BUt, it also should be on the reading list for college poli sci majors. I think this book also shows what fine writers and Washington Pols John Harwood and Gerald Seib are, and hopefully will get them to recognition they both deserve.

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Entertaining

PROFILES is in the same vein as BLOOD SPORT and other political commentary and will be of interest to those wanting the specifics of dirt politics or who plan to compete on Jeopardy.

Both interesting and a bit scary, the book won't be a complete surprise to anyone who watches CNN. But while you might know the basic stories and names from Lou Dobbs, a few of the details and money amounts might be a shocker if you don't live in D.C.

Corruption is always interesting, and although not specifically referred to often as the subject matter, that is the main theme here. Enjoy, but take your Prilosec first.

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Middle of the Road

If you want a wonky read but your diet doesn't allow for red meat, this is for you. These are profiles of people who make things happen from across the ideological spectrum and all judgements are reserved, which is pretty rare in today's hyper-partisan media environment. Given it's quick pace, this book might be best suited to young people interested in D.C.

reviews: page 1, 2

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