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In The Breakthrough, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential victory and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.
Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama (all interviewed for this book), and also covers numerous up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on exclusive interviews with power brokers such as President Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, his son Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict, the race/ gender clash, and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history.
The Breakthrough is a remarkable look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the future of American democracy in the age of Obama.
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- ISBN13: 9780767928908- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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By Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
It seems that it would be hard to write a book about a historic event that has not yet occurred. And yet this did not stop Gwen Ifill, the author of //The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama//, from writing a book with such a title, even before the 2008 presidential election took place. Ifill herself was at the center of a controversy after it was determined she had authored the book, prior to moderating a 2008 vice presidential debate.
Though Ifill makes some interesting points and claims, it does seem that she relies too much on assumed prejudices and inherent inequalities. Her writing also often implies that African American politicians should somehow be seen as separate from their Caucasian counterparts, which seems to fall into the argument that race should play an obvious place in politics, when today, the driving idea seems to be that race should not, in fact, make a difference. Focusing so narrowly on the differences, perceived or real, between politicians of different races, seems a little more divisive than informative.
Reviewed by Susie Kopecky
By Teddi (Baltimore, Md. USA)
I am very satisfied with this purchase; as I have been in the past with the purchases of several books. I received my product within 3 days -- in mint condition. I would have wanted to know if this book was in large print, but I am still satisfied, and I have reading glasses. Yes, I will recommend this site to my family and friends.
By D. Johnson (New York, NY)
The book was delivered in a timely manner, and was in very good condition when it arrived however, I have not read it yet.
By CaseyR (Los Angeles, CA USA)
Ifill's take on politics in the current age of Obama examines the past, the present, and hints at the future. The breakthrough, she argues, did not happen overnight but rather was the outcome of many long struggles fought by individuals in politics, from the civil rights movement up to recent years. Ifill examines both young and old members of politics who have made breakthroughs in their own right, and leaves one thinking about how race will continue to play out as a factor in politics. Without pressing a singular opinion throughout the book, Ifill presents interviews and quotes from others that establish ground from which one can form their own opinions and ideas. The book is insightful and interesting, capturing a topic that would surely intrigue anyone living in the age of Obama.
By Daniel B. Clendenin (www.journeywithjesus.net)
Few public figures are better positioned to write a book on race and politics than Gwen Ifill (b. 1955). As the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, for thirty years the affable and articulate journalist has reported on the sweeping changes in American politics that culminated in what she calls the "Obama effect." As an African-American woman she has also lived this story. The professional and the personal collided with this book, which was released on Inauguration Day (January 20, 2009), when critics charged her with promoting and in turn benefiting from Obama's election.
Obama is only the "leading edge" of radical changes that have redefined the role of blacks in American politics. Today, for example, there are over forty black city mayors. In 2008, 43% of white Americans voted for Obama, an incredible figure when you consider that John Kerry received only 41% in 2004. But there are barriers and boundaries everywhere you turn in this house of mirrors. Obama did his best to run something like a "post-racial" campaign, but Ifill shows that American society remains far from color blind.
Ifill's book is almost entirely anecdotal. She devotes one chapter each to four "case studies" of the new generation of black politicians-- Obama, Artur Davis, a congressman from Birmingham, Alabama; Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, New Jersey; and then Deval Patrick, mayor of Massachusetts. She then explores four themes-- the complex relationship of generation change, in which younger black politicians must relate to their older forbears who carried the torch during the days of the civil rights movement when many of them weren't even born; race and gender-- which group is more disadvantaged, and which identity helps or hurts more; legacy politics, in which a younger generation enjoys the advantages and negotiates the disadvantages of a parent politician (eg, Jesse Jackson, Jr.); and then the "politics of identity" that examines how the new generation walks the tightrope of being "too black" for whites and/or "too white" for blacks.
The many stories in Ifill's book show that there's no such thing as a monolithic "black politics." Rather, there are multiple layers, nuances, challenges and opportunities. For the up and coming generation of political super stars, some times race helped them, often it hurt them, but for all of them it always mattered. Not a single person that Ifill interviewed said that race did not matter. My only complaint about this book is that we learn almost nothing about Ifill's own personal experiences as a highly public black woman. Rather, the book reads like a version of her television pieces, scrubbed clean of any private reflections of a deeply personal nature. But since this is only Ifill's first book, I'm hoping for more good things from her.
Buy The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama Now
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