Quest for the Presidency 1992

by Peter Goldman, Thomas M. DeFrank, Mark Miller

Quest for the Presidency 1992 reveals for the first time the full story of what really happened in the tumultuous 1992 presidential election. With unparalleled access to the inner workings of the various campaigns, Newsweek's award-winning team of reporters gathered the in-depth stories of the candidates; their handlers, pollsters, and supporters; and their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. Woven together here in spellbinding and insightful narrative, these accounts reveal the changing order of American politics, which saw the strongest third-force challenge in eighty years, and the changing portrait of the American voter, more cynical yet more involved in shaping the political process than ever before. The rich reporting and you-are-there intimacy of private meetings, confidential conversations, informal war-gaming sessions, and other key moments in the campaigns provide new insight into the players and events of this critical election year. A broad array of never-before-published campaign documents and sixty-one of Newsweek's best on-the-scene photographs flesh out the record. The result offers an essential guide to understanding not only the Clinton candidacy but also the Clinton presidency; keen human understanding of George Bush's fall; and a hint of how a Texas billionaire's down-home style may have changed the political terrain forever.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, American History, The United States Of America

800 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Paul Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty solid overview of the 1992. Like this year, Clinton had high unfavorables but was able to win the election anyway. We can only hope history repeats itself this year.

The book tries to ape the classic "What it Takes" about the 1988 election, and doesn't quite reach its heights. Its structure is a little wonky, breaking up the three main contestants into 3 separate parts. I think it would have been stronger in a chronological order, contrasting the ups and downs of both campaigns, but it is still a solid work.

[Peter]

To Read: "...Newsweek provided a thorough analysis of the results in a comprehensive volume rich in pertinent information ... [T]he trajectory of modern American politics dates back to this pivotal electoral encounter ... The campaign documents that the authors assembled make this book almost a primary source about the origins of modern campaigning."