The Lies of Sarah Palin

by Geoffrey Dunn

In The Lies of Sarah Palin, Geoffrey Dunn provides the first full-scale and in-depth political biography of the controversial Republican vice-presidential candidate and former governor of Alaska.Based on more than two-hundred interviews---many of them with Republican colleagues and one-time political allies of Palin's---and more than forty-thousand pages of uncovered documents, Dunn chronicles Palin's troubling penchant for duplicity in grim detail, from her dysfunctional childhood in Wasilla through her contentious run for mayor and her failed governorship of Alaska. He also provides the shocking inside story of her betrayal of running mate John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign and her self-serving resignation as governor in July of the following year. Dunn deftly places Palin in the American tradition of right-wing demagogues---from Huey Long to Joe McCarthy---and details her troubling obsession with Barack Obama as it fuels her own political ambitions and a potential run for the presidency in 2012.The Lies of Sarah Palin is a journalistic tour de force that vividly reveals the Queen of the Tea Party movement as a vengeful and manipulative empress without clothes. This is the definitive book on Sarah Palin.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Biography, American History

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Damon Suede · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT!

Shamelessly biased but ruthlessly supported by reams of research, quotes, and citations... this book is a pretty brutal takedown of one of the most vapid political Golems of the past 15 years. Dunn has built a dazzling bonfire of her inanities that every Palin-worshipping Republican should be forced to read.

That Sarah Palin is an opportunistic moron with the philosophical depth of a contact lens has been credibly established by 95% of the journalists and pundits on the planet. Even the hardcore Right has scrambled away from her aphoristic stupidity and relentless posturing. Her brief, ridiculous arc across the presidential horizon has pretty much buried itself in reality-TV banality...but this book is, in many ways, an expose of the shameless manipulation of the democratic process by lobbyists and handlers. I loved the granularity of the book's coverage, and I could easily extrapolate from this specific nitwit to the other hate-mongering cretins for whom she blazed a slimy trail.

So make no mistake: the book trumpets its partisan bent, but it also provides heaps and heaps of indisputable evidence indicating the reasons for that partisan bent. One cannot be "unbiased" about a politician whose sole purpose, whose sole intent, is the manufacture of bias!

Dunn enters his topic with an axe to grind, but takes pains to back up his claims with a relentless blow-by-blow demolition of every single facet of Sarah Palin's fabricated political persona. As an Alaskan, he is especially savvy about the Last Frontier sources (journalistic, political and otherwise) in ways that must have driven the Palin camp 'round the bend. Dunn FLAYS her with her own words, often providing minute-to-minute evidence of her sociopathic duplicity and lack of information.

The Tea-Party doyenne's fans would be hard-pressed to argue with his conclusions or to ignore the avalanche of damning proof he provides from colleagues, locals, and former employees...not to mention HER OWN emails, tweets, and interviews. I especially appreciated Dunn's insistence on credible sources and full citation of events in Alaska that slipped by most of the national media.

Dunn has crucified "Sarah Barracuda" on wood of her own chopping. This book read like a GOP/Fox News abbatoir. Critics of Ailes' and Murdoch's "infotainment" channel will find plenty to laugh at. It is written for people who actually prefer their polticial punditry with things like facts, research, and opinions based in something other than ideological purity... in other words, for educated Left-leaning folk. Biased indeed, but biased by reality.

For political junkies who enjoy fact-based reporting, this is a juicy, read with plenty to chew on and discuss after...even with Sarah fading into well-deserved obscurity.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most probably, no one who likes Sarah Palin is going to read a book called The Lies of Sarah Palin. I probably would not read a book entitled The Lies of Dennis Kucinich. Thus, by the very fact that I chose to read The Lies of Sarah Palin, it is fairly evident that I am not particularly enamored with Sarah Palin: it is not that I disagree with her politics (although I do), but rather that I think she is completely unqualified to hold any national or even statewide—the people of Alaska were quite lucky when she elected to resign—public office.

Consequently, I must admit to being predisposed to having a favorable view of this book before I even read it.

Still, what is really amazing to me about The Lies of Sarah Palin is that the author, Geoffrey Dunn, obtained interviews with so many people who were willing to speak on the record about Palin. And these were not just her political enemies. In fact, the vast majority of Dunn’s named sources—and most all of the sources that he used are named—are Republicans in Alaska, Republicans from the McCain campaign, and associates of Palin in Alaska who knew/know Palin personally. From these interviews, Dunn paints a picture of Palin as a politician who blatantly lies to suit her purposes, who never admits mistakes or takes responsibility for errors, and who is extremely vindictive if she believes that she has been crossed. One of the most frequent comments made by those whom Dunn has interviewed is that Palin’s main concern is Palin.

Dunn relates one of the most galling facts about the Palin vice presidential nomination: near the end of the 2008 election process after the McCain staffers had a chance to really get to know her, some of them were seriously discussing what they would do to keep her out of the day-to-day business of governing if McCain were elected because she was so obviously unfit for office.

I did have one problem with this book: almost all of the coverage is given to people who have negative opinions of Palin. Now, granted, most of these people whom Dunn interviewed share Palin’s political views, so one might normally expect that fellow conservatives and fellow Republicans would have a high opinion of Palin, but among those who know her well, this is not necessarily the case. I wish that Dunn had sought out more people who know Palin and who have a positive opinion of her as this would have made the book a bit less one-sided. Still, granted how tightly Palin controls media access to her and granted that her most loyal associates know this, it is likely that Dunn could not have obtained interviews with Palin’s closest, loyal associates.

The Lies of Sarah Palin is fascinating in large part because we are given a portrait of a woman who came so close to the vice presidency despite being grossly ignorant of domestic and world affairs and completely unable to deal with adversity in a normal, compromising, civil fashion, which is a key component of any politician’s job. As I read this book, I could not believe how close the US came to having such an unqualified, uneducated, mean-spirited person as vice president, which, of course, placed her within a proverbial heartbeat of the presidency. Sarah Palin as president would be absolutely disastrous for this country. George W. Bush appears to be a great statesman of Churchillian proportions when compared to Palin.

[Saadia]

Interesting bio about her family background and insights into her personality. Fundamentalist christian, ruthless, raised by a driven father. Not too intellectual. Very good at impressing people with her down-to-earth, girl-next-door persona. Misuse of power, vindictive, manipulative once she gets the power she wants.

I was not impressed when I saw her earliest national interviews a few years ago, I thought she had the cadence and projection of a wordly politician but her words reflected a serious lack of scholarship and intellect. I thought she was a good actress. I have not changed my mind since.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow I seem to have gotten on a kick reading books about Sarah Palin. This is a better book than the one written by Joe McGinniss, more thoroughly researched and not quite as one-sided. Also completely fascinating, could not put it down. Horrifying that this dummy actually wields political influence in some circles. If this is a subject you're interested in, I recommend it.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't liked Sarah Palin since she first opened her mouth on the national stage. It was eye opening to see the depth of her depravity amassed in one place with facts to refute her lies. I now believe her to be someone we should be afraid of, not just be amused by.

[Melanee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You betcha" it was "spot on!!" I have absolutely nothing to "refudiate"...Dunn was clear, concise and consistent in pointing out that she clearly isn't ready to hold a position on anything except hair, makeup and heels...

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got the impression that this book was hurriedly released as Sarah Palin's influence fades from the political scene. There were many errors that could have easily been corrected. Also, the structure seemed a bit disorganized. I never got a coherent picture of Palin's interaction with Alaska's energy corporations during her time as governor. I did get a clear picture, however, of her ineptitude as an executive, her narcissistic persona, the discord she sows, and her relentless disregard of facts. Interesting that several prominent Republicans wished to get her out of the Presidential campaign for 2012, knowing that her candidacy would bring disaster upon their party. In time, she will be just a blip of history, mercifully gone from our consciousness. That day cannot come soon enough to suit me. She encourages a dangerous polarity in our country and appeals to many who are misinformed.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book says it all. Most politicians are duplicitous and egomaniacal but she tops them all. This isn't the first account I've read of her meanness and rudeness, including what our local paper said about her when she was here in Salt Lake although she can also turn on the charm as easily as Tina Fey. It's astonishing that people think they can fool all the people all the time without someone ferreting out the truth.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts about her early life and events in Alaska politics were interesting. But the parts about the McCain campaign in 2008 really seemed to repeat information in Game Change and various articles about the campaign without adding much new insight.

There were also a number of editing errors (misspellings, etc) that detract a bit.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have to admit, this book was eye opening for me. Never liked Sarah Palin very much to begin with. I thought she was amusing. Now I have serious doubts about the common sense of her many followers. God help us all!!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have read newspaper, magazine and blogger articles the past two years, you will not find anything new in this book. It is a good read that has all her antics in one place

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book very quickly, but it made a lot of sense. It seems well researched and well documented.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was a disturbing book.

I have never been a Palin fan (and that is putting it mildly), and this book served to solidify my misgivings about not only her motivations, but about her character and humanity as well.

I'll give her credit for one thing: she knows how to work a crowd. That is a definite talent, one that not a lot of people have. She has many other talents, though. She has an amazing capacity for rewriting her own history, despite numerous witnesses to refute her revisions. She is capable of alienating virtually everyone who comes into contact with her. She can lie like a rug. She apparently possesses no sense of loyalty, and is able to throw previously trusted allies under the bus with the greatest of ease. She can manage to turn any situation into being all about her. She plays the victim card easily and often, especially when confronted with her lies and bad behavior.

I could go on and on, but I find it quite awful to continue to write about her. The thought that she came very close to being the vice-president of my United States fills me with fear and loathing, and no matter what John McCain does in the future, I will mainly remember him as the man who thrust this vile person upon an unsuspecting nation.

How anyone continues to support this vapid, vindictive, horrid person is beyond me. She lies, she has a major problem with ethics, and she's a complete grifter who is happy to pocket the money of these poor deluded fools who think she actually has something to contribute to the national discourse.

Thank goodness she doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning a national election. The people of Alaska turned on her, the vast majority of the voters rejected her in 2008, and she has far too many skeletons in her closet to ever run again. Many of those skeletons would be quite happy to talk about her treatment of them, I'm sure.

What a horrible human being. I think I need to go dip myself in bleach because I feel tainted.

My four-star rating comes from Geoffrey Dunn's excellent writing, not from the subject matter. Dunn's writing is crisp and clear, and flows well. His narrative was obviously able to engender extreme disgust in me for the subject in question--more than I already had, which was considerable. Well done.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, so a couple of things up front: I grew up in Wasilla, Alaska. I played basketball against Heather and Sarah Heath in high school, playing for Palmer, graduating a year ahead of her. And, I've read or at least skimmed a number of the books on her.

That said, THIS is the BEST of all that I have read. It is written by a real journalist with real research, very detailed, not just interviews and hearsay, but records and documentation. This means a lot to me.

The most telling point? In the part that I knew the MOST about, that I participated in, the basketball section, I learned more than I knew at the time.

And that's not just as another high school kid who warmed the Palmer bench on varsity and started JV against her, point guard to point guard. That's also as someone who covered high school sports for The Frontiersman and Valley Sun for 3 years, and came back to The Frontiersman during college, where I was NOT happy to be given the beauty pageant beat.

I remember being at another Mat-Su high school, identical new buildings for both Palmer and Wasilla, yet we always felt that the Wasilla kids just had more money. There were always stories about the whole Wasilla girls team went to Hawaii to a basketball camp one summer. But that didn't show up in this book. What DID show up, tho, something I never knew, was how much that Wasilla team was split by an Assembly of God affiliation. I was in the Valley-wide Fellowship of Christian Athletes, until I got creeped out at the idea that god would care about the outcome of a basketball game.

So if I could learn something new on a part of the story that I was most fixated on at the time, I call that good journalism. Loved the background on Nick Carney too, an old friend who never talked much about himself. A fun read, all around, if a bit terrifying, as it all played out.

[Ben Galbraith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read much about Sarah Palin beyond newspaper articles here and there. I knew I wasn't interested in reading her autobiography, but I wanted some deeper perspectives on her. I'll only read one book, and was tempted by "Blind Allegiance", but I wanted to hear from more than one voice. I settled on this book, an obvious hatchet job by a HuffPo-affiliated writer, because I wanted to hear the worst that could be thrown at her and filter as appropriate.

This is certainly a hatchet job. The author has no issues adding inflammatory language and comical descriptions of Palin. But with the title of the book, you knew that would come with the territory going in. But reading the quotes from Sarah, hearing from what so many of her turncoat-friends and other observers have to say about her, and examining the record gives one plenty of information to chew on. The section detailing her run on the McCain ticket is particularly informative because it relies on insider emails and other on-the-record data sources to paint its picture, and it's not pretty.

I think the intimation that her youngest baby just may not actually be her own baby was perhaps the low point of the book because of the highly circumstantial evidence brought to bear to support that case.

But overall, I think those looking to understand Sarah a bit more will be well-served to read the book to understand what her critics find so disturbing about her.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title suggests that this is going to be a biased view, but even if it is (and I didn't think it was), there's ample evidence for the author's POV. This isn't grounded in nothing; it's evidence-based with plenty of research and extensive citation. I'm not going to lie and say that I was on the fence about Palin before I read this book, but this is full of information that I didn't know (from her early years in politics) and just further proves the point that this woman is not qualified to hold any political office. Yes, Dunn does think that Palin is a clinical narcissist, but based on DSM criteria, interviews of people who know her, and her own actions/words, I'm not sure that it's an inaccurate assessment.

[Cynic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly interesting. Even though I am NOT a Palin fan, this book reeks of a hit job in the highest order. The most interesting fact in the book was an indirect one: It's common knowledge amongst libraries that "Christians" purposely check-out that books that they disagree with the intention of never returning them, in the hopes the library will not order them again. It's disgusting and shameful, although not surprising.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A political biography, this was both interesting and infuriating. I am no fan of Sarah Palin, and in that sense it was a reassuring book to read, because the author really dislikes her, too. (He's not always objective, but I didn't want him to be.) A bit repetitive near the end but still a good read, especially if you want to be reminded of the ways in which this is NOT a good person to have attempting to run the state of Alaska, let alone the US.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure anyone reading this book is willing to believe the worst of Palin, but these are not strong arguments. Eighth-grade fights, a eerily-familiar discussion of Trig's birth certificate, and a lot of paraphrasing GAME CHANGE, which is a much better read. Also, some of the worst typos I've ever seen outside of the Internet (example: "legion" instead of "legend").

[Lex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Palin is certainly a very polarising figure, and this book gives a fairly unbiased account of her background, political career and rise to national prominence. I particularly enjoyed the comparison between Palin and a professional wrestling character. That said, the narrative was dull and repetitive in parts, and the book became somewhat of a chore to finish.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book; it wasn't analytical or dry and it held my attention. Dunn uses many sources to retell the story of Sarah Palin. Love her or hate her she is someone who is going to be in the spotlight. Better to know as much about her as we can.

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing terribly earth shattering is offered, but its rather nice to have all her oddities and lies in chronological order. Mr. Dunn did a very good job in research and presenting the information.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tells it like it is. Dunn lays out the entire bizarre pathology of this modern poorly-educated demagogue.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The woman should crawl back to Alaska .....

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me wonder about the USA after reading this book.

[David Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Sarah's first book, now I'll read something from the other side. Of course by the mere title I'm not sure how "fair and balanced" it will be.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look at Sarah Palin, her history and her scramble for power and dominance. Dunn documents her lies and deceptions before, during and after her rise to political prominence. Scary....

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still can't believe she was almost a heart beat away from being president.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether it is factually true or nit doesn't matter, Spellbounding to watch someone self destruct.