The Candidate: Behind John Kerry's Remarkable Run for the White House

by Paul Alexander

Discusses the campaign of John Kerry, including behind the scenes information and strategies for the presidential campaign from July to November.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 6, 2004

About the author

Besides the bestselling Kindle Singles Murdered, Accused, and Homicidal, Paul Alexander has published eight previous books of nonfiction: Ariel Ascending: Writings About Sylvia Plath; Rough Magic, a biography of Plath; Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean, the bestseller that has been published in 10 countries; Death and Disaster: The Rise of the Warhol Empire and the Race For Andy’s Millions; Man of the People: The Life of John McCain; The Candidate, a chronicle of John Kerry’s presidential campaign; and Machiavelli’s Shadow: The Rise and Fall of Karl Rove.

A former reporter for Time, Alexander has published journalism in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, New York, The Nation, The Village Voice, Salon, Worth, The New York Observer, George, Cosmopolitan, More, Interview, ARTnews, Mirabella, Premiere, Out, The Advocate, Travel & Leisure, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, Biography, Men’s Journal, Best Life, The New York Review of Books, The Daily Beast, and Rolling Stone.

Shane Salerno’s forthcoming feature documentary Salinger is based on Alexander’s biography of J.D. Salinger. Alexander is the author of the plays Strangers in the Land of Canaan and Edge, which he directed. Developed at The Actors Studio, Edge, the critically acclaimed one-woman play about Sylvia Plath, ran in New York, London, Los Angeles, among other cities. Edge toured Australia and New Zealand and enjoyed a second run in New York. In all, Torn performed Edge 400 times. Alexander is also the director of Brothers in Arms, a documentary film about John Kerry and Vietnam (First Run Features).

A graduate of The University of Alabama and The Writers’ Workshop at The University of Iowa, Alexander is a member of the Authors Guild and PEN American Center. In the fall of 2002, he was a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Kate Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had doubts about the objectivity of this book after the beginning gushed over Kerry a little too much for my liking - you can't run around calling him "Lincolnesque" without making me think you're in the tank for him - but it got better as the book went along. Interesting and engaging look at the inner workings of a campaign. It doesn't include anything about the debates with Bush or the election itself (I'm guessing that was to allow it to be published quickly after the election), and I take issue with a political journalist repeatedly calling out "the media" for telling the wrong story (because, c'mon). Enjoyable on the whole, though.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't really know what possessed me to read this one. I don't often do political books. But sometimes it's hard to vote without having a sense of who you're voting for, and not just the policies you're voting for.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read like one of those books that is pumped out to ride a wave of publicity. As that guy from American Idol would say, "It was just ai-ight." It gives a good look at the mechanics of a national campaign but it was so one-sided as to be not very helpful at understanding those mechanics.

[Shannon Koehle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially thought this book would have more specific details about the Kerry campaign, but it was a great look back at the goings-on during his 2014 presidential run.