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Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin
A FASCINATING INSIDE LOOK AT ONE OF THE BEST-KNOWN WOMEN IN AMERICAN POLITICS AS WE HAVE NEVER BEFORE SEEN HER
She’s a real-life American success story. Alaska’s youngest governor . . . and the first woman. A small-town girl who wasn’t content to keep things small.
People magazine assistant editor Lorenzo Benet met with Sarah Palin and her family just weeks before the announcement that she would be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. In this groundbreaking biography, he shows us the real Sarah Palin—untouched by the cameras and the campaign trail. From her basketball games and beauty pageants as a young woman in Alaska, to her relationship with Todd and their family, to her controversies and triumphs in office, and culminating with the manic excitement of the 2008 election, its controversial aftermath, and the post-election birth of her grandson, Trailblazer is the definitive, uncensored portrait of this extraordinarily complex woman.
Features 8 pages of behind-the-scenes family and campaign photographs!
She’s a real-life American success story. Alaska’s youngest governor . . . and the first woman. A small-town girl who wasn’t content to keep things small.
People magazine assistant editor Lorenzo Benet met with Sarah Palin and her family just weeks before the announcement that she would be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. In this groundbreaking biography, he shows us the real Sarah Palin—untouched by the cameras and the campaign trail. From her basketball games and beauty pageants as a young woman in Alaska, to her relationship with Todd and their family, to her controversies and triumphs in office, and culminating with the manic excitement of the 2008 election, its controversial aftermath, and the post-election birth of her grandson, Trailblazer is the definitive, uncensored portrait of this extraordinarily complex woman.
Features 8 pages of behind-the-scenes family and campaign photographs!
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 6, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 21, 2011
A mawkish, facile biography by an "impartial" writer who (*surprise*) manages to come up with "Aw-Shucks!" loveable moments in one of the most shocking, inexplicable rises in American politics by a self-proclaimed no-nothing. This book is about as impartial as Newt Gingrich's twitter account and about as deep/revealing as a coat of Governor Palin's nail polish.
As always when I read such things, I woinder who the readers are for whom it is intended. The self-cogratulatory back-patty condescends and panders without pause. It is completely devoid of wit, irony, or actual opinion. Don't the Republicans have anyone on salary that can churn out this kind of candy floss with a little more style or actual, uhhh, content?
It is obviously written by someone who does a lot of magazine writing, and at that, has the glib hard tone of an extended PR piece, with enough ironic humor to wedge the sentiment down the reader's throat, but without the wit to realize there's nothing inside the packaging. Not a "bad book", no even a crappy biography per se, but more of a badly written PR piece barely-disguised as an outsider's view.
As always when I read such things, I woinder who the readers are for whom it is intended. The self-cogratulatory back-patty condescends and panders without pause. It is completely devoid of wit, irony, or actual opinion. Don't the Republicans have anyone on salary that can churn out this kind of candy floss with a little more style or actual, uhhh, content?
It is obviously written by someone who does a lot of magazine writing, and at that, has the glib hard tone of an extended PR piece, with enough ironic humor to wedge the sentiment down the reader's throat, but without the wit to realize there's nothing inside the packaging. Not a "bad book", no even a crappy biography per se, but more of a badly written PR piece barely-disguised as an outsider's view.
July 29, 2009
You know, for "know thy enemy" reasons. Already a pretty awful book - imagine a People magazine author writing the biography of a person whose life history is pretty underwhelming. He seems to have interviewed her parents for the bulk of her early life, and the number of inane, useless details is staggering. He also quotes other Palin biographies - crackerjack journalism there. And yet, I press on.
June 30, 2013
Trailblazer is a biography of Sarah Palin - the once-up-and-coming star of the Republican Party during the 2008 election. Written during this time, in order to present a more balanced and nuanced approach to the already-divisive figure, this book does not really provide any new information to either her fans or her detractors. Lorenzo Benet writes a positive portrayal of the former Governess though his writing occasionally descends into the overly sentimental.
This book seems more aimed at those who are already Palin's staunch supporters as most of the information present was already accessible during the election and has been covered both by other biographers and Palin herself in her autobiography.
This book seems more aimed at those who are already Palin's staunch supporters as most of the information present was already accessible during the election and has been covered both by other biographers and Palin herself in her autobiography.
January 17, 2010
The author is an assistant editor with PEOPLE Magazine, who was sent to meet Sarah Palin and her family weeks before the announcement that she would be the vice-presidential nominee. (He really hit the jackpot when she was thrown into the limelight). Most of the book ended up being about the campaign. He addresses all the issues, criticisms, and challenges she faced during the campaign. The book paints a very favorable picture of Sarah. I just received a copy of Sarah's book "Going Rogue" and am excited to read it so close after reading this one.
August 24, 2010
Worth reading because of the author-- a real journalist who does not push certain values as much as other authors. I felt I learned more about her motivation (from God, whose desire it is that she become President) and her actions (all designed to attain that goal, and not to learn more about much else) than from any other source so far.
February 28, 2009
A fantastically in-depth portrait of one of the time's most fascinating figures. Sarah Palin is someone I greatly admire, and this biography is - finally - a accurate and deserving account of her life and accomplishments.
May 8, 2009
It was interesting to learn more about Sarah Palin.
May 15, 2009
I didn't learn anything that I didn't know already from the overkill the MSM did to vet her. I voted 3rd party, so this book was way too late to matter.
June 15, 2009
I have to admit I am interested in her. Not because I believe in a lot of her politics but mostly because she's a woman It was an interesting read.
April 19, 2010
I read this in one sitting. It was interesting, non-partisan, and easy to read. The only drawback: it's a bit dated now, having been published two years ago.
October 8, 2013
Balanced biography of the former Governor of Alaska.
January 23, 2019
This book taught me a lot about Sarah Palin, someone who I had never really thought about before.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews