Saturday, June 24, 2017

Shattered - Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign – Informative and Intriguing – A Must Read for Political Junkies

I’m not a Hillary Clinton fan, but after hearing authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes interviewed about their book Shattered – Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign, I knew I wanted to read this book. 

After following the crazy 2016 Presidential election, with all the twists and turns that left heads spinning, I couldn’t resist learning about Hillary’s campaign from those who knew her best.  How is it that this woman, who spent her lifetime striving for the opportunity to be the first woman President, lost and had to watch her dream slip through her fingers once again?  Only to have the most unlikely candidate, President Donald J. Trump, win the election? 

The authors were given unprecedented access to the Clinton campaign and people at all levels.  As a result, readers are given insight into the actions and decisions Hillary and her campaign workers made.  Shattered is not light reading.  Even though I was familiar with events in this book, I found it interesting because I was seeing the events through the eyes of Hillary and her people. 

One can’t help but wonder if the campaign had been run different, would we now have Hillary Clinton as President?  How did the people who were guarded, controlling and on a personal power trip effect Hillary’s campaign?  Were they there to help Hillary win or to try and ensure they had a job in the next administration?  If Hillary had been open to honest criticism instead of surrounding herself with yes men and women would she have run a more effective strategic campaign?  Why did Hillary rely on her people to put into words why she was running for President?  Why couldn’t she say it in her own words?  If Hillary had been humble, took responsibility for her own bad decisions and genuinely apologized would it have positively impacted her campaign? 

The 2016 Presidential election was a circus and Hillary’s campaign was surprisingly ineffectively run.  This book provides some insight into the key players that impacted this election and Hillary’s campaign.  There were a couple of scenes in this book that helped me to see Hillary in a more personal light and I felt some compassion for her.  I didn’t expect that. 

I thought authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes did a good job in staying out of the story and instead reflect Hillary, her key players and the campaign as it unfolded.  I tried to figure out their own political leanings.  They are definitely not Trump supporters.  Based on their respect and reverential manner in how they wrote about President Obama, I believe they are likely liberals.  I couldn’t really tell if they were Hillary fans.  If so they weren’t afraid to honestly and accurately portray Hillary and her supporters. 

Shattered – Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign gives keen insight into Hillary’s campaign and the one of the craziest elections in recent years.  It also helps readers to see where the continued all-out attack on President Trump started and the ongoing narrative that is currently unfolding in newspapers and the media today. 

I would like to thank Blogging for Books and the Crown Publishing Group for the opportunity to read Shattered – Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign.  This was an excellent book and it accurately captures Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the surprising upset.  I found it informative and recommend it to folks, both conservative and liberal, who want to better understand the 2016 Presidential election.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.


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