The Race by Richard North Patterson

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Added: Mon. Dec 06, 2010 2:30pm
Posted in: Books

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It's been a long time since I read a book I felt the urge to comment about, but The Race, by Richard North Patterson, has really captured me. It's about politics, including religion and race issues, and it highlights everything that is wrong with the way we vote and how the media shapes our decisions. The lead character is a Republican senator struggling to run a campaign just to the right of center, based on truth and honesty. I won't go into a lot of detail because it would give away the book, but I will say that it's a shame that such a candidate would be entirely unelectable. The reasons are pretty well covered in the book, and I'm not far enough along to know whether the character is elected in the end...but without elements of fiction coming into play, it simply could not happen in real life...and what a shame that is.

If you're interested in politics on either side, read this book. It takes a brutally honest look at political manipulation, at a media juggernaut controlled by a single corporation with a very partisan point of view (not like we have an example of that in real life...oh, wait...), and at the fishbowl of public scrutiny.

While the book is brutally honest, it is also very humane. It shows the candidates for what they are and what they believe, and in some cases how difficult it is to avoid selling your soul to the devil in exchange for the ultimate brass ring. 

Just for the official record, nobody paid me to write this, I bought the book off the shelf at a bookstore, and I have no affiliation with either the author or the publisher.This is strictly an honest assessment based on personal feelings.