What It Takes
Categories: Politics & Social Sciences
What It Takes (1992) is journalist Richard Ben Cramer's account of the 1988 U.S. presidential race, told through the lives of six candidates. Cramer follows George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, Michael Dukakis, Dick Gephardt, Gary Hart and Joe Biden from their childhoods to the campaign trail. Drawing on years of reporting and access to the candidates and their families, he asks what kind of person seeks the presidency and what the pursuit costs them.
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- Fareed Zakaria: “It came out back in 1993, but it’s a wonderfully personal account of what it’s like inside a presidential campaign.”