Inventing Al Gore: A Biography - Hardcover

Turque, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395883237 ISBN 13: 9780395883235

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade), 2000

Synopsis

Why did Al Gore, after angry opposition to the Vietnam War, submit to the draft? What happened in Vietnam that made him sullen and bitter? After renouncing politics, what set him back on the track mapped out for him? What made him claim (falsely) that he invented the Internet? How closely is he allied with the tobacco industry? What is the real nature of his partnership with Bill Clinton? How was it altered by the Lewinsky affair?
"Inventing Al Gore" addresses these issues and more as it unveils the true motivations, ideals, and idiosyncracies of one of Washington's most inscrutable men. Bill Turque, who covered both of Gore's vice presidential campaigns and the Clinton White House, draws on extensive access to Gore's key advisers, friends, and family. He unmasks a man who in private can sing and dance to George Strait's music but in public measures every comment and gesture with legendary caution. As Turque details, Gore's great political albatross -- a lack of empathy -- was hatched during his lonely childhood as the product of ambitious political parents who groomed him for the presidency. Turque's keen analysis also uncovers the genesis of Gore's questionable fund-raising and of a political platform laden with worthy but emotionally safe planks such as bioethics, global warming, and the Internet. In addition, Inventing Al Gore illuminates how personal tragedies have shaped his political life and the remarkable influence that women, from his mother to Naomi Wolf, have had on his career.
"Inventing Al Gore" reveals Gore to be one of the most intelligent, idealistic men in Washington, yet one who is repeatedly prone to prevarication, exaggeration, and avoidance of hard issues. Turque offers a meticulously researched narrative filled with colorful, insightful details that sharpen the debate over whether Gore can outgrow his limitations and excel in the office he has prepared for all his life.

About this title

Synopsis

A Washington insider and longtime press corps member takes a close-up look at Vice President Al Gore, revealing an often surprising portrait of an ambitious and very political man.

About the Author

Bill Turque, a national correspondent for NEWSWEEK, covered Gore's 1992 and 1996 campaigns. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0395883237
• ISBN 13: 9780395883235
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 16