book data
56 ratings,
3.48
average rating, 17 reviews
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published
January 20th 2009
by Doubleday
binding
Hardcover, 272 pages
isbn
038552501X
(isbn13: 9780385525015)
description
In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunni
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 164)
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5 stars (8)
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avg 3.48
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
10/02/08
Abigail
marked it as to-read
I saw the New York Post headline yesterday evening questioning Ifill's fitness as a moderator (someone on the train was reading it), and had to restrain my impulse to rip it out of their hands and stomp on it.
Gwen Ifill is a brilliant journalist and a consummate professional. She has more class in her pinkie finger than Sara Palin will ever know in her entire life! This whole supposed "controversy" is a shameless, dishonorable attempt on the part of conservatives to distract ...more
Gwen Ifill is a brilliant journalist and a consummate professional. She has more class in her pinkie finger than Sara Palin will ever know in her entire life! This whole supposed "controversy" is a shameless, dishonorable attempt on the part of conservatives to distract ...more
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5 comments
01/31/09
Julia Pheifer
added it
Read in February, 2009
I like the way Gwen Ifill writes--it's very straightforward, news-reporting writing and there aren't hidden meanings that are lost on me. This book isn't so much a blueprint of the breakthrough, as it is a reportage of all the breakthroughs that have occurred of late.
This book highlights the big division between the old guard black politicos and the new. It reminds me a lot of articles I read a couple years ago that older women were pissed that younger women weren't saying "tha...more
This book highlights the big division between the old guard black politicos and the new. It reminds me a lot of articles I read a couple years ago that older women were pissed that younger women weren't saying "tha...more
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Read in June, 2009
recommends it for:
African-American interest and political junkies
The first part likely meets expectations better - how the presidential race was seen in the black community, with the strongest chapter being the race vs. gender "quandry" of the primary season among African-American women. Second half consists of a sort of "Who's Who in Black Politics", almost entirely male, which Ifill admits in the brief audio postscript interview she found disturbing.
She does better than many authors in reading her own work (admitting in the intervi...more
She does better than many authors in reading her own work (admitting in the intervi...more
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Read in April, 2009
Long a favorite new commentator of mine, Gwen Ifill is as sharp in print as she is on television. She uses the backdrop of the election of the first African American president to explore the dichotomy between the previous generation of civil rights activists (Jesse Jackson, Jr., Al Sharpton, Andrew Young, et al) and the current and up-and-coming generation of black activists and politicians (Harold Ford, Jr, Corey Booker, et al). She draws distinctions between the outlook of those steeped in t...more
06/06/09
Sheila
added it
Read in June, 2009
recommends it for:
Sarah, Tim, Micah, Sherri
I waited for my turn to get this book from the library for months...it was worth the wait. A very quick read. Ifill did interviews with a lot of up and coming African American politicians in addition to President Obama and tracks their paths to leadership in a very interesting way. I only wish she had featured--or even mentioned--Keith Ellison. The chapter on how these new young leaders deal with the continual question of whether they are "black enough" or "too black" is wort...more
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Read in March, 2009
A fascinating portrait of AfroAmericans in politics and the "new way" they see their core mission. The first person to "nail" my conflict between Clinton and Obama during the campaign(I'm sixty and female)and ended up supporting Obama. I liked the decoding of many events that I only partially understood but emotionally felt at the time.
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Excellent read of the many African American persons who have contributed to the place in history we are now experiencing - an African American President. Gwen is a journalist on PBS and hosts the show - Washington Week in Review - weekly. Very knowledgeable - she hosted one of the debates during the primary campaigns.
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01/22/09
Dee
marked it as to-read
To Be Read: another political book but this one concentrates on race. Gwen Ifill has my respect and attention. I often watch her moderating "Washington Week" and enjoy her insights. So when I heard this had been published, I knew I had to put it on my list.
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Read in April, 2009
Great book. Ifill explores the issues clearly and explains cogently. She responds to a lot of the wonderings I've had in the past year or so about race and politics and where we are now. Excellent book, very well written.
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Read in April, 2009
I thought Ifill had a lot of insight in the first several chapters, but her momentum kind of slowed down by the end. She also overused the metaphor of "sandpaper politics" in my opinion. But I enjoyed reading especially her account of the 2008 presidential campaign. Read as a campaign book or a book about Obama, this is quite satisfying.
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Great reflective of race in politics - good and bad - over the last 50 years or so.
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Read in February, 2009
This book attempts to demonstrate how current African American political leaders differ from the leaders of the civil rights movement. It reads like a who's who of current and up-and-coming African American politicos.
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Read in May, 2009
I just gave up 50 pages in. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but really, it was pretty dry...
I've started picking through this book and I'm not quite sure what I think yet. It's weird hearing Gwen Ifill's snarky tone after being so "objective" on News Hour. We'll see...
I've started picking through this book and I'm not quite sure what I think yet. It's weird hearing Gwen Ifill's snarky tone after being so "objective" on News Hour. We'll see...
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Read in May, 2009
This book was interesting but not stunning. I listened to the author reading it and though I really like her on TV, I didn't love her as narrator.
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Read in May, 2009
An extended blog post masquerading as a book. So much more could have been done with this book but it again highlights the dangers of insta-history.
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(1 person liked it)
4 comments
Read in June, 2009
A good intro book on black politics and it's main actors. This is a safe and mild discussion on "Race" politics in the USA.
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Read in February, 2009
(1st Kindle book.) Useful as a survey of moderate African-American males rising in politics. Not much depth to looking at impact of change from prior generation of leaders, or if this wave may lack substance such as the "New Liberals" 20 years ago.
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![The Break-Through: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama [With Earbuds] (Playaway Adult Nonfiction)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41WuHRnrCUL._SL75_.jpg)
