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Machiavellis Shadow The Rise And Fall Of Karl Rove
Karl Rove has come to personify scorched earth political tactics and merciless, win-at-any-cost trickery. His status as the so-called architect behind Bush's election victories has elevated him to a mythic kingmaker in the national imagination. Not since Mark Hanna, special assistant to President William McKinley, has someone not elected to public office played such a vital role in the governance of our nation.
We know the myth, but who is the man? In Machiavelli's Shadow, the full, unvarnished truth about the mastermind of the Bush administration is revealed as swirling scandals and Karl Rove's diminished power have freed people to speak candidly as never before. Acclaimed author and veteran journalist Paul Alexander tracks Rove's journey from consummate outsider to presidential consigliere, conducting firsthand interviews with A-list sources who have never gone on the record about Rove before now. The result is a gripping, no-holds-barred account of the man whose insistence on politicizing any area on which he has advised the president—from the war in Iraq to domestic issues like Social Security, energy, the environment, and hotly controversial judicial matters—has brought about his own fall from grace and an escalating crisis within the government and the nation.
Drawing on the author's extensive connections in the political arena and delving into all areas of Rove's life—political, business, psychological, and personal—this book stands as the definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures ever to emerge on the American political scene.
We know the myth, but who is the man? In Machiavelli's Shadow, the full, unvarnished truth about the mastermind of the Bush administration is revealed as swirling scandals and Karl Rove's diminished power have freed people to speak candidly as never before. Acclaimed author and veteran journalist Paul Alexander tracks Rove's journey from consummate outsider to presidential consigliere, conducting firsthand interviews with A-list sources who have never gone on the record about Rove before now. The result is a gripping, no-holds-barred account of the man whose insistence on politicizing any area on which he has advised the president—from the war in Iraq to domestic issues like Social Security, energy, the environment, and hotly controversial judicial matters—has brought about his own fall from grace and an escalating crisis within the government and the nation.
Drawing on the author's extensive connections in the political arena and delving into all areas of Rove's life—political, business, psychological, and personal—this book stands as the definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures ever to emerge on the American political scene.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 2008
41 people want to read
About the author
Paul Alexander
124 books43 followersBesides the bestselling Kindle Singles Murdered, Accused, and Homicidal, Paul Alexander has published eight previous books of nonfiction: Ariel Ascending: Writings About Sylvia Plath; Rough Magic, a biography of Plath; Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Life, Times, and Legend of James Dean, the bestseller that has been published in 10 countries; Death and Disaster: The Rise of the Warhol Empire and the Race For Andy’s Millions; Man of the People: The Life of John McCain; The Candidate, a chronicle of John Kerry’s presidential campaign; and Machiavelli’s Shadow: The Rise and Fall of Karl Rove.
A former reporter for Time, Alexander has published journalism in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, New York, The Nation, The Village Voice, Salon, Worth, The New York Observer, George, Cosmopolitan, More, Interview, ARTnews, Mirabella, Premiere, Out, The Advocate, Travel & Leisure, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, Biography, Men’s Journal, Best Life, The New York Review of Books, The Daily Beast, and Rolling Stone.
Shane Salerno’s forthcoming feature documentary Salinger is based on Alexander’s biography of J.D. Salinger. Alexander is the author of the plays Strangers in the Land of Canaan and Edge, which he directed. Developed at The Actors Studio, Edge, the critically acclaimed one-woman play about Sylvia Plath, ran in New York, London, Los Angeles, among other cities. Edge toured Australia and New Zealand and enjoyed a second run in New York. In all, Torn performed Edge 400 times. Alexander is also the director of Brothers in Arms, a documentary film about John Kerry and Vietnam (First Run Features).
A graduate of The University of Alabama and The Writers’ Workshop at The University of Iowa, Alexander is a member of the Authors Guild and PEN American Center. In the fall of 2002, he was a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He lives in New York City.
A former reporter for Time, Alexander has published journalism in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, New York, The Nation, The Village Voice, Salon, Worth, The New York Observer, George, Cosmopolitan, More, Interview, ARTnews, Mirabella, Premiere, Out, The Advocate, Travel & Leisure, The Los Angeles Times Book Review, Biography, Men’s Journal, Best Life, The New York Review of Books, The Daily Beast, and Rolling Stone.
Shane Salerno’s forthcoming feature documentary Salinger is based on Alexander’s biography of J.D. Salinger. Alexander is the author of the plays Strangers in the Land of Canaan and Edge, which he directed. Developed at The Actors Studio, Edge, the critically acclaimed one-woman play about Sylvia Plath, ran in New York, London, Los Angeles, among other cities. Edge toured Australia and New Zealand and enjoyed a second run in New York. In all, Torn performed Edge 400 times. Alexander is also the director of Brothers in Arms, a documentary film about John Kerry and Vietnam (First Run Features).
A graduate of The University of Alabama and The Writers’ Workshop at The University of Iowa, Alexander is a member of the Authors Guild and PEN American Center. In the fall of 2002, he was a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 2, 2008
Good examination of Rove and his role in the Bush White House. Although it contains biographical information, it's not so much a biography as a focus on Rove during Bush's terms as governor and president, with the emphasis being on the presidential years.
Rove is a slippery character and it's hard to get a handle on everything he has had a hand in. This book is a good guide and resource for a more comprehensive picture. Rove's scheming is often obscure and complex, the book does a good job of explaining and providing the context necessary to understand the import of the various incidents--like the persecutions of Georgia Thompson and Donald Siegelman.
Alexander chips away at the standard myth of Rove being Bush's Brain and even suggests that Bush has supported Rove's self-aggrandizing mythology as a way to deflect attention and blame from himself. Although Rove was adept, for a while, at manipulating elections, virtually all of his policy work was an unmitigated disaster for Bush...eventually prompting Bush to dismiss Rove!
Rove is a slippery character and it's hard to get a handle on everything he has had a hand in. This book is a good guide and resource for a more comprehensive picture. Rove's scheming is often obscure and complex, the book does a good job of explaining and providing the context necessary to understand the import of the various incidents--like the persecutions of Georgia Thompson and Donald Siegelman.
Alexander chips away at the standard myth of Rove being Bush's Brain and even suggests that Bush has supported Rove's self-aggrandizing mythology as a way to deflect attention and blame from himself. Although Rove was adept, for a while, at manipulating elections, virtually all of his policy work was an unmitigated disaster for Bush...eventually prompting Bush to dismiss Rove!
March 28, 2009
Halfway into this. Current discussion, August 7, 2008, online with the author on the Well.
It is not a pleasant subject unless, of course, you're totally happy with the current state of the Republican Revolution and the way they've failed oh so miserably in the US and on the world stage with their "permanent majority."
The Katrina chapter is excerpted at Salon Magazine.
It is not a pleasant subject unless, of course, you're totally happy with the current state of the Republican Revolution and the way they've failed oh so miserably in the US and on the world stage with their "permanent majority."
The Katrina chapter is excerpted at Salon Magazine.
April 27, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. It was written with frank sincerity about the shadows and manipulations of one Karl Rove. I wished it went more into the aftermath of what he and former president George W. Bush in order to gain their power and keep it.
April 15, 2013
I liked this book a lot. Very absorbing and well-written. It basically describes Karl Rove's career as a political advisor. It's nice how the author makes connections throughout the book, pointing out where Rove's strengths and weaknesses lie. If you like politics you have to read this.
July 25, 2008
Fascinating read - interesting to read how evil thinks....
August 13, 2008
Some interesting information on Karl Rove, but poorly written.
June 29, 2009
Karl Rove is a scary person who cared more about politics than the public he served. He wanted to make a Republican Third Reich.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews