Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in America

by Donna Brazile

Cooking with Grease is an inspiring, behind-the-scenes memoir of the life and times of a tenacious political organizer and the first African-American woman to head a major presidential campaign.

Donna Brazile fought her first political fight at age nine -- campaigning (successfully) for a city council candidate who promised a playground in her neighborhood. The day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, she committed her heart and her future to political and social activism. By the 2000 presidential election, Brazile had become a major player in American political history -- and she remains one of the most outspoken and forceful political activists of our day.

Brazile grew up one of nine children in a working-poor family in New Orleans, a place where talking politics comes as naturally as stirring a pot of seafood gumbo -- and where the two often go hand in hand. Growing up, she learned how to cook from watching her mother, Jean, stir the pots in their family kitchen. She inherited her love of reading and politics from her grandmother Frances. Her brothers Teddy Man and Chet worked as foot soldiers in her early business schemes and in her voter registration efforts as a child.

Cooking with Grease follows Donna's rise to greater and greater political and personal accomplishments. But each new career success came with its own kind of heartache, especially in her greatest challenge: leading Al Gore's 2000 campaign, making her the first African American to lead a major presidential campaign.

Cooking with Grease is an intimate account of Donna's thirty years in politics. Her witty style and innovative political strategies have garnered her the respect and admiration of colleagues and adversaries alike -- she is as comfortable trading quips with Karl Rove as she is with her Democratic colleagues. Her story is as warm and nourishing as a bowl of Brazile family gumbo.

Genres: Politics, African American, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Biography

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2004

About the author

Donna Brazile is an American author, educator, and political activist and strategist affiliated with the Democratic Party. She was the first African-American to direct a major presidential campaign.

Brazile was born in Kenner, Louisiana to Lionel and Jean Brazile, the third of nine children. She became interested in politics at age nine when a local candidate for office promised to build a neighborhood playground. After graduating from LSU, Brazile worked for several advocacy groups in Washington, D.C., and was instrumental in the successful campaign to make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday.

Reviews

[Kecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying Al Gore will always be my 43rd President and that is the context of which I started reading Cooking with Grease.

I enjoyed Cooking with Grease but her editors really did a poor job. The last few chapters were really chopped up and that was the part of her story I most wanted to read the most. It was frustrating because everything was almost in Cliff Notes format.

What I learned was that she has a good relationship with my former Congressman and neighbor, Dick Gephardt. That was a nice surprise.

Even though Cooking with Grease was published before the 2004 election but I still found it remarkable that of all the names she names in this book, one name did not appear...Barack Obama. Go figure.

Now, where can I get a good fried shrimp po'boy?

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

This needed a good editor. Listing the address of every office from which she worked and the names of the roads she traveled between her residence and each office was dragged down the prose. We also did not need to know that every libral, African-American political figure of note as well as most white librals in politics were her very bestest friend. Her self insight seems to reach its highest level in high school, or early college. After that, she seems to continue to view her experiences through the same lense of awareness. The self-congratulatory tone and self-praise for being the lone consistant champion of the down trodden became grating after the first post-college chapter.

[Paulatics · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donna is one of my heroes. This book is informative and enjoyable.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donna Brazille is one of the most influential people behind the scenes in Democratic politics. She got her start in local politics in Louisiana only to find that the connections she built through hard work and persistence was an opportunity to help on a number of presidential campaigns, including those for Dukakis, Mondale, Jackson, Clinton, and Gore. She was an expert in getting out the vote with a special talent in coordinating among African American voters and the South. This book was written shortly after she served as the campaign manager for Al Gore's 2000 presidential bid. With that said, it is not just about that campaign.

The book starts with her childhood. Readers get an inside look into her large family and the struggles it faced in a suburb of New Orleans. Poverty was not unknown to them, but they had strong bonds and love and support for each other. It was during her youth that she learned a lot of the lessons that she would carry with her through her professional career.

The book takes the reader through her career as she balanced the excitement of working on campaigns during election years with the more traditional work found as a staffer in the years in between. There is no question that she is dedicated to traditional Democratic ideas with a special focus on the issues relating to African Americans and woman. She was not afraid of stepping into meetings that were dominated by white men and stand up for herself and the issues that she believed. Sometimes that got her into trouble, but often it led to opportunities to push forward what she thought was important.

Brazile also provides an interesting look at a lot of well-known politicians as she has worked with and for them.

This book was released in 2004, and it makes for an intriguing comparison with today's political issues and discussions relating to the challenges being confronted by the Democratic Party.

I have always been a fan of Brazile's ability to talk in a down-home way while also being one of the smartest political minds of her generations. It s refreshing, and this is such an interesting look into who she is.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not a great memoir for politcs Although I was really interested in reading Brazile's story after following her on Twitter for quite a while, seeing her name here and there, etc. I didn't know all that much about her. As election is ramping up I thought this would be another helpful read (as well as a book for fulfilling my desire to read as many books by black authors for Black History Month as possible), but unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. As other reviews mention, it's pretty poorly edited and Brazile's own story isn't that fascinating in this retelling.
 
While I did find her childhood and young adulthood interesting (including how growing up in poverty, the Civil Rights Movement, etc. all shaped her views), it's really boring. I thought I'd like it better as it moved into her political work but again, this just wasn't a very interesting story. The name-dropping did not upset me as it seemed to for other reviewers (politics can be an insular world where everyone knows everyone else and she DID work with some prominent, nationally known politicos).
 
I did find certain anecdotes interesting. The story of how she got fired from the Dukakis campaign was really fascinating, but those few pages were among the few highlights in the book. It's a pity because she obviously has unique insights, but when I put down the book after I had finished I just felt like I didn't get a lot out of it.
 
As it was published in 2004, it was interesting to see this prior to the election Obama and the present-day/more recent politics but I just couldn't help but feel really bored. It's no 'Game Change'. And while I certainly couldn't expect it to be as entertaining, I just couldn't help but feel this was a missed opportunity. Got as a bargain book but would really recommend getting it from the library unless you need it for a specific reason (ie research on a campaign she worked on).

[YT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brazile, Brazile, Brazile. I have to give her the fact that she grew up while racism was a word of depth in the US. With that being said, let me share the must shocking part of the book (and it almost made me stop reading):...her mother comment something about her being like the other girls, to what she responded: "...if I grew up to be like the other girls, then I'd be going after her husband, like all the other girls". Let it be said that the man she is referring here is her biological father. That is the must disrespectful thing I have ever read, I couldn't even think about trying to make or even try to explain that rationale to my mother, just to make my point...once I read that, I was biased.

Brazile grew up to be a big deal in the Democratic party, she brags about it a lot during the entire book, but when she got to handle a presidential campaign it seems she couldn't control her staff and when things were going bad she referred to it as "the campaign" as in trying to distance herself from it.

Another thing I did not like was the way black people (or "her people" as she called them) are portrayed in this book. She was very emphatic that she always wanted to bring black people to the table, and she made it a priority. But, isn't it supposed to be about talent regardless of color? and to put the lid on the top, she once mentioned she was also working on getting the Hispanic vote for her candidate but she did not mention once in the entire book what she did to gain knowledge about the Hispanics needs...meaning, that section of the population was only votes for her. She also claims to be the most fervent catholic yet she was campaigning for pro choice options.

The book is interesting but the duality of thought is what got me uncomfortable. Brazile has been working since a child and her career paths at least have had good intentions.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved reading about Donna Brazile's childhood, imagining what a determined child she was. Found it very interesting how she moved back and forth from cause activism to political work. At 23 she was a key mover in the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington, organizing more people to attend it than had been at the original. The skills she picked up there perfectly positioned her to be a major player in her campaign work. It's painful to read her recounting of how the Democrats take African-Americans for granted but don't want to be too closely associated with them. Reading about the role of Susan Estrich in the Dukakis campaign helped me understand her role in the 2008 campaign when she disrespected Obama and Obama voters repeatedly.

My only regret was that I didn't notice when I picked up the book that it was published in 2004. I want to hear her reflections on the years since then! I've always admired her, but now she's a real hero to me.

[Miah D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lov4 Donna Brazile the political strategist. I db't carr the same feelings for Donna Brazile the writer. Her story is compelling, but at best choppily written. She needs an editor--badly. An editor would be able to take a great story and turn it into great writing. Overall, this is an easy read that I would recommend for a women looking for insiration, but beware that there are llots of pages of "Famous Donna Brazile Name Dropping" mixed with misplaced southern cooking metaphors.

Again, the story is inspiring, compelling and inspirational. The writing is flat.

[Donna Kubiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life story of one of my favorite CNN political strategists. This book shows her determination and perserverance toward doing what she started wanting to do when she was a young child..manage a presidential campaign,which she did for Al Gore. Pretty uplifting for a woman to do this typical male job. And do it well!

[Sue Lusk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this political history as told from her journey through the ranks of the Democratic party , she has a great story to tell, only gave it 3 stars though because seriously she really needed a great editor to compliment her story. Hard to follow at times. With that said it was a quick read told from her perspective.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donna Brazile is an inspiration to all who believe in being empowered by the right to vote and participate in the political process of this country! the book was a little choppy but her story is worth the lack of edited perfection.

[Janet W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book. It seemed as if Donna Brazile was just talking to you instead of down to you. It was a fast read and I realize that sacrifice one has to make to really become successful.

[Polly Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

author was head of Gore's campaign
students like it

[Mukeary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A combination of how the author's difficult upbringing led to her passion for social justice which led to her choice of careers. Hearing her at Chautauqua was what motivated me to read this.

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. It was interesting to read the inside story of the 2000 'hanging chad' election.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

It seemed a bit preachy, and ego driven.

[Racheal Kalisz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully informative and humorous. I hope we will get to hear story of her Presidential Run some day!

[Millie · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely love her and this book. she is one of my favorite politicians, she truly cares about people and understands/advocates for grass roots organizing.

[LaShana Claude]

https://edu.google.com/workspace-for-...



-AFL-CIO President John Sweeney
"Cooking with Grease shows why Donna Brazille is a multitalented American original- the first African American to actually run big-time politics and politicians. You will be amazed by the life she cooked up for herself from poverty in a big raucous family to the pinnacle of power politics, laughing all the way." -Congresswomen Eleanor Holmes Norton

[Mary Newcomb]

Prior to reading this I did not know much about the author. I now know that she has had a fascination with politics from an early age and that she has attempted to straddle her passion for civil rights with her passion for politics. While this book was a bit uneven (and could have used some editing), it was an eye opening look into some of the recent politics of our country.

[Mary Mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first third of this book really held my attention. It was a recollection of Brazile's childhood in southern Louisiana and provided moving accounts of growing up Black and in poverty in the rural south during segregation. Once Brazile made it past college the book became really dry with pages of recounting lists of names and dates. I had a hard time making it thru and skimmed the last 2/3.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for Black History Month 2023.
This is a great review of politics before the blogs. Starting when she was a child in Kenner, LA near NOLA. So many names! The history!
2000 broke my heart before 2016 broke my heart. This ends at 2004. I learned so much, loved the recipes, respect her.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

#43 of 120 books pledged to read during 2022

[Carson Harkrader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Donna Brazile charts her life and career in politics, from her childhood in New Orleans to various political campaigns and Washington DC. She is very open about her personal and career ups and downs, wins and losses. Each chapter contains a reference to New Orleans cooking, and the back of the book contains a recipe for gumbo (which I followed - it was really good!) As someone who has followed politics for most of my life, it was interesting to see how Donna's life intersected with a number of national politicians. She dedicated years of her life 100% to her job and her belief that electing the right politician could help her community and our country. Reading about Al Gore's loss to George Bush brought that period of political history back to life for me, and I enjoyed learning Donna's insights into what happened. I appreciated her intimate and honest sharing about what it was like for her to fight for her voice and decide how to use it.

[Andrew Rigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book for young people interested in politics. Ms. Brazile plays hardball without succumbing to extremism. She serves the heavy hitters in her party without forgetting the 'little guy' and the family and neighbors where she grew up. If you don't know what a roux is you should ask someone who does know, don't just google it.