85. Going Rogue: An American Life - Sarah Palin

In this 400+ page biography/memoir that really should have been no more than 250 pages, Sarah Palin paints a portrait of her life growing up in Alaska; meeting and falling in love with Todd Palin; raising their five children; and of course, rehashing the 2008 election and the plethora of issues surrounding it. For example, she discusses how she read the Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, etc. ... and then says,

Perhaps that's why I was so shocked during the VP campaign when Katie Couric wondered which papers and magazines I read. Maybe I should have asked her what she reads. She didn't sound very informed on our energy issues.

I feel like Palin makes a lot of cheap shots and distorts some serious issues. For example, at one point she's talking about how her son Track, at age 17, was injured while playing hockey:

Apologetically, the nurse explained that they couldn't even let him walk down the hall to the drinking fountain because if he needed surgery his stomach should be empty, and they couldn't treat him without me. Of course I understood, but I still fumed inside. I even wondered out loud about why this big, strapping, nearly grown man who was overcome with pain couldn't even get a drink of water without parental consent, yet a thirteen-year-old girl could undergo a painful, invasive, and scary abortion and no parent even had to be notified.

Ummm ... it'd be helpful to note that only six states in the country don't require parental notification: in the majority of states, notification of at least one parent is required. What she said was technically accurate in the small world of Alaska - but just a little misleading for most people who'd be reading this book.

I do have to give it to her for a few good points, like this one ...

Everything in government attracts an obligatory acronym it seems ... Political terms are meant to paint a picture. For example, liberals prefer the term "social justice" over "welfare" and why conservatives prefer "marriage protection amendment" over "gay marriage ban."

... (weird phrasing of that last sentence in original).

Overall, I definitely do not think that this is a well-written book. She jumps around all over the place: at one point, she's talking about her five kids; then goes on to talk about the birth of Trig, her fifth child. She also makes a lot of cheap shots at the Obamas - and not only with regard to policy. She came down on Michelle Obama for saying that for the first time in her adult life, she was proud of her country ... honestly, if she understood the reality of being black in America, maybe she'd be a bit more sensitive to that. As Tim Wise said in his book - Sarah Palin is a proud defender of the Second Amendment when she's shown on the cover of Newsweek with a rifle ... but what would America have said if Michelle Obama were on the cover of a magazine with a gun?! Angry, scary black woman. I don't think Palin is great at understanding people outside of her America.
Anyway ... don't waste your time reading this book (not that my lowly review will matter: it's already sold more than one million copies). If you want to read a well-written right-wing book, check out Common Sense by Glenn Beck - the writing is much better and it cuts to the chase about the issues without the cheap, personal shots and drama.