Rating: 
Summary: A warmly told account of the 'Invisible Primary'
Review: 'One-car caravan' does provide some insight into the characters and to a lesser extent the politics of the candidates, although I think the statement on the books back cover that "if you are a Democrat, it is your responsibility as a voter to read this book" is overstated. As proof that more information does not lead to more clarity, I confess I'm less clear now on my preference for president than I was before I started reading this book.
More interesting, at least for me, is the insight into the whole process of what the candidates have to overcome just to run a presidential campaign. Picking staff, raising money, dealing with the press, gaining nominations from the influencial party members, showing up in living rooms in New Hampshire or Iowa. This is a part of democracy that doesn't get covered in civics lessons.
Walter Shapiro writes in a style that is sometimes rambling but always warm and charitable. The narative descibes both the events on the campaign trail and also offers many deep insights into American democracy. If you can read this book and not envy the people of New Hampshire and Iowa for their disproportionately elevated role in choosing the Presidential candidates, then Mr Grinch, your heart is surely two sizes too small.
'One-car caravan' is an enjoyable book that leaves me with a better understanding of the repetitive, quirky, demanding nature of an American presidential campaign.
Rating:
Summary: The possible making of a president 2004.
Review: Average voters never get to see the personal side of presidential candidates. All we see is the polished public image crafted by their handlers and the short sound-bites on the evening news. If any of us are really lucky we might actually hear a candidate speak in person, but even that is a canned speech that has been recited by the candidate over and over. Sometimes a campaign insider or political reporter will offer us a look at the real person blemishes and all, but it is usually in a book published after the election.Walter Shapiro has turned the tables a bit and given us a look behind the mask before the election. Shapiro is a long time political reporter and is currently with USA Today. His knowledge of the subject comes through in every page of this book as he introduces the reader to the major contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. Most political junkies don't even begin to focus on the race at its beginnings, but Shapiro made it a point to get to know the candidates while they were still formulating their campaigns. He traveled with Howard Dean when there were no other reporters around and in fact was with Dean on at least on trip to New Hampshire in a car with only two other people. One of which was the Vermont State Trooper assigned to drive then Governor Dean around. Shapiro spent a lot of time like this with all of the major candidates and got to see a side of them that is seldom seen. Normally only the candidate's closest advisors and family get to see this side of the candidates. In this book we see Joe Lieberman's reaction to Al Gore's decision not to run and Howard Dean the penny pincher. We see John Edwards agonizing over his decision to run and Bob Graham with his odd habit of writing everything he does down in a little notebook. We also get a look at the emotional trauma faced by both John Kerry and Richard Gephardt as they deal not only with the stress of the campaign but also with the illness and ultimate death of their respective mothers. Yes, these men are real people just like the rest of us and while running for President of the United States they have to deal with some of the same problems we all deal with. Shapiro gives us a chance to see how they handle these dual roles. This is a tough life these men have chosen and this book gives the reader some insight into why they decided to take on this challenge. Toward the end Shapiro includes a hilarious little section about what might be going on in early 2005. He includes things like President Edwards press secretary getting runs in her pantyhose caused by stray Legos and President Kerry being upset because he can't ride his Harley anywhere but Camp David. This book is well written and interesting along with informative. I wish I had known about this book before the primary season although I doubt that it would have altered my choice. The candidates are not torn to pieces but are dealt with sympathetically. That is not to say however that their faults don't come through as do the faults of the system we use to select our leader. This is a very good book and since it contains a good deal of information about John Kerry it won't be out of date until November, and maybe eight years beyond that.
Rating:
Summary: The Process of Candidacy...
Review: I didn't finish Walter Shapiro's "One-Car Caravan" feeling that my vote in the 2004 Democratic Primary would go to a different candidate, but I did finish it feeling I had a better grasp of who each of the 'major' candidates were as people - and maybe feeling a little more comfortable in the thought of what would happen if any of the candidates that make me nervous get the nod. Shapiro's book covers the five 'major' candidates of the 2004 Democratic Primary Election: Dean, Edwards, Gephardt, Lieberman and Kerry. To a lesser extent it also tackles Bob Graham (who entered the race late and has since dropped out) and Al Sharpton, who gets his own chapter in Shapiro's examination of "vanity candidates" - candidates like Sharpton, Moseley-Braun and Kucinich who enter the race with apparently little hope for winning. Absent from the book is Wesley Clark, who did not enter the race until the book was nearly published. Shapiro's book is based less on policy positions and public facades (although each get their due in the book) than on the candidates as people, and on the whole, each comes off well. Shapiro's biases in the book are reasonably up-front: he identifies himself as a Democrat and he states his personal position as being closest to Howard Dean, and for the purposes of this book it works well. Clearly stating his own stance allows him to deal relatively even-handedly with each of the candidates in turn, although its hard to shake the feeling that maybe he's a little harder on Howard Dean as a result initial Dean-leanings. On the whole, it's not a deep, life-changing read, nor will it necessarily cause you to rethink your views on the 2004 Democratic candidates, but it is definitely worth reading. Shapiro is careful in the time he gives each candidate, and at the end of the book you come away feeling like you know the candidates more intimately than you could ever from watching ad spots and debates. It's a worthy goal for any political book, and Shapiro writes it well enough to keep you engaged through all 215 rather-quick pages. If the 2004 Democratic hopefuls or the American political process interest you at all, I recommend giving it a shot.
Rating:
Summary: Cruse Control Campaigning
Review: I have read a number of these type of "On The Trail" campaign books and I have found that they usually are focused on how one candidate either won or lost the election. Sure the books talk about the other candidates, but really just as a side story to give the reader an idea of who the focused on candidate crushed in the primaries. The author took a different approach the to typical campaign book. Instead of focusing on the ultimate winner and back filling the book as if the author was always focused on the winner, this author covered the main candidates and stopped at the start of the primary season. This gives the book a very interesting and even handed feel. The author did not know who was going to win so he had to give them all equal coverage.
The author tells us that he purposefully wanted to write a book that would give the reader a little bit more insight into the main candidates before the overly scripted primary battle began. To be fair to the author he did his best, but every politician is going to be guarded around the press and lets face it, rarely are most candidates much different then the typical person. In reading these books, I like most readers, is looking for the drama filled moment when it seams like that one decision will change the whole campaign and possibly the history of the U.S. Well this book does not have the moment and to be fair when do political campaigns really have that one decision. To win the general election it is a long road with many decisions that total up to the overall outcome. And at the end of the day all who is to say that all of those decisions add up to be as important as the likeability of the candidate.
Overall I found this book to be very light hearted and overly positive. The author gives a nice overview of each candidate as a person and really does not touch on the policies that make the men different. The author also stayed away from any significant negatives of the candidates or their GOP rival. Given that the book really did not hold itself up to being an in depth view of the candidates differences on the policy front, one can not be too disappointed at the overall lack of depth in the book. The book is interesting and easy to read. The author has a unique sense of humor that pops up on every page. It is a book full of the possible, and like any sports pre season, every team has a shot at the title. If you are looking for something to put a smile on your face and wash away, at least temporarily, the disappointment of defeat, then this is a good book to pick up.
Rating:
Summary: Breezy style + personality touches makes this a winner
Review: My goal was to finish this before the 2004 elections, and I made it by a few days once I finally found a copy. I've always liked Walter Shapiro's writing style and honest tone, and One-Car Caravan didn't disappoint.
I enjoyed this book mostly because I found each chapter bring me a bit closer to the candidates - even after watching Kerry & Edwards for months afterwards, I still felt like I learned something. The Leiberman content was especially interesting. I was disappointed to not learn a bit more about Dennis Kucinich, even if I'm not a card-carrying member of his fan club.
A little repetitive - a lot of anecdotes made the same point (although each one about the New Hampshire primary process painted a great picture) - but still a great read, even after the elections are over.
Rating: 
Summary: An comfortable look into the 'Invisible Primary'
Review: Shapiro does an excellent job covering a topic that is complex and straught with emotion, but doing so in a way that is neither biased or hard to read. It's been mentioned already that he is a stand-up comedian, and that really shows in his writing. It's engaging and insightful. It gives depth into character traits of the Democratic candidates. And although I'm not a fan of any of them, it made me feel like I could relate to them and understand where they were coming from and what they were struggling with.
Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Insiders view worth a read before the 1st Tues in November
Review: There's nothing too earth-shattering in here: Edwards is likable; Kerry aloof and 'a sad sack' (Shapiro's words, not mine); Sharpton volatile (and Shapiro rightly calling him to task on Tawana Brawley); Gephardt a decent man (but perhaps in the wrong era); Mosley Braun and Kucinich not reviewed because of their lack of credibility as candidates, etc.
What *is* fresh and different about 'One-Car Caravan' is that Shapiro 'gets' the candidates before the public as a whole catches on - he sees Edwards' ability to connect with small groups and surmises he will surprise; he predicts Dean will catch fire. These are the eyes and ears of a seasoned campaign reporter.
I especially liked the humor Shapiro shows - an extended riff towards the end of the book envisions each of the candidates as President and recounts their first days in autobiographical style - we get Kerry dictating a self-important passage to himself via a small tape recorder, a faux Time magazine article that makes the Edwards White House out as Camelot, Part II, with John-John and Caroline stand-ins Jack and Emma Claire Edwards leaving half-eaten cookies in the Oval Office. Best of all, we get a hilariously spot-on passage from Senator Bob Graham's Presidential Diary. Every political wonk and wonkette knows about Graham's prosiac, prolific diaries, so we get entries like:
6:45 - Shower, shave, dress. Finish Colgate. Gray suit
7:30 - CIA-FBI terrorism briefing. Same old. Counted "Mr. President's." 47! 4 in one sentence.
That's right out of Al Franken "Why Not Me?" terrritory. Very, very well done. A treat for any budding political operative.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent background on the leading democratic candidates.
Review: This book provides excellent and entertaining background on several of the leading 2004 democratic presidential candidates. The author believes there is much to be learned from the "invisible primary" period of 2002 and early 2003, because the candidates were much more accessible and they spoke much more candidly. However, politics moves quickly. At the time the book was written, the modern Internet based campaign of Howard Dean had not taken off yet. Also, the book did not capture the late entry of Wesley Clark. So, by the time you get to read this newly released book, it will be more a piece of recent political history, than any plausible prognostic on the likely democratic nominee. This should not detract much from the valuable background on the candidates and the changing dynamic of presidential campaigning. The author very user friendly lively narrative written style reflects his background as one of the U.S. premier political journalist and writers. If you are a politics aficionado, you will love the book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent background on the leading democratic candidates.
Review: This book provides excellent and entertaining background on several of the leading 2004 democratic presidential candidates. The author believes there is much to be learned from the "invisible primary" period of 2002 and early 2003, because the candidates were much more accessible and they spoke much more candidly. However, politics moves quickly. At the time the book was written, the modern Internet based campaign of Howard Dean had not taken off yet. Also, the book did not capture the late entry of Wesley Clark. So, by the time you get to read this newly released book, it will be more a piece of recent political history, than any plausible prognostic on the likely democratic nominee. This should not detract much from the valuable background on the candidates and the changing dynamic of presidential campaigning. The author very user friendly lively narrative written style reflects his background as one of the U.S. premier political journalist and writers. If you are a politics aficionado, you will love the book.
Rating:
Summary: How to Run for President of the United States...
Review: This is a brilliant look at what has been called the "Invisible Primary" , the period before the voters step into the picture. Shapiro is a stand-up comic in his spare time and in this book, he does not disappoint. He gives the reader a birds eye view of how a Presidential campaign begins and how it goes through the first phase of the nomination process. This book is less about the candidates and more about the process of running for President of the United States of America. While it does give you an inside look at the motivations of each canddiate, more importantly it tells you how a person, anyone of us can for President. This book reads like an interesting novel in which the characters are built up like human beings and not abstract figures. One often forgets that these men, and one woman, are running for President! Shapiro tackles the issues, the money, the message and all the other technical aspects of running a campaign. He does what few others in his art have done, he takes it a step further by analyzing the process and evaluating what kind of a job it does in selecting the man or woman who is most fit to represent the party and the country. The critique is one which is alarming but reassuring, the candidate is not made as a result of political handlers, consultants, money, or even message. The man or woman most fit is the one who best connects with the American people and the one who sees their problems as his or her own. A reassuring look in an otherwise cynical world.
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