Items related to The Contender: Andrew Cuomo, a Biography
Now in paperback, a no-holds-barred biography of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo by Vanity Fair writer Michael Shnayerson. He is the most fascinating politician in American today: tactically brilliant, charismatic, yet also dark, brooding, and vindictive. He is an old-school boss who rules by fear even as he puts himself forward as the new, twenty-first-century Democrat. In many ways his story is iconic: scion of a political family, the Italian-American governor's son who aims for nothing less than the presidency. A cabinet secretary at thirty-nine, he ran for governor in his first bid for elected office and was soundly drubbed, even as his high-profile marriage to a Kennedy daughter ended in tabloid scandal. How he pulled himself up--first as attorney general, then as governor--is great political drama. Cuomo has proven he can twist arms like Lyndon Johnson and make a legislature work--a skill notably lacking in our current president. He scored a rousing victory by getting marriage equality passed in a state that had blocked it twice before. He has also seized power at every opportunity, alienated allies and rivals alike, and micromanaged to the point of obsessiveness, bringing to mind another, less celebrated president: Richard Nixon. Will Andrew Cuomo's political gifts lead him to the White House? Or will his demons--and his lifelong quest to outdo his father--keep him in the governor's mansion, looking for another place to go?
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Michael Shnayerson is a longtime contributing editor to Vanity Fair and the author or co-author of five books. Most recently he collaborated with Harry Belafonte on the singer and activist's memoir, My Song, a New York Times notable book of 2011. His other books include Coal River, about West Virginians fighting the environmental threat of mountaintop coal removal; and Irwin Shaw: A Biography.
Review:
A Publisher's Weekly Top 10 Political Book of the Season
"[A] deeply researched account...While Shnayerson doesn't deny the governor his considerable talents and accomplishments - from his efforts as a young man tackling homelessness to his key role in the 2011 passage of same-sex marriage - the story is shadowed by what the author portrays as an often ruthless drive for advancement, and a mania for control."―Albany Times-Union
"In the first few pages of "The Contender," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is portrayed as a "brilliant tactician" and a presidential hopeful, even if not in 2016. But the tone of the unauthorized biography quickly changes...the book explores Mr. Cuomo's complicated relationship with his father, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, as well as his early days managing his father's campaigns, and then running his office in Albany after his father became governor..."―The New York Times
"Gov. Andrew Cuomo is known for going to great lengths to control his image and the information released about him. Interviews with people familiar with the governor's deliberations and others who worked on the three projects shed light on a literary chess game that played out over three years."―The Wall Street Journal
"Shnayerson is able to add color to the existing body of Cuomo portraiture...about how the governor (and governor's son) got to be the political figure he is today. Cuomo, in Shnayerson's telling, was the young campaign operative who shimmied up telephone poles in Queens in the dead of night to take down his father Mario's opponent's campaign posters, and would do just about anything if it meant winning."―Capitol New York
"A graceful writer with a gift for memorable descriptions...a dogged, resourceful reporter...with THE CONTENDER, Shnayerson provides a helpful [...] reminder that some of the best and most consequential political stories occur far away from the glare of Washington."―The New York Times Book Review
"[A] deeply researched account...While Shnayerson doesn't deny the governor his considerable talents and accomplishments - from his efforts as a young man tackling homelessness to his key role in the 2011 passage of same-sex marriage - the story is shadowed by what the author portrays as an often ruthless drive for advancement, and a mania for control."―Albany Times-Union
"In the first few pages of "The Contender," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is portrayed as a "brilliant tactician" and a presidential hopeful, even if not in 2016. But the tone of the unauthorized biography quickly changes...the book explores Mr. Cuomo's complicated relationship with his father, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, as well as his early days managing his father's campaigns, and then running his office in Albany after his father became governor..."―The New York Times
"Gov. Andrew Cuomo is known for going to great lengths to control his image and the information released about him. Interviews with people familiar with the governor's deliberations and others who worked on the three projects shed light on a literary chess game that played out over three years."―The Wall Street Journal
"Shnayerson is able to add color to the existing body of Cuomo portraiture...about how the governor (and governor's son) got to be the political figure he is today. Cuomo, in Shnayerson's telling, was the young campaign operative who shimmied up telephone poles in Queens in the dead of night to take down his father Mario's opponent's campaign posters, and would do just about anything if it meant winning."―Capitol New York
"A graceful writer with a gift for memorable descriptions...a dogged, resourceful reporter...with THE CONTENDER, Shnayerson provides a helpful [...] reminder that some of the best and most consequential political stories occur far away from the glare of Washington."―The New York Times Book Review
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherTwelve
- Publication date2017
- ISBN 10 1455521981
- ISBN 13 9781455521982
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages384
- Rating
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