What It Takes: The Way to the White House

Written by Richard Ben Cramer

Narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright

An American Iliad in the guise of contemporary political reportage, What It Takes penetrates the mystery at the heart of all presidential campaigns: How do presumably ordinary people acquire that mixture of ambition, stamina, and pure shamelessness that makes a true candidate? As he recounts the frenzied course of the 1988 presidential race-and scours the psyches of contenders from George Bush and Robert Dole to Michael Dukakis and Gary Hart-Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Richard Ben Cramer comes up with the answers, in a book that is vast, exhaustively researched, exhilarating, and sometimes appalling in its revelations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Mar 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781541438927

Richard Ben Cramer

Richard Ben Cramer (1950-2013) won the Pulitzer Prize for Middle East reporting in 1979. His journalism has appeared in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and Rolling Stone. He is the author of How Israel Lost: The Four Questions and the classic of modern American politics What It Takes: The Way to the White House.

Reviews for What It Takes

[thewestwing-864351 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gave a complete view of the primary season from 1988. It was intriguing to get inside the minds of the various candidates and spouses. However I felt it was too long. Though it was interesting, the scale of detail was at times overwhelming.

[bontley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not really the way to the White House, more like the way to win the primaries as the 1000 page book ended at the conventions. Way too large of a book to leave out Jesse Jackson...the guy did finish second in the primaries you know. Lots of great information written informally which distracts and detracts at times.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Massive book about the kinds of people who have the unusual drive to enter politics on a national scale. Not about campaign strategy so much as personal motivations and biographies. Very interesting for anybody interested in politicking.

[jbd1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An in-depth and exhaustive (but incredibly well-written) account of presidential campaigns, both successful and not-so-much.