Greetings from Amazon.com Delivers Politics and Current Events Editor, Ron Hogan FEATURED IN THIS E-MAIL: * What We're Reading: "The Sword and the Shield," "John Glenn," and "Fat Man in a Middle Seat" * Meet the Candidates: George W. Bush and Al Gore * Featured Excerpt: "A Necessary Evil" * Bestsellers: "Dutch" and "Stiffed" * New in Paperback: "Hardball" * Coming Soon: "Hillary's Choice" WHAT WE'RE READING ****************** "The Sword and the Shield" by Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465003109/entertainmentsit When news leaked in 1996 that a KGB officer had defected with the names of hundreds of undercover agents, a spokesperson for the SVR (Russia's foreign intelligence service, heir of the KGB) said, "Hundreds of people! That just doesn't happen! Any defector could get the name of one, two, perhaps three agents--but not hundreds!" He was wrong: a secret dissident working in the KGB archive stole copies of its most highly classified files every day for over a decade. In 1992, he defected with his entire collection--and now it's been published for all the world to read. "John Glenn: A Memoir" by John Glenn http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553110748/entertainmentsit At a time when overwritten biographies arguably provide too much information about their subjects, astronaut-turned- politician-turned-astronaut John Glenn's breezy memoir is welcome. His life story is simply told, not terribly reflective but enormously compelling: an Ohio boy grows up to become the first American to orbit the earth, takes a shot at the presidency but misses, and triumphantly returns to outer space as a senior citizen and national hero. "Fat Man in a Middle Seat" by Jack W. Germond http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375500987/entertainmentsit It's impossible not to like Jack W. Germond, the veteran journalist who became a household name for political junkies during his 15 years on "The McLaughlin Group." He's a reporter's reporter who's rubbed elbows with some of the best-known journalists of his generation, and his memoir contains plenty of anecdotes about these colleagues (David Broder, Tom Brokaw, Robert Novak) as well as the people they covered. MEET THE CANDIDATES ******************* Over the last few months, we've showcased several books by and about the candidates for the United States presidential election in 2000. You can see a list of all the books at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=entertainmentsit&path=ts/feature/10442 "First Son" by Bill Minutaglio http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812931394/entertainmentsit The first of several Y2K biographies on Texas governor George W. Bush offers an in-depth look at both the Republican presidential candidate and his political family. Bill Minutaglio, a writer for the Dallas Morning News, interviewed more than 300 people for "First Son," including Bush and many members of his inner circle. His book is neither pro- nor anti-Bush, simply reportorial and largely nonjudgmental--Minutaglio spends most of his time describing Bush's amazing and unexpected rise to fame. "Gore: A Political Life" by Bob Zelnick http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0895263262/entertainmentsit Bob Zelnick gives Vice President Al Gore a critical once-over on these pages, chronicling his rise from a life on Embassy Row as the son of Senator Al Gore Sr. to his vice-presidency in the Clinton administration. Although not a hatchet job, the book does linger over the more controversial aspects of Gore's professional life: Zelnick clearly delights in recounting Gore's questionable fundraising practices, how today's antismoking animus clashes with his onetime pride in tobacco farming, his flip-flop on abortion and awkward attempts to justify it, his environmental extremism, and his incautious rhetoric ("no controlling legal authority"). FEATURED EXCERPT: "A NECESSARY EVIL" ************************************ "It may seem absurd for small bands of men to think they can defy a federal government they describe as vast in its power and ruthless in the use of it. But the militias drew on a claim that was routinely accepted in circles less extreme than their own. The Vietcong, they argue, defied the same United States government and bested it by guerrilla 'insurgency.' This is an analogy that Wayne LaPierre, at the time the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, used in order to argue that gun owners in general could successfully defeat tyrannical measures taken by the government." You can read more from Garry Wills's bestselling "A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government" at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=entertainmentsit&path=ts/book-excerpt/0684844893 BESTSELLERS *********** "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan" by Edmund Morris http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394555082/entertainmentsit Despite deep research and unprecedented access--no previous biography has ever been authorized by a sitting president-- Edmund Morris could get no closer to Ronald Reagan's elusive soul than Reagan's own kids could. So Morris decided to dramatize Reagan's life with several invented characters-- including a fictionalized version of himself. Ultimately, the hubbub over Morris's odd method is beside the point: his speculative entry into Reagan's life and mind is plausible, dramatic, literary, and lit by dazzling flashes of insight. "Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man" by Susan Faludi http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/068812299X/entertainmentsit Susan Faludi has done it again with "Stiffed," an exhaustive report on the betrayals felt by working men throughout the United States. American men are angry and discontented, she argues, because their sense of what it is to be a man has been destroyed by everything from corporate downsizing and the shrinking military of the post cold war era to the increase in local sports teams leaving town. NEW IN PAPERBACK **************** "Hardball" by Chris Matthews http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684845598/entertainmentsit Chris Matthews, host of one of cable TV's most popular news talk shows, has revised and expanded his insider's account of Washington politics "Hardball," first published in 1988. Juicy stories about the biggest names in government abound within these pages. COMING SOON *********** "Hillary's Choice" by Gail Sheehy http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375503447/entertainmentsit Random House is keeping this book under tight wraps--even we can't get an advance peek at it. But here's what we do know: it's about the most controversial first lady in American history, and it's written by the author of the bestselling self-help book "Passages," Gail Sheehy. So "Hillary's Choice" is bound to provide quite a bit of insight on Hillary Clinton's options as her husband's presidency draws to a close. ****** Looking for power tools? From screwdrivers to scroll saws, our brand-new Home Improvement Store offers the planet's best selection of tools and more. Home Improvement ****** You'll find more great books, articles, excerpts, and interviews in Amazon.com's Nonfiction section at Nonfiction ******
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