I can take the good and the bad with any candidate. I love presidential elections and relish the time of year they occur. I read whatever I can get my hands on regarding any and all candidates, Republican, Democrat, etc. - I enjoy learning about the people running, one of whom, will probably end up being president.

This book could have been better, except for the fact that the author takes any and all occasion to make something negative, even if the occasion is not warrented. I have to say, I also don't like "white wash" books that make a candidate look like the perfect person, who's never done anything wrong (who of us can really say that?).

Early on in the book, Zelnick mentions that soon after graduating high school, Gore broke up with a steady girl friend. Zelnick then mentions that she burned the love letters he sent her at a time in her life when she was about to be married. Up to now, this is a nice fact, good reporting, but then Zelnick adds - "or so she claims!" It's like having a book written by Hard Copy! Obiously Zelnick is one of those writers who after being told by the subject that they will not cooperate and asks that his friends take the same stance cannot rise above this, but feels that he needs to exact his revenge by making the smallest fact seem negative.

This is a shame as the body of the book, the facts, the research, etc. are quite good and thourough, which is why I give it two stars instead of one.

This is the book that cost the author, Bob Zelnick, his job at ABC. He chose to write an objective, even handed, biography of Al Gore - the man who is well positioned to become the next presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. That was not what our leading liberal network wanted to see from its employees.

The book looks clearly and honestly at the real Al Gore, not the Al Gore that you will see represented by political "spinners" and their cohorts in the media. It fully documents the opportunism and hypocrisy that has marked his career - ranging from his "flips" on tobacco and abortion, to his phony "tour of duty" in Nam, to the his environmental extremism, etc. - but doesn't ignore the accomplishments; his support of the Gulf War and of Ronald Regan's strategic nuclear decisions for instance. If you want to know the truth about the man, and cut through the smog that will shortly be emanating from the political spinners and their focus groups - read this boo

To read some of the reviews below, one might think this book is a "right-wing" rant. Hardly. I'm still searching for the references to Gephardt as the "former" speaker of the house and various misspellings referred to by reviewers below.

Actually, before one passes judgment, as I've seen others do below, why not read the book? Mr. Zelnick has produced a fairly even-handed overview of Mr. Gore's political life. Speaking for myself, as a member of the so called "far right", I found the book to be quite fair in it's assessment of Mr. Gore and his political career, even presenting what I saw as a complimentary view , in places, of the current Vice President.

I'm no fan of Albert Gore, or his current boss, the impeached and disgraced William J. Clinton, but I believe anyone who actually reads this book with an open mind (isn't that what liberals are always SCREAMING at conservatives to do???!?), will find the book both fair and interesting. Enjoy!!

Bob Zelnick and I agree that affirmative action as often practiced in the real world causes much inadvertent harm. Abstract principles may look good on paper, but fail miserably when acted upon. He offers us numerous horror stories that should legitimately enrage us. Zelnick takes to task the hypocrisy of the major corporations who readily advocate affirmative policies knowing full well it cost them little in doing so. The firms truly paying the price are mostly small to mid size business entities. Nevertheless, I still maintain that fair minded and well thought out affirmative action remedies can be beneficial. Zelnick conveniently ignores our nation's long established history of racial prejudice. He overlooks the cold fact that many white people have always made sure their relatives and friends received special consideration. There has always been a sort of affirmative action for the wealthy and powerful. Also, a minority person may be rejected for employment due to the tacit, if not explicit, bias of the company. People tend to choose their own kind. What should be done, for instance, about a business hesitant to hire an Afro-American individual to represent their services and products to its white customer base? In such an unfair environment, how can a minority candidate receive a fair break? Aren't we caught in a Catch 22 vicious cycle? There are no easy answers to this dilemma, but Zelnick refuses to look at the other side of this most important debate. Absolutist positions are far easier for us to handle, but this mind set may distort the actual ambiguity and complexity of the situation.

A real crisis, however, develops when affirmative action is used to give an advantage to the less qualified. How can a rational person justify the hiring of shabbily qualified minority policemen merely to comply with affirmative action mandates? The sports world suits up only its best players for the game. Long ago even the most racist sports organizations abandoned their prejudices because they were beginning to lose too many contests to integrated teams. Self preservation sometimes motivates one to do the right thing. Why abandon the principle that only the best be chosen when the conversation turns towards the business sector and academics? Why can't we be consistent? Zelnick's book serves the purpose of meticulously detailing the injustices of some Liberal conceived affirmative action policies. Do you require such documentation? If so, you should obtain a copy of Zelnick's book. I cannot, however, recommend it on any other level. Zelnick candidly subtitled his book as "A Reporter's Look at Affirmative Action." A journalist perspective alas does not suffice. This national discussion requires the attention of its social philosophers. Zelnick is not up to the task.

The author performs a credible job of reviewing many of the common problems associated with the implementation of Affirmative Action. Unfortunately, he fails to adequately demonstrate why these policies could not have produced any other results. For a more intellectual discussion on why discrimination (rather than racism, sexism, etc.) is difficult to maintain in a capitalist society, read Nobel Prize Winner (Economics) Gary Becker's The Economics of Discrimination. James Bovard's Farm Fiasco is an example of why the policies used in Affirmative Action fail whenever they are applied, whether the "problem" to be resolved is race, ethnicity, and gender or occuptional (farmers receiving subsidies, protection from competition, etc.).