Author | Sarah Palin with Lynn Vincent |
---|---|
Cover artist |
|
Language | English |
Subject | Politics, Alaska |
Genre | Autobiography, memoir |
Publisher | Harper |
Publication date | November 17, 2009 (hardcover) August 24, 2010 (paperback) |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book |
Pages |
|
ISBN | 978-0061939891 (hardcover) 978-0061939907 (paperback) |
OCLC | 441761706 |
Followed by | America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag |
| ||
---|---|---|
Going Rogue: An American Life (2009) is a memoir by politician Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican candidate for U.S. Vice President on the ticket with Senator John McCain. She wrote it with journalist Lynn Vincent.
The book became a #1 New York Times Best Seller in its first week of release, and remained at that spot for six weeks. [1] Shortly after its release, it was one of four political memoirs published since the 1990s to sell more than two million copies. [2]
The book deal was announced in May 2009 when Palin was still governor of Alaska. She said that she wanted the public to hear her true story, "unrestrained and unfiltered". [3] She reportedly received an advance of $1.25 million [4] from publisher HarperCollins, with two projected additional payouts of between $2.5 million and $5 million each. [5]
Palin announced that although she would have a ghostwriter to help, she would be doing a lot of the writing herself, employing her journalism skills and the personal diaries and notes that she had kept throughout her life. [3] Critics questioned whether Palin could write a book. [6]
Responding to concerns that writing and promoting the book would interfere with her duties as governor, Palin said she would only work on the book after hours and would promote the book "schedule permitting". [3] The Alaska Department of Law issued a legal opinion which okayed the project, stating, "A book publication project is compatible with your position as governor so long as it does not interfere with your official duties". [3]
Conservative journalist and author Lynn Vincent worked on the book with Palin for several weeks shortly after she resigned the governorship in the summer of 2009. Palin met with HarperCollins editors for intensive editing sessions in New York City. HarperCollins publisher Jonathan Burnham said that Palin had been "unbelievably conscientious and hands-on at every stage", adding that the book was "her words, her life ... in full and fascinating detail". [7] HarperCollins had planned publication for spring 2010, but later moved the date to November 17, 2009, as the book was completed earlier than expected. [7] The publisher attributed completion of the memoir early to Palin's devoting full-time to the writing process after she left office. [8] A paperback version of the book, with new material, released on August 24, 2010. [9]
The first part of the book is devoted to Palin's life before the 2008 campaign; the second part details her life as a candidate for national office. [10] Palin discusses the disagreements she had with her running mate John McCain's campaign advisers, criticizes the national media, and talks about the importance of religion and family life. [11]
The "Going Rogue" part of the title refers to criticism leveled at Palin by McCain campaign advisers that she was straying from their carefully crafted message [10] and publicly disagreeing with McCain on several issues. [12] The subtitle, "An American Life", mirrors the title of President Ronald Reagan's 1990 autobiography. [13]
Palin ends the book by quoting her own father saying, "Sarah's not retreating, she's reloading.", suggesting she would return to public life. [10] [14]
Going Rogue was available for pre-order between $9 and $10 during a price war among online retailers Amazon, Target.com, and Walmart.com. [15] Dan Calabrese, writing in the North Star National, called the sales "an absolutely unprecedented performance for a non-fiction book so far in advance of its release date". [16]
Less than two weeks after its release, sales of the book exceeded one million, putting it in a class with memoirs by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. [2] [17] [18] The print run was extended to 2.8 million copies from 1.5 million. [2] Going Rogue attained sales of over 2.7 million by December 1, 2009, [19] and was number one on The New York Times Best Seller list for six consecutive weeks. [20]
According to campaign records, late in 2009, Palin used $63,000 of donations from SarahPAC, her political action committee, to purchase copies of her book, "Going Rogue". The expenditures were listed as, "books for fundraising donor fulfillment". Meghan Stapleton, Palin's spokeswoman, stated the purchased books were autographed and awarded to donors contributing more than $100 to Palin's PAC. [21]
A team of eleven reporters for the Associated Press challenged some of Palin's statements as factually incorrect, such as her assertions that she traveled frugally, avoided large campaign donors, was against the Wall Street bailouts of 2008, and entered politics for purely altruistic reasons. Their analysis concluded by speculating that the book was "a pre-campaign manifesto". [22] According to Fox News, an AP spokesman "confirmed 11 people worked on the story . . . but refused to say if similar number of journalists were assigned to review other political books, or if Palin has been treated differently". [23] Fox also reported "The (AP) organization did not review for accuracy recent books by the late Senator Ted Kennedy, then-Senator Joe Biden, either book by Barack Obama released before he was president, or autobiographies by Bill or Hillary Clinton." [23] Conservative talk show host John Ziegler objected to the AP piece, saying that the AP is extremely biased and "badly missing the most important points of Sarah Palin's book". [24]
The Huffington Post had an article titled "The First Ten Lies from Going Rogue", including the failure to credit ghostwriter Vincent on the cover, Palin's statement about legal bills she incurred relating to ethics complaints, without disclosing that most of the bills resulted from complaints she filed as a tactic in connection with Troopergate; and her assertion that she had to pay $50,000 in fees to be vetted by the McCain campaign. [25]
Palin replied: "As is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book". [26]
Former McCain campaign aides "hit back", according to Politico, "calling the former vice presidential nominee's soon-to-be released book 'revisionist and self serving' 'fiction'." [27]
A representative for Katie Couric responded to the book's assertion that Couric had badgered Palin during their much-publicized 2008 interview by saying, "The interview speaks for itself". [28]
The book received a variety of reviews.
Conservative radio talk show host John Ziegler [29] praised Going Rogue as "the best book and greatest literary achievement by a political figure in my lifetime" and as showing honesty "the type of which can only come from someone incredibly courageous, grounded, and self-aware". [30] Republican radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh called the book "truly one of the more substantive policy books I've read". [31] Stanley Fish, writing for The New York Times Opinionator blog, explained that "while I wouldn't count myself a fan in the sense of being a supporter, I found [the book] compelling and very well done". [32]
The Wall Street Journal 's Melanie Kirkpatrick described the book as "more a personal memoir than a political one", which demonstrated that Palin "is not the prejudiced, dim-witted ideologue of the popular liberal imagination". However, Kirkpatrick criticized the book as "too gentle" on the McCain campaign staffers and McCain himself, and as spending too little time discussing political issues. [10] Critic Michiko Kakutani, writing for The New York Times , characterized Going Rogue as "part earnest autobiography, part payback hit job", noting that it was more critical of the McCain campaign than it was of Democrats. Kakutani credited the book with doing a "lively job of conveying the frontier feel of the 49th state". [33] Matthew Continetti of The Washington Post observed that Palin's book was "everything you'd expect from a politician who has no intention of leaving the national scene". [34] Entertainment Weekly gave the book a C, praising the first chapters about Palin's life as "down-to-earth and funny", while concluding that the rest of the memoir was mediocre and self-serving. [35]
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press said the book was "less the revealing autobiography of a straight-shooting maverick and more a lengthy campaign speech — more lipstick, less pit bull." Like other reviewers, Kennedy felt "Palin reserves most of her attacks for McCain's advisers." [36] Michael Carey of the Anchorage Daily News said "there is a big something missing from Palin's narrative: the voice of a leader". [37]
The Huffington Post described the book as "one giant complaint about the conduct of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign". [38] Thomas Frank, writing for The Wall Street Journal, panned the book: "This is the memoir as prolonged, keening wail, larded with petty vindictiveness". [39] Newsweek senior editor Michael Hirsh said that "she seems to be mainly out for repudiation of her critics here, and what you see is a lot of self-involvement" and that the book would "help her with her base...I don't know if it helps at all with what she would need to actually be elected president". [40]
Palin was interviewed in rapid succession by Oprah Winfrey, [41] Barbara Walters, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly, with U.S. News & World Report speculating that the interviews and book tour would be "strewn with land mines". [41] [42] Palin began a three-week national book tour that focused on small and mid-size towns; [43] 11 of the states she visited were considered political battlegrounds for the 2012 presidential election. [44] Large crowds turned out to greet Palin and get their books autographed. Palin spent as long as three hours at some venues. [45] [46] ABC News characterized her bus book tour as "extraordinarily successful" but suggested she might be criticized for taking a private jet provided by the publisher for long legs of the journey. [19]
In addition to the book tour, a web-based campaign directed ads for the book to people searching for Palin's name on Google. Palin also used her Facebook page to promote her book. [43]
Going Rogue has inspired a number of parodies and satirical interpretations. Roy Edroso of the Village Voice "reviewed" the book by writing fake excerpts. [47] TA Frank of The Guardian similarly parodied the contents with a faux first draft, complete with fake notes between Palin and her editors. [48] Cartoonist Julie Sigwart and radio host Michael Stinson released a 48-page spoof Going Rouge: The Sarah Palin Rogue Coloring & Activity Book, on the same day that Palin's Going Rogue appeared on the shelves. [49]
South Park featured a parody of the book in the episode Dances with Smurfs called, Going Rogue on the Smurfs. [50]
The book Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare , was a collection of essays compiled by The Nation criticizing Palin. The cover image was a parody of Palin's book, and was nearly identical. This resulted in news sources, including CNN and Fox News, confusing The Nation's book with Palin's.
The book and its surrounding promotion were mentioned on late night comedy shows, including the Late Show with David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel Live! [51] David Letterman had a recurring segment, "Things More Enjoyable than Reading the Sarah Palin Memoir", including such things as "getting run over by a lawnmower" and "driving into a tree". [52] On December 11, 2009, William Shatner read excerpts from the book on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien followed by Palin reading excerpts from Shatner's autobiography, Up Till Now . [53]
Palin published a second book, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag, in November 2010. [54]
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee under U.S. Senator John McCain.
Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. He was the author of twelve books.
Nicolle Wallace is an American television political commentator and author. She is the anchor of the MSNBC news and politics program Deadline: White House and a former co-host of the ABC daytime talk show The View. Wallace is a political analyst for MSNBC and NBC News. She was previously a frequent on-air contributor to the programs Today, The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, and Morning Joe, before hosting her own program on MSNBC.
The 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain, the longtime senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007, during a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman, and formally launched at an event on April 25, 2007. His second candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, he had previously run for his party's nomination in the 2000 primaries and was considered as a potential running mate for his party's nominee, then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas. After winning a majority of delegates in the Republican primaries of 2008, on August 29, leading up to the convention, McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate for Vice President. Five days later, at the 2008 Republican National Convention, McCain was formally selected as the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 2008 presidential election.
The sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live aired several critically acclaimed sketches parodying then Alaskan Governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the lead-up to the 2008 United States presidential election. The sketches featured former cast member Tina Fey, who returned as a guest star to portray Palin. Fey won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin.
Meghan Marguerite McCain is an American television personality, columnist, and author. She has worked for ABC News, Fox News, and MSNBC. She is the daughter of politician John McCain and diplomat Cindy McCain. McCain has been a public figure for much of her life, first appearing at the 1996 Republican National Convention.
Todd Mitchell Palin is an American businessman who was the first gentleman of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. He is the former husband of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee with John McCain.
Sarah Palin is an American politician, commentator and author who served as the ninth Governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009. She was the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election alongside Arizona Senator John McCain.
Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin is an American public speaker and reality television personality. She is the oldest daughter and second of five children of Todd and Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin, while serving as Governor of Alaska, was nominated as the first female candidate of the Republican Party for Vice President of the United States. Following the nomination, her public image came under close media scrutiny, particularly regarding her religious perspective on public life, her socially conservative views, and a perceived lack of experience. Palin's experience in foreign and domestic politics came under criticism among conservatives as well as liberals following her nomination. A poll taken by Rasmussen Reports just after the Republican National Convention in the first week of September 2008 found that Palin was more popular than either Barack Obama or John McCain; however, this perception later reversed. At the same time, Palin became more popular among Republicans than McCain. A February 2010 ABC News/Washington Post poll showed 71% of Americans felt Palin lacked the qualifications necessary to be President of the United States.
Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down is a biography of Sarah Palin written by Kaylene Johnson. Written before Palin was nominated for the Vice President of the United States, it describes her upbringing and her quick rise to power as Governor of Alaska.
The Martin Eisenstadt hoax is an elaborate scheme of filmmakers Dan Mirvish and Eitan Gorlin that involved the creation of a fictional "talking head", Martin Eisenstadt, who was quoted by numerous major news outlets, as well as countless blogs, all of which failed to verify his actual existence. "Eisenstadt" claimed to be the source of commentary about Sarah Palin in the wake of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. Mirvish and Gorlin have since written a satirical novel called I Am Martin Eisenstadt: One Man's Adventures with the Last Republicans for Farrar, Straus and Giroux ISBN 978-0-86547-914-2. The book was written under Eisenstadt's pseudonym and purports to be a first-person memoir of Eisenstadt's experience with the McCain/Palin campaign, including buying Palin's wardrobe. In the book, the Eisenstadt character denies rumors that he does not exist.
In the run-up to the 2008 United States presidential election, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was interviewed multiple times by CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric. The interviews were broadcast on September 24 and 25, 2008. Couric received the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award and the Walter Cronkite Award for Journalism Excellence for the interview.
Lynn Vincent is an American writer, journalist, and author or co-author of 12 books. Vincent's work focuses on memoirs, history, and narrative nonfiction. In 2022, she was named the executive editor of World magazine.
Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare is a collection of essays about Sarah Palin with a spoof title and book cover design intended to lampoon Palin's memoir Going Rogue: An American Life. It was released on November 17, 2009. Both books feature Palin on the front in red, but Going Rouge has her against a backdrop of black thunder clouds and lightning, instead of the blue sky and white clouds on her memoir.
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime is a book by political journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin about the 2008 United States presidential election. Released on January 11, 2010, it was also published in the United Kingdom under the title Race of a Lifetime: How Obama Won the White House. The book is based on interviews with more than 300 people involved in the campaign. It discusses factors including Democratic Party presidential candidate John Edwards' extramarital affair, the relationship between Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his vice presidential running mate Joe Biden, the failure of Republican Party candidate Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign and Sarah Palin's vice presidential candidacy.
Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser is an American activist who is the president of the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an American political organization that seeks to advance anti-abortion women in politics. She was brought into the organization as its executive director in 1993, shortly after its founding by Rachel MacNair.
America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag is the second book by Sarah Palin. It was released on November 23, 2010, and has been described as containing selections from Palin's favorite speeches, sermons, and inspirational works, as well as vignettes about Americans she met in the fall of 2009 while on her book tour for Going Rogue: An American Life. One million copies were printed for the first run, and a digital edition has been available since the release. She embarked on a 16-city book tour in America's "heartland" that began on November 23, 2010. The book made number two on The New York Times Best Seller list during its second week of release. America by Heart was the fifth best-selling nonfiction book of 2010, according to Publishers Weekly, with 797,955 copies sold.
Game Change is a 2012 American political drama television film based on events of the 2008 United States presidential election campaign of John McCain, directed by Jay Roach and written by Danny Strong, based on the 2010 book of the same title documenting the campaign by political journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. The film stars Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Ed Harris, and focuses on the chapters about the selection and performance of Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin (Moore) as running mate to Senator John McCain (Harris) in the presidential campaign.
Sarah Palin's candidacy for Vice President of the United States was publicly announced by then-presumptive Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain on August 29, 2008. As part of the McCain presidential campaign, Palin, then the incumbent Governor of Alaska, was officially nominated by acclamation at the 2008 Republican National Convention on September 3. The McCain–Palin ticket lost the 2008 presidential election on November 4 to the Barack Obama–Joe Biden ticket.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)