THE CHOICE
“The Choice is a scrupulously objective account of politics as the game is played... a telling portrait of Americans fighting for the right to lead.”
Thomas Powers, The Boston Globe
Based on a massive body of original reporting and documentation and on hundreds of interviews with firsthand sources, The Choice is the behind-the-scenes story of President Bill Clinton and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole over two years. It is the personal and political story of how the nation’s two top leaders prepared themselves to square off for the 1996 presidential election.
The Choice sets the stage with a study of the contenders in action– their decisions, their conversations, their private assessments, their disappointments, their anger and triumphs, their definitions of themselves and their evolving understanding of national purpose.
Included in this wide-ranging political history is exclusive new material on the Republican primary contest; the White House and congressional budget battles; the top secret Bosnia strategy sessions in the White House; the influence of Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., and House Speaker Newt Gingrich; the role of political money; the uses of public opinion polling and advertising; former General Colin Powell’s decision not to run; and the strategies of both campaigns, including Dole’s decision to leave the Senate and his consideration of possible running mates.
Reviews:
“Mr. Clinton and Mr. Dole emerge from these pages as bizarre political twins; as portrayed by Mr. Woodward, the subjects of The Choice offer little choice at all.”
Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
“Bill Clinton against Bob Dole is an epic struggle for power... The book is not only worth reading, it is entertaining.”
Michael Lewis, The New York Times Book Review
“Woodward once again superbly chronicles the public and private actions of men in power and in pursuit of power.”
Newsweek
“A first-rate piece of reporting….Woodward’s top-notch journalism as instant history is an impressively well-done product.”
The Washington Post
“Woodward is dead-on in his depiction of the chaos, the drama, and the intrigue of an all-out presidential campaign.”
BusinessWeek
“No one can top Woodward’s ‘fly-on-the-wall’ reporting on inside Washington."
The Washington Times
“Woodward goes further than anyone else in understanding just how far Clinton’s reelection strategy was taken over by New York’s Dick Morris… The book’s second real merit is how deeply Woodward inserted himself into the Dole camp.”
Martin Walker, Newsday
