A convincing and well-documented set of winning electoral strategies.
Perron, a veteran political consultant, offers tested methods for defeating incumbents in this nonfiction work.
“This book is about winning elections,” the author declares at the outset as he emphasizes the importance of vibrant campaigns to “the heart and soul of a democracy.” Perron is a TEDx speaker and campaign strategist with almost two decades of experience advising politicians around the world. Central to the book’s thesis is that whether one is running for city council or president of the United States, there are fundamental strategies and best practices that remain constant. It’s a step-by-step guidebook of proven tactics, centered on how to challenge incumbent politicians. Its first chapters call on prospective candidates to conduct an “honest assessment” of the incumbent’s vulnerabilities, recognizing that those in power have a major advantage as known quantities (“voters don’t know what a challenger would really do if elected”). Drawing lessons from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 victory over Jimmy Carter, among other incumbent defeats, the author argues that turning an election into a referendum can successfully focus attention away from an untested record. Other chapters provide practical tips on messaging, the nuances of “Selling Change,” and crisis management. While discussing the roles of social media and new tools, such as artificial intelligence, the book argues that the “strategic fundamentals of election campaigns” remain the same, even as technology changes. One such fundamental, he says, is a “crystal-clear” knowledge of exactly how many votes a candidate needs to win, and where those votes are.
Perron’s book blends a pragmatic, down-to-earth writing style with scholarly research, based in part on the author’s own experiences running campaigns, as well as a model that he first published in his 2010 doctoral dissertation.It contains ample textbox vignettes, charts, and tables that make for an enjoyable and visually appealing reading experience. The author emphasizes that his tips will work in any campaign against an incumbent, so he draws not only on examples from U.S. presidential elections, but also from contests in France, Ukraine, Brazil, and other places where the author has consulted for politicians. This international outlook, and its attention to elections from the municipal to the federal level, make this a unique contribution to the literature. Partisan and ideologically driven readers may not always appreciate the author’s detached approach that, for instance, never reveals his personal political beliefs or even the names of his clients. Instead, Perron centers on traits and strategies that will work for challengers of all political persuasions. This nonpartisan approach, however, does not mean the book’s perspective is jaded in any way. Indeed, a central theme of the book is its warning to would-be politicians that “the lows as a candidate are really low,” and that challengers need “enough humility to make good decisions.” At just over 200 pages in length, this is an efficient, concise manual that gives aspiring candidates, strategists, and even casual political junkies plenty of stimulating insights into the traits that successful challengers share.
A convincing and well-documented set of winning electoral strategies.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781635768404
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Radius Book Group
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A powerful reiteration of principles—and some fresh ideas—from the longest-serving independent in congressional history.
Another chapter in a long fight against inequality.
Building on his Fighting Oligarchy tour, which this year drew 280,000 people to rallies in red and blue states, Sanders amplifies his enduring campaign for economic fairness. The Vermont senator offers well-timed advice for combating corruption and issues a robust plea for national soul-searching. His argument rests on alarming data on the widening wealth gap’s impact on democracy. Bolstered by a 2010 Supreme Court decision that removed campaign finance limits, “100 billionaire families spent $2.6 billion” on 2024 elections. Sanders focuses on the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, describing their enactment of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” with its $1 trillion in tax breaks for the richest Americans and big social safety net cuts, as the “largest transfer of wealth” in living memory. But as is his custom, he spreads the blame, dinging Democrats for courting wealthy donors while ignoring the “needs and suffering” of the working class. “Trump filled the political vacuum that the Democrats created,” he writes, a resonant diagnosis. Urging readers not to surrender to despair, Sanders offers numerous legislative proposals. These would empower labor unions, cut the workweek to 32 hours, regulate campaign spending, reduce gerrymandering, and automatically register 18-year-olds to vote. Grassroots supporters can help by running for local office, volunteering with a campaign, and asking educators how to help support public schools. Meanwhile, Sanders asks us “to question the fundamental moral values that underlie” a system that enables “the top 1 percent” to “own more wealth than the bottom 93 percent.” Though his prose sometimes reads like a transcribed speech with built-in applause lines, Sanders’ ideas are specific, clear, and commonsensical. And because it echoes previous statements, his call for collective introspection lands as genuine.
A powerful reiteration of principles—and some fresh ideas—from the longest-serving independent in congressional history.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2025
ISBN: 9798217089161
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular...
A neurosurgeon with a passion for literature tragically finds his perfect subject after his diagnosis of terminal lung cancer.
Writing isn’t brain surgery, but it’s rare when someone adept at the latter is also so accomplished at the former. Searching for meaning and purpose in his life, Kalanithi pursued a doctorate in literature and had felt certain that he wouldn’t enter the field of medicine, in which his father and other members of his family excelled. “But I couldn’t let go of the question,” he writes, after realizing that his goals “didn’t quite fit in an English department.” “Where did biology, morality, literature and philosophy intersect?” So he decided to set aside his doctoral dissertation and belatedly prepare for medical school, which “would allow me a chance to find answers that are not in books, to find a different sort of sublime, to forge relationships with the suffering, and to keep following the question of what makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay.” The author’s empathy undoubtedly made him an exceptional doctor, and the precision of his prose—as well as the moral purpose underscoring it—suggests that he could have written a good book on any subject he chose. Part of what makes this book so essential is the fact that it was written under a death sentence following the diagnosis that upended his life, just as he was preparing to end his residency and attract offers at the top of his profession. Kalanithi learned he might have 10 years to live or perhaps five. Should he return to neurosurgery (he could and did), or should he write (he also did)? Should he and his wife have a baby? They did, eight months before he died, which was less than two years after the original diagnosis. “The fact of death is unsettling,” he understates. “Yet there is no other way to live.”
A moving meditation on mortality by a gifted writer whose dual perspectives of physician and patient provide a singular clarity.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8129-8840-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
