Inventing Al Gore

By Bill Turque

Book Overview

Why did Al Gore, after angry opposition to the Vietnam War, submit to the draft? What happened in Vietnam that made him sullen and bitter? After renouncing politics, what set him back on the track mapped out for him? What made him claim (falsely) that he invented the Internet? How closely is he allied with the tobacco industry? What is the real nature of his partnership with Bill Clinton? How was it altered by the Lewinsky affair? INVENTING AL GORE addresses these issues and more as it unveils the true motivations, ideals, and idiosyncracies of one of Washington's most inscrutable men. Bill Turque, who covered both of Gore's vice presidential campaigns and the Clinton White House, draws on extensive access to Gore's key advisers, friends, and family. He unmasks a man who in private can sing and dance to George Strait's music but in public measures every comment and gesture with legendary caution. As Turque details, Gore's great political albatross -- a lack of empathy -- was hatched during his lonely childhood as the product of ambitious political parents who groomed him for the presidency. Turque's keen analysis also uncovers the genesis of Gore's questionable fund-raising and of a political platform laden with worthy but emotionally safe planks such as bioethics, global warming, and the Internet. In addition, Inventing Al Gore illuminates how personal tragedies have shaped his political life and the remarkable influence that women, from his mother to Naomi Wolf, have had on his career.
INVENTING AL GORE reveals Gore to be one of the most intelligent, idealistic men in Washington, yet one who is repeatedly prone to prevarication, exaggeration, and avoidance of hard issues. Turque offers a meticulously researched narrative filled with colorful, insightful details that sharpen the debate over whether Gore can outgrow his limitations and excel in the office he has prepared for all his life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618131604
• ISBN13: 9780618131600
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent account of an enigma

Al Gore recently emerged from "mending fences" in Tennessee to launch a media-driven national charm offensive that he hopes will land him in the White House in 2004. Even though the former vice president seems more at ease these days as he exchanges barbs with the likes of David Letterman, Gore still comes across as uncomfortable and at times coached (did handlers teach him to laugh?) largely because he is the enigma Bill Turque describes in Inventing Al Gore: A Biography. For those who love and despise the former vice president, and for the vast majority in whom he inspires absolutely no emotion one way or the other, Turque's biography, written before the 2000 election debacle, remains relevant today. After you finish Turque's fair and balanced account of Gore, you will be pumped full of the substantive and trivial and won't be any closer to knowing who the former vice president is than you were in 2000, 1996, 1992, 1988, or last week on Larry King. This in no way detracts from Turque's biography, and if anything proves the author knew his subject is a mystery. Neither David Maraniss nor anyone else has been able to unravel this complex politician, and unlike Turque they didn't have the insight to know it is impossible.

Good background reading

This biography does just give lip service to the politician's childhood. The author explains the world in which Al Gore grew up. It describes pieces of his father's life in a way which shows you where Al picked up many of his mannerisms. You will see where the candidate came from.After reading through this, I know that Al Gore is not as Green as his book would lead you to believe. He does listen to businesses and has accepted money. This is no different than any other candidate. This book brings all of this to your attention so that you can make your own informed decision.The tone and flow are good. I had no trouble following the narrative or understanding what point the author was trying to make. Too often, an author has his own axe to grind and steps away from informing the reader so that the reader can make his or her own decision. Turque's style makes this a good read.

A BALANCED VIEW!!

This is probably the best book on the market about the real Al Gore whoever you may want him to be.There is plenty of good stuff in this book whether you like him or not.You will come away after reading this book scratching your head and asking Who is he? which was probably the author's goal in the first place.My question to this is How can someone who has to constantly reinvent himself and prove to everyone that he is his own man,be good enough to run for office? Doesn't authenticity mean anything anymore?

This is a thoughtful unbiased account

I think that this is a biography worth reading whether you are a Gore supporter or not. The author has done extensive research and writes an evenhanded account of Gore's life. Gore comes out as a man like any other with his own share of conflicts. He does not come out badly. This is not a puff biography or a book intended to villify. It is well worth your time.

Before you go to the polls, read this book!

Bill Turque's biography of Al Gore is fair, informative, and well-written. In terms of comprehensiveness and analysis, it compares favorably with David Maraniss's biography of Gore's boss. Having read Turque's book, I'm struck by how contradictory Al Gore is as a person and as a politician. In many ways, Gore is even more complex and interesting than Bill Clinton. The title of the book, "Inventing Al Gore" accurately portrays Gore as a work in process; a man who continuously changes himself and his image even as he's redirected by political and societal forces. Turque portrays Gore and Clinton as ideological allies ("New Democrats") but it is striking how different their backgrounds are and the contrast in their personalities. Clinton was a product of a middle-class meritocracy whereas Gore enjoyed all the privildges of a political aristocracy. Clinton's father died three months before he was born. Gore's father was a large and powerful influence on his life and career. Clinton's ambition never deserted him whereas Gore - like many young men burdened by others' expectations - experienced an existential crisis early in life. Clinton's political career has been punctuated by character problems even as he dodges the gravest threats; Gore is the "Eagle Scout" whose slightest indiscretions stick to him like velcro (see Buddhist temple). On a personal level, Clinton is a people person who seems more comfortable on the campaign trail than as an executive behind a desk. Gore is the opposite. Indeed, Gore gives the image of a man completely uncomfortable in his own skin. Perhaps it is because he has reason to feel uncomfortable. From Turque's book you get the impression that Gore came into politics with serious moral grounding - along with high ambition. You see through the book that during his career, this morality has been thwarted by the "realities" of political life. You get the sense that the author is disappointed in Gore; that the VP has bought into a sleazy way of life to satisfy his father's unrealized ambitions. Gore at times has reasserted this Doubting Thomas persona. His environmental treatise is a catharsis, a release from the show and games that politics often is. His abandonment of the environment as vice-president, along with episodes such as the fundraising calls of 1996, show how far he has slidden during the Clinton years. The question for our purposes is what kind of president would Gore be should he be elected? Turque is skeptical of any impact Gore could make because of his record for caution. Moreover, there is no consensus for a redirection in domestic policy in America today. Any potential for getting Gore's mug on Mount Rushmore seems to be snuffed out long before Inaugeration Day. Nevertheless, on the most important issues of the Clinton era - the budget deficit, welfare reform, Bosnia - Gore was on the right side of history and pushed his boss toward these policies.