Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House

By Michael Lewis

Book Overview

Michael Lewis is a master at dissecting the absurd- after skewering Wall Street in his national bestseller Liar's Poker, he packed his mighty pen and set out on the 1996 campaign trail. As he follows the men who aspire to the Oval Office, Lewis discovers an absurd mix of bravery and backpedaling, heroic possibility and mealy-mouthed sound bytes, and a process so ridiculous and unsavory that it leaves him wondering if everyone involved - from the journalists to the candidates to the people who voted - isn't ultimately a loser. The contenders- Pat Buchanan- becomes the first politician ever to choose a black hat over a white one. Phil Gramm- spends twenty million dollars to convince voters of his fiscal responsibility. JohnMcCain- makes the fatal mistake of actually speaking his mind. Alan Keyes- checks out of a New Hampshire hotel and tells the manager another candidate will be paying his bill. Steve Forbes- refuses to answer questions about his father's motorcycles. Bob Dole- marches through the campaign without ever seeming to care. Losers is a wickedly funny, unflinching look at how America really goes about choosing a President.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0031XUM60
• ISBN13: 9780679768098
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

It's even better after 2008

You can't review a product without, a little bit, reviewing yourself at the same time. If you've read 20 books in the same genre you're not just reviewing the one, you're reviewing it in context of the others. I give that digression to introduce that I bought this book and read it in October 2008. This was the very end of the election campaign. As you'll see from other reviewers, Lewis spends a fair amount of the book talking about one Republican who wasn't afraid to speak his mind: John McCain. One of the central thrusts of this book is that the mainline candidates couldn't say anything interesting or controversial because you can't say anything interesting or controversial if you want to win a nomination or an election. That's why he stays with the "Losers" - because to Lewis' mind one reason they can't win is they say what they think, and that makes them more interesting as a result. Lewis' McCain says what he thinks, and Lewis respects him for it. This book therefore provided an interesting bit of longitudinal analysis of the life and political career of John McCain. I won't get into a discussion of whether McCain stayed "true to himself" during the election - some say he did, some say he didn't, and what does that matter anyway for this. I'll say that if you read this book, you'll look back at the 2008 election in a whole new light. Not a bad feat for a book written 12 years before.

Lewis' best book

This Michael Lewis work got buried, but I think it's his finest writing. Yes, "Liar's Poker" will be called upon 50 years from now (along with 'Bonfire of the Vanities' and 'Den of Thieves') as one of the seminal works of the 80s. And 'The New New Thing' captured a lot of the flavor of the 90s (although revisionist history re. Jim Clark's 'success' is eating away at the book's premise). But in terms of insight, humor, cynicism, getting to the essence of people's characters...I think Lewis surpasses himself here.I read the hardback version of this book, which was called 'Trail Fever." I never liked that title, but I think I like 'Losers' even less. Yes, it was a chapter title in hardback version, but the real losers in Lewis's book are the so-called winners, Clinton and Dole. By contrast, Lewis shows the strength of character of the putative losers, especially in compelling profiles of Morry Taylor, Alan Keyes, and even Pat Buchanan. What I especially liked about the book was Lewis' fight not to get totally taken over by what seems to be his naturally skeptical and cycnical view of the world. In fact, the best writing in the entire book deals with John McCain (Lewis is an unabashed McCain fan here, four years before that sentiment became in vogue) and - in particular - McCain's relationship with Clinton advisor David Ifshin. This chapter is very far removed from a skeptic's view. In fact, the emotion of the McCain/Ifshin relationship brought me to tears, as I think it would anyone.Lewis is also affected by the stark honesty and un-political-ness of Morry Taylor, who is a real revelation here. And despite being on an entirely different plane politically than Alan Keyes, Lewis never ceases to be amazed at Keyes' blindingly brilliant oratorical flights of fancy. Here's another neat thing about the book (well, the hardcover version at least)...elliptical asides about Tabitha Soren (of MTV 'Choose or Lose' fame), a later reference to 'my houseguest at the time,' and an acknowledgement to the help of one 'Tabitha Sornberger' (Soren's real name). She became Mrs. Michael Lewis not long after the publication of this book.

Political Reality

This is probably Michael Lewis' least popular book, but it is also my favorite. Though it is now a little dated (it was about the '96 election) and focuses a little too much on the unlikely third party candidate Morry Taylor, it is a very honest portrayal of the mess that is presidential campaigning. Lewis was obviously not very experienced with the campaign trail and uses his sharp wit to highlight its unique and baffling characteristics (waving to no one from a plane stair case, having debates in front of now studio audience). It has great characters and Lewis does an excellent job of describing them, nd showing why it is so easy to fall for third party candidates and why they will never win. It is great political commentary and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes politics, Michael Lewis books, or just an interesting, easy book about current events.

Best & funniest political book I've ever read

Most political books attempting to be funny (like P.J. O'Rourke's or James Carville's) tend to be shallow; this was different. It was by far the funniest political book I've ever read. But it also had a lot of great insights about not just the 1996 Republican candidates, but also American politics, human nature, etc. The humor and insight prevent it from becoming dated, like most books about a particular election. I've been recommending it highly to anyone interested in American politics.

Fantastic book for political junkies-1996's Fear & Loathing

I am a political junkie and proud of it. I also live in Iowa and get a great chance to meet presidential candidates. I love to read books about campaigns, particularly campaigns with which I have some familiarity. This book was great! I loved his anecdotes about the campaigns. I was suprised at how much I agreed with his conclusions about campaigns and candidates today. He rightly observes that the people who would make the best presidents really don't have a chance - that it is the drive to campaign constantly and a skill at campaigning and sound bites that really determines elections today. Sad, but true. Lewis properly characterizes Dole and his campaign. It was fated from the start when Dole had tremendous support from governors, but no one was excited about Dole. Even Dole wasn't excited about Dole. And the rented strangers certainly weren't. The only thing I haven't yet come to grips with is his portrayal of Lamar Alexander, my favorite. I just think Lamar can't really be as evil as Lewis portrays him