Sarah

Sarah, by Kaylene Johnson

This is a biography of Sarah Palin. It is the only political biography we carry in the bookstore, and it is not because Tom is endorsing a political figure. We carry it because it is a good book.

The reason the book is good, is that it was written and published before McCain announced his VP choice. The book has no agenda other than to tell the story of Sarah Palin's journey from a fisherman's wife to the governor of Alaska.

Unlike many biographies of political candidates out there today, the author of this book does not draw her information from sources like Wikipedia or Google. In case anyone noticed, those are bad places to gather information. She cited public records, and newspapers for the events that happened, but rarely quoted from the newspapers, which in my opinion prevents the possibility of appearing to put a spin on things (because we all know there's no neutral newspaper). However, the author draws much of her information from interviews with the Palins, with people involved in the campaign for governor, and with public officials involved in both sides of the scandals Sarah Palin went up against.

The book has opened my eyes to a life that today's media won't elaborate on. Now that I know a deeper story behind Sarah Palin's life, I understand why the liberal media is afraid to delve too deeply into the topic of this conservative Alaskan woman. The book quotes Mrs. Palin as saying, "The only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick," and it seems to me that the media is afraid of what that pit bull will start growling at if she becomes Vice President. I do not intend to sway you one way or the other with this writing, however, I will not deny I am totally biased against most news institutions, because they are totally biased towards their particular candidate-of-the-week. If they hate her, common sense tells me to lend an ear to the enemy of my enemy.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in Alaskan history, anyone interested in the role of Sarah Palin in Alaskan government, anyone interested in finding out the details of her previous executive experiences (yes, she DOES have experience!), anyone interested in juicy Alaskan scandals, and anyone interested in the status and potential role of American oil.