Looking Forward to It: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the American Electoral Process

by Stephen Elliott

Stephen Elliott does not know what to think of American voters, this year's desperate and heated run for presidency, or the legitimacy of the political system. He doesn't know whether to love John Kerry or try to love Howard Dean or try, simply, to get excited about Politics. But what he does know is that most Americans are as confused, taxed and broken-hearted as he is.Looking Forward To It is the chronicle of one ordinary fellow's skeptical -- and hilarious -- journey through the election process. It is on the campaign trail that he will meet washed-out campaign managers, idealistic publicists, corrupt journalists, world-weary auditorium janitors, recovering drug addicts, and, of course, politicians. His report documents a journey into the center of "the thing", our country, where Americans high and low come together to participate in the most profound gesture of the election.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Memoir

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Elliott is the author of seven books including Happy Baby, a finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lions Award, as well as a Best Book of 2004 in Salon.com, Newsday, Chicago New City, Journal News, and Village Voice. Elliott's writing has been featured in Esquire, The New York Times, GQ, Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 & 2007, Best American Erotica, and Best Sex Writing 2006. He is the editor of Where To Invade Next and three collections of politically inspired fiction. In January, 2009, he founded the online culture magazine, The Rumpus."

Reviews

[Molly Dearth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this and was smiling through my tears in the months after the 2004 election. 5 stars for its therapeutic qualities alone.

[Kane Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book about the 04 election.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written during the Democratic primaries for the 2004 election (about the time that I read it) and probably seems dated now. However, knowing the outcome doesn't take too much fun out of reading it. The title is pretty ironic since Elliott seems so hopeless at times. My favorite part was the description of the unwashed hordes of volunteers mobilized by Howard Dean.

[Lindsey]

i liked this book more and more as i read. it's at some moments, fascinating, funny, and sad. if you're into politics, you should probably check it out, as it's a completely different perspective than any media source can provide. i wish he would have written something like this for the last campaign.