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Off Script: An Advance Man's Guide to White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle, and Political Suicide
Donald Trump won election as the 45th President of the United States by studying American political stagecraft and learning what helped previous candidates succeed and doomed others to failure. A figure on the periphery of campaigns for decades, he glided down the Trump Tower escalator on June 16, 2015, declared his candidacy and took his place, permanently, as an actor in the country’s greatest spectacle.Twenty-eight years earlier, at the dawn of what Josh King calls “The Age of Optics” in OFF An Advance Man’s Guide to White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle and Political Suicide, Trump began to position himself for his eventual run for the Oval Office. Pictured at the foot of that same gilded escalator, he posed at the foot of that same escalator for a cover story profile in TIME magazine. “This Man May Turn You Green With Envy—Or Just Turn You Off,” read the first part of TIME’s headline in January 1989. “Flaunting It is the Game, and TRUMP is the name,” the headline concluded.The cover story came just after Massachusetts Governor Mike Dukakis lost in a landslide to Vice President George H.W. Bush, in part because Dukakis made the disastrous decision to ride in an M1A1 Abrams tank in Sterling Heights, Michigan less than two months before the election. Why did Dukakis make that ride, and why was it so deadly? Indeed, in each election that followed, why did George Bush, Bob Dole, Al Gore, John Kerry, John McCain and Mitt Romney make similar mistakes that cost them dearly at the polls?These are the questions that Josh King answers in OFF SCRIPT.King, who served as Director of Production in Bill Clinton’s White House and later was host of SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s long-running “ The Theater of Politics,” brings readers on a wild ride over the last thirty years of the Age of Optics, from Ronald Reagan’s mastery of image to Barack Obama’s “Vanilla Presidency” to, ultimately, the faceoff between Hillary Clinton and Trump.As one of the White House’s most creative “advance men,” skilled at employing the tools to tell help tell the president’s daily story, and creating the scenes that the media can’t resist turning into news packages and front page photos, King pulls back the curtain on the behind-the-scenes alchemy of political stagecraft. King’s personal account, in-depth interviews, and detail-rich stories, and his unique angle on what drives headlines, makes news, and wins elections will serve as an indispensible companion to those keeping a close eye on the Trump presidency.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 26, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 22, 2016
First off, you really do have to love reading about politics to enjoy this book. But of course you do if you're even considering it. Josh King has worked for several campaigns over the years and in the Bill Clinton White House. He's a partisan, but you won't notice until the end when he talks about the upcoming elections. The bulk of the book is about political ancient history starting with Michael Dukakis's ride in a tank, moving on to George H. W. Bush's astonishment at bar code scanners, all the way up to Obama's appearances on online interview shows. King doesn't seem to consider setting the stage as deceptive, rather as ensuring the candidate is shown in the best light, and that the desired message is communicated. It's really fascinating, inside politics, behind the scenes, especially in this election year. Good stuff.
May 12, 2016
I NEARLY quit reading this book in the first section. It was sooo detail-dense, an entire huge section just on the Mike Dukakis tank-and-helmet episode. I almost didn't make it out, but that would have been a tragedy, because this book is a gem. If you want to understand politics today, how what we see of candidates and officials is "produced", you need to read this book. A lot of it is in the details that can go wrong (which means parts are pretty funny!) but, although I knew a lot of what we see is staged, I had no idea how far and deep this went. Fascinating, kind of depressing and scary at the same time, but real and detailed, this begins with the year of the Dukakis event and runs up to today, with some time spent on Hillary and Trump. (Although that final, added-on chapter has some typos--someone fell down on the editing there). Kind of dense but a very worthwhile read.
April 10, 2022
Rambling, unorganized, and in need of a good editor. The stories themselves are interesting, but the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired.
July 21, 2019
Off Script is an entertaining look behind the scenes of "advance work", which can be uncharitably (but accurately) described as the visual spin doctoring of a politician's public appearances in order to buttress, or advance, some agenda. As much as political "authenticity" is valued by the electorate, the true character of a politician is seldom seen, much of it hidden behind layers of stagecraft and manipulation for the nightly news (or, now, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube). Perception trumps reality, but unfortunately that's what consumers demand, and advance teams are only too happy to serve it up to them. And candidates like Trump who "break the mold" of careful advance work really are just masters of stagecraft themselves, with the instincts to know what will play well on television, in print, and on social media. Trump himself may be an incompetent buffoon, a dangerous demagogue, and many other things, but what he is is also a remarkable advance man in his own right. He's successful because he gives us exactly what we want.
Overall, King's book is an easy read from a master of these dark arts -- I would have been shocked if it were otherwise. Going back to look at some of the source material, though, like the attack ads against Dukakis that utilized the tank footage, it's incredible to see how far we've come in the last few decades. The attack ads against him, and against John Kerry, seem remarkably tame now. It's an indication of how we've normalized the take-no-prisoners, winner-take-all style of politics, without really realizing what's happened. The question that's unaddressed is how, in an era where time-to-market for visuals is measured in nanoseconds instead of hours or days -- and everyone has the ability to generate them -- that we can lower the temperature of the political dialogue. It seems impossible to depolarize politics when that polarization is inextricably tied to the production of either flattering or damaging images. I was hoping for King to address this in his epilogue, coming as it did after the election of Trump, yet he doesn't at all. Perhaps it will have to be left to the next generation of advance person, or media commentator, to shed some more light on political stagecraft in the era of Trump.
Overall, King's book is an easy read from a master of these dark arts -- I would have been shocked if it were otherwise. Going back to look at some of the source material, though, like the attack ads against Dukakis that utilized the tank footage, it's incredible to see how far we've come in the last few decades. The attack ads against him, and against John Kerry, seem remarkably tame now. It's an indication of how we've normalized the take-no-prisoners, winner-take-all style of politics, without really realizing what's happened. The question that's unaddressed is how, in an era where time-to-market for visuals is measured in nanoseconds instead of hours or days -- and everyone has the ability to generate them -- that we can lower the temperature of the political dialogue. It seems impossible to depolarize politics when that polarization is inextricably tied to the production of either flattering or damaging images. I was hoping for King to address this in his epilogue, coming as it did after the election of Trump, yet he doesn't at all. Perhaps it will have to be left to the next generation of advance person, or media commentator, to shed some more light on political stagecraft in the era of Trump.
May 16, 2016
The first part of the book dragged on forever and almost made me quit, but the second part was way more interesting. The first part digs deep into the story of Michael Dukakis and the tank, so deep that you drown at times in the many names and details. That's also because we keep switching between the Dukakis story and general info and background on being an advance guy. I get that that epic bunder was a watershed moment for advance people, but a little less detail would have worked better. The second part of the book was way more interesting, where we learn the real story behind some other visual blunders in politics. It set the record straight on several accounts, including Bush sr.'s infamous moment with the supermarket scanner. I recommend the book for political junkies, but brace yourself for the first part.
October 9, 2016
Fascinating look at a part of political life I hadn't give much thought to before. Especially interesting reading during a presidential campaign.
October 4, 2024
Published in April 2016, this work is in some ways hopelessly out of date as political analysis, because, well, 2016. The presidential election of 2016 saw the people (indulge me) reject a variety of norms, defy a wholesale slate of expectations. The election of 2016 saw an upending of the world so skillfully built and navigated by King and is ilk.
King is/was not a member of the fake news media, not exactly, but his whole job was to understand the fnm at a technical level. The technical level of camera angles and audio capture. His job was to plan an event at this arcane technical level, to ensure that the candidate looked good on TV. That’s not fakery, not exactly. But we live with a weird two-faced reality: we understand that TV is fake, but we are powerless to transcend its influence because there are certain things you can’t un-see, or un-hear.
Like the Dean Scream (DS). The truly unique and fascinating details that King unpacks from that debacle are technical in nature. (Kids – you can Google the DS. Go do that while the adults talk.) What I thought I knew about the DS was this: Howard Dean, promising candidate for presidential office, inexplicably lost his sense of propriety and uttered a demented “Yeeah”, screamed in front of an audience of supporters. The news media picked it up and pretty soon everyone in the country, like those in the room at the time, believed he was dangerously unstable and possibly in need of psychiatric help.
You had to be there. Here’s where it gets a bit technical. Ever wonder why, in the old days, a politician would be seen speaking in front of a ridiculous cluster of microphones? The microphones all labeled with the names of their news organizations? Why doesn’t that happen anymore? It is because today we have a thing called a “multiplexer”; a single microphone’s output is fed into a box somewhere offstage, and pool reporters can just jack into the multiplexor to get their audio. The thing about this audio is: it has its limitations. Same with the camera angles provided by pool reporting.
The DS happened at an event not deemed to be particularly newsworthy, so the pool audio/video feed was about the only A/V available. The audio, by design, just picked up Howard Dean. It filtered out almost all of the background noise. The background noise is the point: no one in the room thought the DS was demented. The room was totally pumped; the crowd was literally going wild. Howard Dean’s scream was totally in context of the room. He had to shout to even hear himself. Without the benefit of multiple camera angles (to show the crowd) and audio to capture the crowd, the nation was highly susceptible to a false narrative. And so it was. The end of Dean’s candidacy.
I couldn’t believe how much time he spent on Dukakis and the “riding in the tank while wearing ridiculous headgear” shot that was so much fun for a while. The interesting thing about this (and there are so many), is that the way we remember it playing out goes something like this: “Governor Dukakis went to a tank factory and got himself photographed riding in a tank. He looked ridiculous, everyone laughed, and right then his candidacy was ruined.”
It wasn’t quite like that. It was more like this: “Governor Dukakis got himself photographed riding a tank at a test range. He looked ridiculous and everyone who was there laughed, but it wasn’t news at the time. Within a week, there was almost no public record that it even happened: this was the 90s, when the internet in its current form did not yet exist. It was only months later that the Bush campaign came up with a brilliant campaign ad that looped a mere 7 seconds of available video and paired it with other audio, which made him both look and sound ridiculous. Everyone laughed, and his candidacy was ruined.”
Unexpectedly, King’s speculations on Hilary Clinton’s viability as a candidate turn out to be spookily apropos for Kamala Harris. Get a load of this.
KH doesn’t speak Spanish. Oh well. Still checks most of King’s boxes.
King is/was not a member of the fake news media, not exactly, but his whole job was to understand the fnm at a technical level. The technical level of camera angles and audio capture. His job was to plan an event at this arcane technical level, to ensure that the candidate looked good on TV. That’s not fakery, not exactly. But we live with a weird two-faced reality: we understand that TV is fake, but we are powerless to transcend its influence because there are certain things you can’t un-see, or un-hear.
Like the Dean Scream (DS). The truly unique and fascinating details that King unpacks from that debacle are technical in nature. (Kids – you can Google the DS. Go do that while the adults talk.) What I thought I knew about the DS was this: Howard Dean, promising candidate for presidential office, inexplicably lost his sense of propriety and uttered a demented “Yeeah”, screamed in front of an audience of supporters. The news media picked it up and pretty soon everyone in the country, like those in the room at the time, believed he was dangerously unstable and possibly in need of psychiatric help.
You had to be there. Here’s where it gets a bit technical. Ever wonder why, in the old days, a politician would be seen speaking in front of a ridiculous cluster of microphones? The microphones all labeled with the names of their news organizations? Why doesn’t that happen anymore? It is because today we have a thing called a “multiplexer”; a single microphone’s output is fed into a box somewhere offstage, and pool reporters can just jack into the multiplexor to get their audio. The thing about this audio is: it has its limitations. Same with the camera angles provided by pool reporting.
The DS happened at an event not deemed to be particularly newsworthy, so the pool audio/video feed was about the only A/V available. The audio, by design, just picked up Howard Dean. It filtered out almost all of the background noise. The background noise is the point: no one in the room thought the DS was demented. The room was totally pumped; the crowd was literally going wild. Howard Dean’s scream was totally in context of the room. He had to shout to even hear himself. Without the benefit of multiple camera angles (to show the crowd) and audio to capture the crowd, the nation was highly susceptible to a false narrative. And so it was. The end of Dean’s candidacy.
I couldn’t believe how much time he spent on Dukakis and the “riding in the tank while wearing ridiculous headgear” shot that was so much fun for a while. The interesting thing about this (and there are so many), is that the way we remember it playing out goes something like this: “Governor Dukakis went to a tank factory and got himself photographed riding in a tank. He looked ridiculous, everyone laughed, and right then his candidacy was ruined.”
It wasn’t quite like that. It was more like this: “Governor Dukakis got himself photographed riding a tank at a test range. He looked ridiculous and everyone who was there laughed, but it wasn’t news at the time. Within a week, there was almost no public record that it even happened: this was the 90s, when the internet in its current form did not yet exist. It was only months later that the Bush campaign came up with a brilliant campaign ad that looped a mere 7 seconds of available video and paired it with other audio, which made him both look and sound ridiculous. Everyone laughed, and his candidacy was ruined.”
Unexpectedly, King’s speculations on Hilary Clinton’s viability as a candidate turn out to be spookily apropos for Kamala Harris. Get a load of this.
She can finally break the ultimate glass ceiling, some would coiunter. And she’ll have a clear path to the nomination, others will say. Yes, I would allow, but look at the actuarial tables. Averaging every campaign since I worked as an advance man for BC in 1992, the age of the winner on election day was 51, and the age of the loser was 64. That leaves Hillary a half decade older than the average loser, even if she crosses the finish line of this 18-month marathon.
In her husband’s 1992 campaign, even with assorted scandalous baggage dragging on it, advance people orchestrated events from dawn to midnight for a telegenic, gregarious, 46-year-old governor that would stretch any middle-aged man’s stamina. And yet, BC kept asking for more…
So, if you want a Democratic woman president, then find me a smart, accomplished, charismatic, 46 to 56 year old, who can withstand nonstop physical and emotional torment, and remain comfortable in their own skin, and you’ve got yourself a winner. Oh, and it would be terrific if she speaks fluent Spanish.
KH doesn’t speak Spanish. Oh well. Still checks most of King’s boxes.
November 4, 2021
This guy really overstates the importance of advance. (Literally as soon as it came out, the entire thesis of the book was very highly undone.) There's an entire media ecosystem for one party now, and the other party doesn't really know what it's doing. So, where you put the flag in the background of some AP shot really doesn't tend to matter much to sway public opinion. (If it ever did.)
That he referred to Dukakis's answer about the death penalty as a "gaffe" made me scared right from the beginning of the book. It's the correct and right stance! The author's basic apoliticality - he has no actual stance on any issue, it seems, just "optics" - was really my biggest issue having worked in advance for a campaign. (When we got cast-offs from another campaign that had just ended? I could never get over the mental hurdle of adding "the opposition" right into our camp.)
And maybe the worst part, King literally says at the end of the book to just go work on a campaign, complete divorced from whatever politics the actual candidate is espousing. Disgusting. Care about something, not just how you can spin something.
That he referred to Dukakis's answer about the death penalty as a "gaffe" made me scared right from the beginning of the book. It's the correct and right stance! The author's basic apoliticality - he has no actual stance on any issue, it seems, just "optics" - was really my biggest issue having worked in advance for a campaign. (When we got cast-offs from another campaign that had just ended? I could never get over the mental hurdle of adding "the opposition" right into our camp.)
And maybe the worst part, King literally says at the end of the book to just go work on a campaign, complete divorced from whatever politics the actual candidate is espousing. Disgusting. Care about something, not just how you can spin something.
January 18, 2022
Josh King, a world-traveling "advance man" for American presidents and president wannabes, takes an in-depth look at some infamous failures of political stagecraft. King concentrates on the legendary tank shot of Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, wherein the candidate attempted to boost his defense policies by riding in a tank. Unfortunately, he looked absolutely ridiculous (he was parodied on an episode of The Simpsons, with Mr. Burns riding in a tank), giving the Republicans no end of ammunition. Other failures to communicate include George H.W. Bush looking befuddled at a supermarket scanner (unfair, says King), the so-called 'Dean Scream' (a technical miscue, he says), and many others. A bit too in the weeds for me at times, but for the most part Off Script is a worthwhile read for those concerned about the Age of Optics.
September 10, 2018
Proof positive that politicians are nothing more than smoke and mirrors, staged speeches and photo ops, and arrogant folks who assume we the people fall for their tricks.
Unfortunately, most people do fall for it.
Mr. King is clearly a Democrat, but he wasn't offensive in his description of Republicans like so many on opposite sides can be. I think he treated all rather fairly.
It was an interesting but WAY too detailed trip down campaign lane with many politicians of the past, including Michael Dukakis, Reagan, Clinton, Obama, Bush, Romney, and more. I like hearing what goes on behind the scenes, and this book was very eye-opening as to the spectacle politics has become.
I've always noticed the staging of events and photos; to me it's quite obvious; but perhaps people are more swayed by visuals than not.
The book was interesting to me but it could have been cut by at least 25% and still made the point.
Unfortunately, most people do fall for it.
Mr. King is clearly a Democrat, but he wasn't offensive in his description of Republicans like so many on opposite sides can be. I think he treated all rather fairly.
It was an interesting but WAY too detailed trip down campaign lane with many politicians of the past, including Michael Dukakis, Reagan, Clinton, Obama, Bush, Romney, and more. I like hearing what goes on behind the scenes, and this book was very eye-opening as to the spectacle politics has become.
I've always noticed the staging of events and photos; to me it's quite obvious; but perhaps people are more swayed by visuals than not.
The book was interesting to me but it could have been cut by at least 25% and still made the point.
August 15, 2017
An interesting look behind the curtain at the advance work that precedes a candidate's or incumbent's public appearance. So much has to go right and it only takes a second for something to go woefully wrong.
January 22, 2023
This book likely does not have broad appeal but as someone who has worked on many a political campaign, it was an interesting and enjoyable read. Loved the anecdotes and behind-the-scenes perspectives.
May 30, 2025
wish i could give this a 3.5, for a book i got during an office book exchange it’s not bad and i learned a lot, but it definitely wasn’t a thrilling read, 3.5 for how cool it was to have the curtain lifted in this part of politics i know nothing about!!
February 25, 2019
Interesting content, but it would have helped to have an editor sift through it to make it half its length. It felt repetitive and, at times, jumped back and forth among topics.
May 22, 2016
Having seen Josh King on TV, I assumed his book would provide rich insights into how an advance man creates presidential campaign appearances, and my assumption was correct. Off Script, focusing primarily on campaign stops during election cycles, describes the objectives, tactics, techniques, and pitfalls of presenting a president to the public. King covers what he calls the Age of Optics beginning with Michael Dukakis's 1988 misguided tank ride all the way through Trump's current carefully staged rallies.
The book has anecdotes galore covering all the prominent candidates of this almost 30-year period so there are lots of behind the scenes tidbits to savor. Additionally, in describing the advance man's work, the book captures the complexity of the role, scope of the task, multiplicity of coordinating efforts, and scrupulous attention to detail as well as the joys of success and the mind numbing fear of failure. With Off Script, there's lots to enjoy and lots to learn.
Having seen the Contents page, I assumed King's book would have its share of confusion, and my assumption was correct again. A book that begins with a Preface, a Prologue, an Introduction (not to mention an Advance Praise section, a Dedication, and a lengthy Quotation) is probably going to have its clarity problems, and Off Script has its share.
The book's overall structure is well organized with three main sections clearly defined and the chapters arranged chronologically. That said, within each chapter, King shifts back and forth in time to insert anecdotes and relevant personal career moments into the presidential campaign event he is analyzing. As a result, I was continually unsure where I was chronologically, and I was frequently seeing again the same analysis or idea. So the book is held together by its overall structure, but at a more granular level, the hopscotching around the author's career experiences is distracting and ultimately annoying. With a little reorganization and some light editing, King's presentation would match his interesting content, and that would make Off Script an even more satisfying read.
One other note. Though informative, Off Script lacks drama. That's in part because the book is built on fairly famous events--Dukakis and the tank ride (discussed in interminable detail), Bush and the supermarket scanner, Dean's scream, and Kerry's windsurfing, to name a few. But the lack of drama is also due to King's writing. He has a way of circling a topic so there's plenty of interesting information, but an absence of energy and suspense. A former advance man like King should know the importance of drama when telling a story.
The book has anecdotes galore covering all the prominent candidates of this almost 30-year period so there are lots of behind the scenes tidbits to savor. Additionally, in describing the advance man's work, the book captures the complexity of the role, scope of the task, multiplicity of coordinating efforts, and scrupulous attention to detail as well as the joys of success and the mind numbing fear of failure. With Off Script, there's lots to enjoy and lots to learn.
Having seen the Contents page, I assumed King's book would have its share of confusion, and my assumption was correct again. A book that begins with a Preface, a Prologue, an Introduction (not to mention an Advance Praise section, a Dedication, and a lengthy Quotation) is probably going to have its clarity problems, and Off Script has its share.
The book's overall structure is well organized with three main sections clearly defined and the chapters arranged chronologically. That said, within each chapter, King shifts back and forth in time to insert anecdotes and relevant personal career moments into the presidential campaign event he is analyzing. As a result, I was continually unsure where I was chronologically, and I was frequently seeing again the same analysis or idea. So the book is held together by its overall structure, but at a more granular level, the hopscotching around the author's career experiences is distracting and ultimately annoying. With a little reorganization and some light editing, King's presentation would match his interesting content, and that would make Off Script an even more satisfying read.
One other note. Though informative, Off Script lacks drama. That's in part because the book is built on fairly famous events--Dukakis and the tank ride (discussed in interminable detail), Bush and the supermarket scanner, Dean's scream, and Kerry's windsurfing, to name a few. But the lack of drama is also due to King's writing. He has a way of circling a topic so there's plenty of interesting information, but an absence of energy and suspense. A former advance man like King should know the importance of drama when telling a story.
May 26, 2016
“Off Script: An Advance Man's Guide to White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle, and Political Suicide” by Josh King follows the art of political campaigning—or rather the disasters that past presidential campaigns have faced. Stories recounted include presidential nominee Michael Dukakis and the tank (with the tank dwarfing the 5’8 governor), George H. W. Bush and the supermarket scanner (with his seeming amazement at it making him look out of touch with daily life), Bob Dole falling (emphasizing his status as a senior citizen running for the world’s most powerful position), Al Gore canoeing (with extra water being released especially so that the canoe could drift, being caught on camera and leaving Gore’s environmentalist image in question), Howard Dean screaming in the middle of a post-primary speech (although it was really just one word, thirty-seconds into his speech, but that was enough to question his mental state), John Kerry windsurfing while the Republican Convention was going on, etc.
During the current election year cycle, I think this book is especially timely. A big theme running throughout the book was the discrepancy between image and actions. At times, presidential campaigns are almost like producing a movie—there’s always a big emphasis on the male lead (the nominee), the staging, the sound bites, the orchestration of seemingly spontaneous scenes meant to be captured on camera (which also tend to go wrong--hence the "Off Script" title) and then purveyed through the media, etc. As someone who enjoys politics, I was looking to find out more about the behind the scenes atmospheres of presidential campaigns, and this book provided that. Overall, an interesting read.
During the current election year cycle, I think this book is especially timely. A big theme running throughout the book was the discrepancy between image and actions. At times, presidential campaigns are almost like producing a movie—there’s always a big emphasis on the male lead (the nominee), the staging, the sound bites, the orchestration of seemingly spontaneous scenes meant to be captured on camera (which also tend to go wrong--hence the "Off Script" title) and then purveyed through the media, etc. As someone who enjoys politics, I was looking to find out more about the behind the scenes atmospheres of presidential campaigns, and this book provided that. Overall, an interesting read.
August 29, 2016
I would call myself a "political junkie" of the highest order. I'll find myself refreshing Politico throughout the day, checking 538 for the latest updates, and boring friends incessantly when discussing national politics by bringing up Senators from states they don't care about.
All of that being said, Off Script was ultimately a disappointing read for me. Maybe its because it didn't read as advertised. Maybe its too "inside baseball" among the "inside baseball" crowd. Or maybe I just don't get it.
Either way, I found myself bored throughout the entire time reading it. There's nothing particular wrong with the author's topic or word usage, but rather over-emphasis on the events being discussed in the book. If you polled people about Dukakis at the time in '88, the "Willie Horton" stuff had far bigger impact and play than the tank incident that gets 135 pages of time in this book.
Furthermore, most of these events cited really didn't end up playing the impact it seemed to make as the book weight gives it. The only event most people can probably recall in the modern time is the "Dean Scream" and that's largely because of Youtube alongside analysts constantly referring back to it every time someone makes a gaffe. In other words, it lives on in memory like the 1919 White Sox because the people telling the story keep bringing it up.
This book might end up being found more interesting to other people, but unfortunately I'm just not one of them.
All of that being said, Off Script was ultimately a disappointing read for me. Maybe its because it didn't read as advertised. Maybe its too "inside baseball" among the "inside baseball" crowd. Or maybe I just don't get it.
Either way, I found myself bored throughout the entire time reading it. There's nothing particular wrong with the author's topic or word usage, but rather over-emphasis on the events being discussed in the book. If you polled people about Dukakis at the time in '88, the "Willie Horton" stuff had far bigger impact and play than the tank incident that gets 135 pages of time in this book.
Furthermore, most of these events cited really didn't end up playing the impact it seemed to make as the book weight gives it. The only event most people can probably recall in the modern time is the "Dean Scream" and that's largely because of Youtube alongside analysts constantly referring back to it every time someone makes a gaffe. In other words, it lives on in memory like the 1919 White Sox because the people telling the story keep bringing it up.
This book might end up being found more interesting to other people, but unfortunately I'm just not one of them.
November 23, 2016
This book desperately needed an editor. First of all, redundancies should be removed first. (I can't even count how many times that sentence structure cropped up.) The first ~40% of the book is dedicated to introducing the book, Dukakis' helmet, and then reintroducing what the book is going to talk about. I honestly thought my audiobook app had accidentally reverted to the opening chapter, but, nope, the author was just telling us what he was going to tell us about halfway through the book. The other topics (outside of Dukakis and that damn tank) felt brief, rushed, and much less dramatic than the title would lead you to believe.
Also, I know it's unfair to criticise his thoughts on the 2016 election AFTER the election has occurred, but the summary of/musings on Clinton and Trump felt extremely pithy and off the mark for someone who claimed to have lived and breathed this stuff for nearly their entire life. I guess I'm still too bitter for this stuff.
Also, I know it's unfair to criticise his thoughts on the 2016 election AFTER the election has occurred, but the summary of/musings on Clinton and Trump felt extremely pithy and off the mark for someone who claimed to have lived and breathed this stuff for nearly their entire life. I guess I'm still too bitter for this stuff.
July 12, 2016
Before reading this book I was unaware of just how meticulously presidential appearances were prepared. They're highly detailed and use all the tricks of the "presentation" trade: chisel your symbolism to high floss, use visual stunts to the max, measure all camera angles precisely. Yet sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes a slight mishap (or off script) turns into fodder for late night comic TV ridicule. Examples: The 1988 effort to portray candidate Mike Dukakis as General Patton in an army tank, GW Bush and the "Mission Accomplished" banner. Much of this narrative is based on the author's personal experiences and enhanced from interviews with similar workers, both Democrat and Republican. It's full of lingo of the presentation craft ("game day," "big board," "tight shot"). Overall, an engaging read.
May 31, 2016
The book is touted as a “pull back the curtain” type book to show what it’s like developing and staging political but it’s mostly a deconstruction of the biggest political blunders of the last three decades with a little bit of his own stories sprinkled in. I’m a bit of a political junky and I didn’t find it terribly fascinating, and would only really recommend it if you work in (or are thinking of working in) politics. Overall its well written but only tells you what you already know, that politics are more about optics and substance and that if you do something stupid (or not even that stupid) it can and will be magnified and end badly for you.
September 9, 2016
Josh does play-by-play for the famous "Michael Dukakis in a tank" photo op from the 1988 election and does it well. It's funny ... I've read a bunch of reviews that said this part was too long and that the rest of the book was the good stuff. I actually liked the Dukakis stuff best because the level of detail was so great. The rest of the book looks at other instances in which the optics of notable moments played an important role in an election or primary. A good read for this time of year if you like behind the scenes political stories.
September 30, 2016
I decided to read this book based on a "Book of the Times" article I saw in the NYT (that, for some reason, I cannot find anymore.) Incredibly detailed account of the responsibilities of advance teams and the increasingly theatrical aspects of our political scene. The book shines in the middle section when King recounts various political gaffes of the last 30 years and near the end when discussing the ongoing Clinton and Trump campaigns. Though it is interesting, feel free to skip the first section on the Dukakis tank fiasco in favor of the aforementioned middle section.
November 14, 2016
I wish I could give it 0 stars. First, it had the unfortunate timing of coming out during an election cycle that disproved the entire premise of the book.
However, it may have still been an interesting read, but it was not. The book was so repetitive, it seemed as if it had no editor.
SPOILER******Also disappointing - The author's favorite of all gaffes was the Dukakis' helmet, but it turns out there was already an understanding before that to never put something on a candidate's head!!
However, it may have still been an interesting read, but it was not. The book was so repetitive, it seemed as if it had no editor.
SPOILER******Also disappointing - The author's favorite of all gaffes was the Dukakis' helmet, but it turns out there was already an understanding before that to never put something on a candidate's head!!
May 30, 2016
Fun election year fodder, but nothing staggering or life changing. There are some interesting bits about how to stage an event and how to screw one up, but much of the book is relateable if you have followed the news or politics for the past 30 years. I did find the over 120 pages on the Dukakis riding a tank episode to be a lot more than necessary, if it is has some other stories thrown in for good measure here and there.
May 27, 2017
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
Very interesting insider story of Presidential campaigns. A bit to much focus on Dukakis and the tank. I got that this was a big flub after the first paragraph and was ready to move on. Still very informative and reinforces my understanding that the media picks the next POTUS.
Very interesting insider story of Presidential campaigns. A bit to much focus on Dukakis and the tank. I got that this was a big flub after the first paragraph and was ready to move on. Still very informative and reinforces my understanding that the media picks the next POTUS.
June 16, 2016
The last two chapters are worthless, a total bore. I was more interested in reading about the blunders, and not how some photographer takes pictures of the current president. I listened to the audiobook and Josh drones about this photographer for what feels like hours.
The rest of the book is enjoyable if you enjoy reading about mistakes.
The rest of the book is enjoyable if you enjoy reading about mistakes.
February 21, 2018
I’ve had this book since it came out
It took me a year and a half to finish this book, and I had it in hardcover, e-book, and Audible. I felt I was reading in circles because he found a way to bring it back to Dukakis to use for every example, a man who I have never heard of and ran before I was even born. I finally finished it because I started it and it never got better.
It took me a year and a half to finish this book, and I had it in hardcover, e-book, and Audible. I felt I was reading in circles because he found a way to bring it back to Dukakis to use for every example, a man who I have never heard of and ran before I was even born. I finally finished it because I started it and it never got better.
June 17, 2016
WHAT A DELICIOUS ! READ ! for any political junky. Not only all the backstage dirt from Josh King, illustrious political Advance Man as he tells the tales of campaigning in “the Age of Optics” and you'll recognize all the ways we're being manipulated with every single shot. What a treat.
August 28, 2016
Entertaining and insightful review of the last quarter century of presidential campaigns and their screw ups. Well written and personal, and shows useful insight immediately applicable to the current presidential race. Read the book!
October 19, 2016
As we watch the campaign events unfold on our TVs, we rarely consider all the things that have to be done to make them happen. Josh King's book reveals what goes on behind the curtain as well as the myriad things that can go wrong.
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