Political Books, do they Help or Hurt?

The beauty of the past is that it is the past. The beauty of the now is to know it. The beauty of the future is to see where one is going. -- Source Unknown

Political Books do they help or do they hurt? I have read a variety of politically based books most of which are biographies of people who are close to the heart of the political system, the system which governs. Usually after a person has served within the scope of his office relevant to the government official a book comes out, something that tells and documents the time in which they spent at that particular job. An inside view can change the way we perceive a particular official and gives an alternative angle in which to observe the situations with which that official has dealt with.

Another type of book can come out, what I like to call political fictitious works. One in particular comes to mind that of Primary Colors by Anonymous. A book that caused outrage when it came out, and although it was considered a fictional piece of work had some truth and played off of key events in the 1992 Campaign. What struck me as interesting was having had read this book and then to read All to Human: A political Education by George Stephanopoulos. I saw some very striking similarities in the campaign talked about in Primary colors and that in which George describes in his book. What purpose do these books have in our understanding history and understanding the issues with which the times they are describing deal with? I think they open a window and shed light and an opportunity to explore behind the scenes and some ideas as to why certain events happened and why they were handled the way they were.

Political books help me to understand more fully policy procedures, a time frame in history specifically in politics and a better understanding of the official in which they describe. To learn that there are multiple positions that help make a politician who they are and that if it were not for those behind the scene people it probably would never happen. Political books do not necessarily make up my mind but they do provide me another avenue to learn about the parties, the issues at hand, and a glimmer into the lives of particular party members.

When it comes to helping or hurting a candidate, official or party I think it varies on the book. For the most part I believe each part of the book will contain things that those people will find wrong, offensive and hurtful to their ability to perform their job and maybe more importantly be re elected. As a citizen, I find the books helpful because they provide me with information on the candidates provided from observers. When it comes to a political non-fiction or fiction books each party will have a different stance, the party in which the book is about is more likely to be mad while the other party is going to be happy and vice a versa. Its like the political ads, they cancel each other out to a degree, except unlike the ads these books are out to tell you about a time frame in history and not make up your mind. Changing or influencing your opinions maybe an extra bonus but its not the main point of the book. The main points are to express to the people who read them an understanding of a time frame in political history. Political books are a great example of how literature and history go hand in hand.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic