Post-Election Books on the 2008 Presidential Campaign: Rough Chronological List

The Book Page: 2008 Post-Election
An Incomplete List in Rough Chronological Order

ABC News and USA TODAY. Nov. 7, 2008. AMERICA SPEAKS: The Historic 2008 Election. Chicago: Triumph Books.

Triumph Books has joined forces with ABC News and USA TODAY to create a commemorative volume that will be on the wish list of every voter — America Speaks, a comprehensive, up-to-the-minute wrap-up of the historic 2008 presidential election. Packed with gorgeous color photographs and buoyed by the insightful journalism of two of the world’s news giants, this must-have book will examine every aspect of the riveting campaign. Readers will also travel through “50 States in 50 Days” on the historic joint ABC News/USA TODAY tour of the nation, which captures the voices of the voters as they weigh the merits of the candidates and the challenges being faced by the nation. America Speaks also includes a companion DVD introduced by Charles Gibson of ABC News.

Mike Huckabee. Nov. 18, 2008. DO THE RIGHT THING: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America. New York: Sentinel. [Penguin imprint]
"Do The Right Thing is Huckabee’s amazing story, in his own words—from making commercials with Chuck Norris to meeting a Michigan woman who insisted on donating her wedding ring. But this is more than just a campaign memoir. It’s a vision for a smarter, fairer type of politics—“vertical politics”—that focuses on common sense solutions for education, health care, the economy, and many other issues. It’s not about right versus left; it’s about taking America up rather than down. Huckabee also shows how the Republican Party can heal its divisions—between social and fiscal conservatives, the wealthy and the middle class, the religious and the secular—and become a true majority party again" [book tour]

Calvin Trillin. Nov. 25, 2008. DECIDING THE NEXT DECIDER: The 2008 Presidential Race in Rhyme. New York: Random House.
"Displaying the form that made bestsellers of Obliviously On He Sails and A Heckuva Job, tales of the Bush Administration in rhyme, Calvin Trillin trains his verse on the 2008 race for the presidency. Deciding the Next Decider is an ongoing campaign narrative in verse interrupted regularly by other poems, such as a country tune about John Edwards called 'Yes, I Know He’s a Mill Worker’s Son, But There’s Hollywood in That Hair' and a Sarah Palin song about her foreign policy credentials: 'On a Clear Day, I See Vladivostok.'"

Sara Thaves and Matt Wuerker, eds. Nov. 2008. THE CARTOONIST GROUP INKS CAMPAIGN '08. Seattle, WA: The Cartoonist Group. >>
"Chronicles the historic presidential election from beginning to end. 167 cartoons from sixteen top cartoonists, including eight winners of the Pulitzer Prize, are included. Organized into fourteen chapters, the book begins with an election prologue and follows the campaign trail to Obama's victory and a prologue for the 2012 election."

Scout Tufankjian. Dec. 8, 2008. YES WE CAN: Barack Obama's History-Making Presidential Campaign. Brooklyn, NY: powerHouse Books.
"Yes We Can is a comprehensive and intimate portrait of this transformative campaign, ushering a new era in American politics. With more than 200 color photographs by Tufankjian, the book transports readers to each emotional stop on this historical journey, punctuated with highlights from Obama’s most memorable speeches. Tufankjian artfully captures the impact this amazing candidate had with Americans of all stripes... Scout Tufankjian has had photographs published in every major newspaper and news magazine, including Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, People, The Guardian, ELLE, Esquire, Essence, Rolling Stone, Fortune, The Times of London, Stern, Der Spiegel, and many others. Before covering the Obama campaign, Tufankjian worked photographing the conflict in the Middle East, primarily the Gaza Strip, for four years. She lives in Brooklyn, and has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale." [Hardcover, 8.375 X 11 inches, 192 pages, 250 full color photographs]

Samuel Wurzelbacher with Thomas Tabback. Dec. 15, 2008. JOE THE PLUMBER: Fighting for the American Dream. Austin, TX: PearlGate Publishing, LLC.
Joe The Plumber - Fighting for the American Dream follows Joe’s adventures in the media and along the campaign trail up to the 2008 Presidential Election. Discover the Real Story that hasn’t been told about his rendezvous with Obama, the real and personal impact of the illegal invasion of his privacy by Ohio State officials, his eye-opening experience with Governor Sarah Palin, and the tough question he asked John McCain while on his Straight Talk Express.

Poynter Institute. Dec. 16, 2008. PRESIDENT OBAMA ELECTION 2008: A Collection of Newspaper Front Pages Selected by the Poynter Institute. Andrews McMeel Publishing.
"Produced in partnership with dozens of U.S. and international newspapers, this exclusive collection of 75 front pages features an introduction by "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau. Participating papers include: Anchorage Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Rocky Mountain News, St. Petersburg Times, Staten Island Advance, Boston Globe, (Raleigh) News & Observer, Philadelphia Tribune, Times-Picayune, USA Today, college papers, ethnic press, and international publications. Profits from the book will help subsidize Poynter training. Available just before Christmas, this 9 x 12 inch book will be a historic keepsake for anyone who cares about journalism and democracy."

Adi Ignatius. Dec. 23, 2008. PRESIDENT OBAMA: The Path to the White House. New York: Time, Incorporated Home Entertainment.
"...combines original material on Obama's journey with a collection of the best reporting and writing from TIME's political team on his rise and historic victory. And it is overflowing with Callie Shell's incredible and intimate photographs of Obama, selected by photo editor Crary Pullen, many of which have never before been seen in print."

Chuck Todd and Sheldon Gawiser. Jan. 6, 2009. HOW BARACK OBAMA WON: A State-by-State Guide to the Historic 2008 Presidential Election. New York: Vintage Books. [Random House]
How Barack Obama Won—by one of the most lauded political journalists of our time, and one of the most respected pollsters in the business—gives us not only the inside state-by-state guide to how Obama achieved his victory, but also the essential toolbox for understanding the political implications of the 2008 presidential election—where the country stands vis-à-vis Red and Blue states, where it currently is and is headed politically, and whether a political realignment has taken place... The book is divided into four parts, each of which proceeds alphabetically state by state: Battleground States (e.g., Colorado, Florida, Idaho); Emerging Battleground States (e.g., Arizona, Georgia, Montana); Receding Battleground States (e.g., Michigan, Pennsylvania); Red and Blue States (e.g., Idaho and Mississippi, California and New York).

Evan Thomas and the Staff of Newsweek. Jan. 12, 2009. A LONG TIME COMING: The Inspiring, Combative 2008 Campaign and the Historic Election of Barack Obama. New York: PublicAffairs.
"Since 1984, Newsweek has been renowned for its vivid, in-depth special election coverage of the ordeal of running for the presidency. A year before the election, Newsweek assigns reporters to get inside the campaigns of the Republican and Democratic candidates. Newsweek promises not to publish any information until after the votes are cast, and in exchange, the reporters receive remarkable access. They travel with the candidates, are there at crucial turning points and confidential meetings, and uncover stories not covered in day-to-day reporting... The reporters on the election project team are Eleanor Clift, one of Washington's best-known political reporters and a regular on The McLaughlin Group, Washington correspondent Darren Briscoe, Mike Hastings, Nick Summers, and Katie Connolly."

Michael Crowley and Dan Goldman. Jan. 27, 2009. 08: A Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail. New York: Three Rivers Press/Crown Publishing Group. [Random House]
"Taking its cue from campaign classics like Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 and The Making of the President series, 08 brings politico journalism into the graphic novel form. Reflect on all the single-issue candidates, the pundits, the meltdowns, the awkward missteps, and the ruthless maneuvers of the scorched-earth campaign trail as they knit themselves into a political tale of the present-day battle for the future of America."

Greg Mitchell. week of Jan. 24, 2009. WHY OBAMA WON: The Making of a President 2008. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing.
"It's here, the first book exploring the 2008 campaign from a "progressive" perspective: Why Obama Won: The Making of a President 2008 (Sinclair Books). The book, my ninth, focuses on new media vs. old media, grassroots vs. GOP, and all of the controversies and conflicts, from Jeremiah the Preacher to Joe the Plumber. They're all here: Hill and Bill, Mitt and Huck, Katie and Keith, Jon and Stephen. I wrote about the campaign almost daily at Huffington Post, Daily Kos or as the editor of Editor & Publisher."

Bernard Goldberg. Jan. 26, 2009. A SLOBBERING LOVE AFFAIR: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing.
In his most provocative book yet, A Slobbering Love Affair, Goldberg shows how the mainstream media's hopelessly one-sided coverage of President Obama has shredded America's trust in journalism and endangered our free society. Highlighting the media's laughable coverage and shameless hypocrisy, Goldberg exposes how liberal reporters ignored important issues, focused on trivial matters, and attacked those who dared to question "The One." Goldberg also argues that the media's blatant disregard for their traditional role as the fourth estate and government watchdog has endangered America and eroded the notion of a free and fair press.

David Elliot Cohen and Mark Greenberg; introduction by Howard Dodson. Feb. 3, 2009. OBAMA: The Historic Front Pages. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc..
"Now, everyone can own a piece of history, thanks to this gorgeous commemorative album of front pages that capture Barack Obama’s extraordinary journey to the White House. Featuring newspapers both domestic and foreign, and depicting all the landmarks in this groundbreaking campaign—including the inauguration—Obama is a stunning keepsake for all who experienced this remarkable moment…and future generations, too."

Washington Post. Feb. 2009. THE INAUGURATION OF BARACK OBAMA: A Photographic Journal. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
"The Inauguration of Barack Obama by The Washington Post is the only national book about this historic election from the perspective of those who live and work within the Beltway. More than 100 photographers and reporters from the award-winning staff of The Washington Post worked to cover the inauguration from every angle and point of view. The result is the most comprehensive coverage of President Obama’s beginning as a world leader. One of the most respected names in U.S. journalism history, former Post executive editor Ben Bradlee, wrote the Foreword to this essential keepsake of history..."

New York Times, Jill Abramson, Bill Keller. Feb. 16, 2009. OBAMA: The Historic Journey. Callaway Arts & Entertainment and The New York Times in collaboration with Riverhead. Also OBAMA: The Historic Journey: Young Reader's Edition.
"This 240-page hardcover book, a collector's item, includes: Introduction by Executive Editor Bill Keller; Managing Editor Jill Abramson's insightful essay on Mr. Obama's life, rise to power, and election; Profiles of important figures in Mr. Obama's life, including Michelle Obama, his daughters, grandmother, mother and father, as well as some of the campaign's controversial figures, including Rev. Jeremiah Wright; Reporting by prominent Times journalists such as Janny Scott, Jodi Kantor and Adam Nagourney among others; Original commentary by Times columnists Frank Rich, Thomas L. Friedman, Roger Cohen and Bob Herbert; Selected essays by Times columnists Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, David Brooks and Gail Collins; Excerpts from Mr. Obama's most important speeches, including the full text of his Inaugural Address; More than 200 full-color photographs by New York Times photographers; Maps, charts, and graphics from The Times." >

Michael Nelson, ed. March 1, 2009. THE ELECTIONS OF 2008. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
"Michael Nelson once again brings together top-notch scholars to analyze all aspects of the 2008 elections. Available mere months after the November 4th elections, this volume provides an insightful look at the contests, their outcomes, and their implications for the future. With original, first-rate analysis, chapter authors capture the drama as well as critique the importance of particular races—all the while giving perspective to the larger trends and effects of the election results. An invaluable and incredibly current resource when imparting the significance of voting and elections in the classroom, instructors can count on The Elections of 2008 to pique students’ interest while providing a fascinating read and unsurpassed analysis."

Washington Times. March 6, 2009. PRESIDENT OBAMA: The Start of an Era. Washington, DC: Washington Times Books.
"The reporters and photographers of The Washington Times chronicled Mr. Obama's rise to power from start to finish, from the cold snowy fields of Iowa in January 2007 to the record-setting crowd that transformed the National Mall into a sea of humanity on Inauguration Day 2009. 'President Obama: The Start of an Era' is a compilation of The Times' best coverage, designed to put you, the reader, in a front-row seat for a tour of the historic journey. It includes a personal essay by Mr. Obama written exclusively for The Washington Times, hundreds of original photos shot by the award-winning photographers on The Times' staff and special messages to America's new president from countries around the globe."

Niall Stanage. March 12, 2009. REDEMPTION SONG: An Irish Reporter Inside the Obama Campaign. Dublin, Ireland: Liberties Press.
"...the first Irish-published title on Barack Obama’s extraordinary rise to the American presidency. Redemption Song by Niall Stanage is a unique insider’s account of Obama’s journey from fledgling politician in Chicago through his acrimonious tussle with Hillary Clinton and culminating in his momentous victory over John McCain. Stanage also examines this amazing tale from a global perspective. He enjoyed unparalleled access to Obama, including being the only Irish journalist to travel on the candidate’s plane."

James W. Ceaser, Andrew E. Busch, and John J. Pitney, Jr.. March 28, 2009. EPIC JOURNEY: The 2008 Elections and American Politics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
"Noted campaign scholars James W. Ceaser, Andrew E. Busch, and John J. Pitney, Jr., take readers along on the longest, most expensive, and in many ways most dramatic presidential campaign in American history. Drawing on their extensive knowledge of political history and deep resources of current political science, the authors capture the astonishing twists of fate, uncanny detours, and remarkable surprises that made the 2008 election truly historic... As they have every four years since 1992, James W. Ceaser and Andrew E. Busch once again provide the most comprehensive and authoritative account of the presidential election. Joined on this book by John J. Pitney, Jr., the authors chronicle the epic journey—culminating in the election of the first African-American president—of a group of extraordinary candidates and a nation."

Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier and Steven E. Schier, eds. March 2009. THE AMERICAN ELECTIONS OF 2008. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
The American Elections of 2008 assembles leading political scientists and journalists to explain the election results and their implications for America's future. Topics include financing the elections, religion's influence, the media, and how the George W. Bush legacy affected the outcome. The book also explores Congressional behavior in the twenty-first century and discusses how it affected election results in 2008.

Larry J. Sabato, ed. April 2009. THE YEAR OF OBAMA: How Barack Obama Won the White House. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Longman.
This revealing new book by Larry Sabato and his team of experts contains exciting coverage and trenchant commentary on the most stunning election of our time. Peeling back the layers of the political, social, and demographic trends that helped thrust Barack Obama into the Oval Office, the authors of this book toss aside conventional wisdom about 2008 and substitute thoughtful, deeper - and until now, ignored - interpretations of the events and environment that elected our new president.

Frank Newport, Ph.D., Lydia Saad, Jeffrey M. Jones, Alec M. Gallup, and, Fred L. Israel, Ph.D. . WINNING THE WHITE HOUSE 2008: The Gallup Poll, Public Opinion, and the Presidency. New York: Infobase Publishing. [Facts on File]
"Providing a gripping, month-by-month narrative of the 2008 election and culminating with Barack Obama's historic win in November, Winning the White House 2008: The Gallup Poll, Public Opinion, and the Presidency recounts this fascinating presidential campaign. The book features more than 1,000 polls taken throughout the campaign by Gallup, the oldest and most respected polling company in the world... Featuring expert commentary on the candidates, issues, and public opinion polls as well as photographs, tables, and monthly chronologies, this authoritative new reference is the definitive account of one of the most critical and transformative elections in American history."

Tom Brokaw, Congressman John Lewis, Douglas Brinkley. April 29, 2009. BARACK OBAMA: The Official Inaugural Book. Brooklyn, NY: Five Ties Publishing, Inc..
"Barack Obama: The Official Inaugural Book is the only book commemorating the historic event to be licensed and approved by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Encompassing 170 color photographs, Barack Obama: The Official Inaugural Book sweepingly chronicles the entire Inaugural week. Its pages highlight moments including Obama's "Whistle Stop" train tour into Washington, the multitudes assembled on the mall to witness his oath of office, behind-the-scenes glimpses of Barack and Michelle Obama, the elegant inaugural balls, and the first few hours of the new administration."

Dennis W. Johnson, ed. April 30, 2009. CAMPAIGNING FOR PRESIDENT 2008: Strategy and Tactics, New Voices and New Techniques. London: Routledge.
"In this important and timely volume, Dennis W. Johnson has assembled an outstanding team of political science and political journalism scholars and veteran campaign consultants to examine the most exciting presidential campaign in memory. Campaigning for President 2008 focuses on the strategies and tactics used by the presidential candidates, the new voices and new techniques used to generate support and persuade voters, and the activities of outside interests trying to influence the outcome."

Eric Boehlert. May 2009. THE BLOGGERS ON THE BUS: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press in 2008. New York: Free Press. [Simon & Schuster]
"Using the 2008 presidential race as a dramatic backdrop, Boehlert details the myriad ways the[se] bloggers influenced both the candidates and their campaigns, while also chronicling the bitter blogger civil war that erupted during the contentious Democratic primary season. Offering unprecedented portraits of these new power brokers, Bloggers on the Bus goes behind the scenes to chronicle a media and political rebellion in the making."

Steven S. Smith and Melanie J. Springer, eds.. REFORMING THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PROCESS. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
"This timely book synthesizes new analysis by premier political scientists into a cohesive look at the presidential nomination process -- the ways in which it is broken and how it might be fixed... The contributors to Reforming the Presidential Nomination Process address different facets of the selection process... "

Richard Wolffe. June 2, 2009. RENEGADE: The Making of a President. New York: Crown. [Random House]
"This book is the previously untold and epic story of how a political newcomer with no money and an alien name grew into the world’s most powerful leader. But it is also a uniquely intimate portrait of the person behind the iconic posters and the Secret Service code name Renegade. Drawing on a dozen unplugged interviews with the candidate and president, as well as twenty-one months covering his campaign as it traveled from coast to coast, Richard Wolffe answers the simple yet enduring question about Barack Obama: Who is he?"

Institute of Politics, ed. July 28, 2009. CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT: The Managers Look at 2008. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Every four years following the presidential election, the Institute of Politics at Harvard University convenes a distinguished gathering of campaign managers, media commentators, and interested political observers to reflect on presidential campaign strategies from the earliest primaries through Election Day. The result is a book, and the 2008 election edition is published for general audiences as well as college classrooms and campaign and media professionals. >

Robert E. Denton, ed. July 28, 2009. THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: A Communication Perspective. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
"Here, political communication specialists break down the historic 2008 presidential campaign and go beyond the quantitative facts, electoral counts, and poll results of the election. Factoring in everything from the campaign in popular culture, political cartoons, and the effect of celebrity, the authors look at the early campaign period, the nomination process and conventions, the social and political context, the debates, the role of candidate spouses, candidate strategies, political advertising, and the use of the Internet. This enlightening book shows why more technology doesn't always mean more effective communication and how, as we attempt to make sense of our environment, we collect "political bits" of communication that comprise our voting choices, worldviews, and legislative desires."

Jack Citrin and David Karol, eds.. July 28, 2009. NOMINATING THE PRESIDENT: Evolution and Revolution in 2008 and Beyond. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
The 2008 presidential nominations were unprecedented in many ways. Marking another step in the democratization of the selection process and a surprising loss of control by party elites, the contests in both parties were unusually competitive and the outcomes belied the predictions of experts. This book offers a fresh look at the role of parties, the constraints of campaign finance, the status of front-runners, and the significance of rules, race and gender in the post-reform era. In this volume, leading scholars assess the state of the process with original research about money, scheduling, superdelegates, and the role of race and gender in voting.

Nicola D. Gutgold. July 28, 2009. ALMOST MADAME PRESIDENT: Why Hillary Clinton "Won" in 2008. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. [Rowman & Littlefield]
"Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton 'Won' in 2008 argues that Hillary Clinton gained more than she lost in her bid for the presidency. This book takes the reader on a rhetorical journey through Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, focusing on Clinton's sophisticated "You Tube" style announcement speech, the debates, and the many notable stump speeches and media events on the campaign trail. Along the way Gutgold examines the obstacles and opportunities of women as presidential candidates."

Joe Feagin and Adia Wingfield Harvey. Sept. 9, 2009. YES WE CAN?: White Racial Framing and the 2008 Presidential Campaign. London: Routledge. [Taylor & Francis]
"This book offers one of the first sociological analyses of Barack Obama’s historic 2008 campaign for the presidency of the United States. Elaborating on the concept of the white racial frame, Harvey Wingfield and Feagin assess the ways racial framing was deployed by principal characters in the 2008 election. This book counters many commonsense assumptions about race, politics, and society, particularly the idea that Obama’s election ushered in a post-racial era. Readers will find this book uniquely valuable because it relies on sound sociological analysis to assess numerous events and aspects of this historic campaign."

Hal Elliott Wert. Sept. 15, 2009. HOPE: A Collection of Obama Prints and Posters. Osceola, WI: Zenith Press.
"This book offers a striking and comprehensive visual chronology of posters created for Obama's run for the presidency. Most have been seen only by a limited number of viewers in the primary states. Others have rarely been seen outside the urban core or the art gallery world. An exception is the Shepard Fairey poster "Hope" that has been seen by millions as has his design for the cover of Time magazine's Man-of-the-Year edition. Importantly, there has been nothing like this outpouring of quality prints and posters in past campaigns."

Theodore F. Sheckels, ed. Sept. 28, 2009. CRACKED BUT NOT SHATTERED: Hillary Rodham Clinton's Unsuccessful Campaign for the Presidency. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. [Rowman & Littlefield]
"Cracked But Not Shattered: Hillary Rodham Clinton's Unsuccessful Campaign for the Presidency thoroughly analyzes Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination with an eye to identifying what went wrong-why, as the frontrunner, she ended up not breaking "the glass ceiling." The volume's contributors examine multiple issues in attempt to answer this question, from usual campaign communication topics such as Clinton's rhetoric, debate performance, and advertising to the ways in which she was treated by the media."

Amy Rice and Alicia Sams, directors. 2009 tbd. BY THE PEOPLE: The Election of Barack Obama. Class 5 Films (Edward Norton).
"Inspired by the freshman senator's dynamism, potential and star-making speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004, Rice initiated the idea of a documentary tracking his experience in politics in early 2006. Shortly thereafter, Class 5 agreed to produce the project and Sams joined to co-direct. Norton then approached Senator Obama and his staff months prior to his decision to run for President and outlined the idea. Senator Obama agreed to grant the team access and Rice and Sams began shooting shortly thereafter, including traveling with the Senator on his trip to Africa in summer of 2006. When the Senator announced his bid for the presidency in 2007, Rice and Sams were there and over the last two and a half years have documented the race with unprecedented access to Obama, his senior campaign staff, family, friends, and volunteers. Shooting will continue through the inauguration in preparation for a 2009 premiere."

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe is working on a book on the campaign due out in Fall 2009 to be published by Viking. [Penguin Group]
Tentatively titled THE AUDACITY TO WIN: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory, the book "will share the story of the Obama for president campaign, written by the man who led it from day one through its triumphant victory. From the deliberations about whether to run against long odds, the epic primary battle with Hillary Clinton, the drama of the general election campaign against John McCain and the strategic roads taken - and not taken throughout - this book will provide the only insider account of the two year campaign that led to Barack Obama being elected the nation's 44th president."

According to Variety, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann are working on a book titled GAME CHANGE: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime to be published by HarperCollins in early 2010 and HBO Films is pursuing a film adaptation by Charles Leavitt.

The Washington Post's "Reliable Source" reported on May 29, 2009 that former Clinton campaign manager Patty Solis Doyle has signed a deal with Hyperion for a book due out in 2011.