What It Takes: The Way to the White House

What It Takes: The Way to the White House chronicles the 1988 presidential campaign through intimate portraits of six candidates: George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, Joe Biden, Michael Dukakis, Dick Gephardt, and Gary Hart. Author Richard Ben Cramer spent six years conducting research and interviews to document both the campaign trail and the personal histories of these political figures. The book reconstructs each candidate's path from their earliest days through their political rise, examining family dynamics, personal struggles, and defining career moments. Through detailed reporting, it reveals the intense physical, emotional, and psychological demands of running for the nation's highest office. The narrative focuses primarily on the lead-up to and events of the New Hampshire primary, capturing the day-to-day realities of campaign life and the complex web of staff, supporters, and media that surrounds each candidate. Beyond its historical significance, What It Takes stands as a landmark study of political ambition and the American electoral process, exploring what drives individuals to pursue the presidency and what that pursuit requires of them.

Readers describe this as a detailed, long-form examination of the 1988 presidential candidates that reveals their personal lives and motivations. Many reviewers note they couldn't put it down despite its 1000+ page length. Readers praise: - The deep reporting and intimate access to candidates - Writing style that reads like a novel - Equal treatment of both Democratic and Republican candidates - Insights into campaign life and political machinery Common criticisms: - Length intimidates some readers - Multiple narrative threads can be hard to follow - Some passages feel repetitive - Too much detail about certain candidates' early lives Ratings: Goodreads: 4.3/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (280+ ratings) Multiple readers called it "the best campaign book ever written." Several noted it changed their view of politics. A frequent comment was that the book remains relevant to modern campaigns despite focusing on 1988. The most common complaint was that readers needed to take breaks due to information overload.

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🔸 Published in 1992, the book was initially considered a commercial failure but later became highly influential, with political journalists frequently citing it as one of the greatest campaign books ever written. 🔸 The author Richard Ben Cramer won the Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for his international reporting from the Middle East for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 🔸 Despite the book's focus on the 1988 election, Joe Biden's chapter has gained renewed attention during his subsequent presidential runs, particularly in 2020, offering insights into his early political career. 🔸 At over 1,000 pages long, Cramer's exhaustive research included living in the candidates' hometowns and interviewing hundreds of people connected to their lives. 🔸 The phrase "What It Takes" became political shorthand for discussing presidential candidates' character and personal qualities, influencing how journalists cover campaigns.