Book

I Hope Like Heck

📖 Overview

I Hope Like Heck is a 2011 collection of found poems created from Sarah Palin's emails during her time as Alaska governor. Editor Michael Solomon transformed selections from 24,000 publicly released emails into 50 poem compositions. The 64-page e-book was published by Byliner and made available on major digital platforms like Kindle and Nook. Solomon spent two days examining the email correspondence to identify and arrange text into verse form. The collection includes poems with titles such as "The Truth About The Moose" and "Carpe Per Diem," taking their content directly from Palin's actual written communications. The title comes from Palin's words regarding the Gravina Island Bridge funding proposal. This unconventional poetry collection explores the intersection of political communication and accidental artistry, transforming bureaucratic correspondence into unexpected verse forms. Through this lens, routine government emails become an unintentional experiment in found poetry.

👀 Reviews

Readers view this compilation of Sarah Palin's emails as a lightweight novelty book rather than serious political content. The book contains selected excerpts from Palin's emails during her time as Alaska governor. What readers liked: - Quick, easy read - Shows Palin's informal writing style - Includes some humorous email snippets What readers disliked: - Very short at only 67 pages - Lacks context for many email exchanges - Emails seem cherry-picked for entertainment - Price too high for limited content One Amazon reviewer noted "It feels like reading someone's random work emails with no real narrative." Another called it "a cash grab capitalizing on leaked emails." Ratings: Amazon: 2.7/5 (12 reviews) Goodreads: 2.8/5 (22 ratings) Barnes & Noble: 2/5 (4 reviews) The book received minimal attention and reviews, with most readers questioning its purpose and value beyond brief entertainment.

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Known and Unknown by Donald Rumsfeld The collection presents primary source documents and communications from Rumsfeld's time as Secretary of Defense.

The Letters of John F. Kennedy by Martin W. Sandler This compilation presents Kennedy's personal and political correspondence throughout his career in public service.

🤔 Interesting facts

🔸 The book's title "I Hope Like Heck" comes directly from Palin's email language, reflecting her folksy communication style that became her trademark during the 2008 presidential campaign. 🔸 The 24,000 emails used as source material were released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests and filled 250 boxes when printed, weighing approximately 250 pounds. 🔸 Michael Solomon created this collection without adding any words - each poem consists entirely of unaltered text from Palin's actual emails, only rearranged into verse form. 🔸 The project was completed and published within just 48 hours of the emails' public release in 2011, making it one of the fastest book productions in recent publishing history. 🔸 Some poems in the collection inadvertently predict future events, including one that seems to foreshadow Palin's eventual resignation as Alaska's governor in 2009.