Matt Bai is the national political columnist for Yahoo News. For more than a decade he was a political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, where he covered three presidential campaigns. He is the author of The Argument- Billionaires, Bloggers, and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics, named a notable book of 2007 by The New York Times. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
In buoyant, vivid prose..."All the Truth Is Out"gives the reader a
visceral appreciation of how our political discourse has changed in
the last two and a half decades, and how those changes reflect
broader cultural and social shifts .Mr. Bai adroitly shows us how
an array of forces was converging to change the dynamics of
political coverage.
Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times
" Compelling .Bai s superb book provokes many questions, and I
gulped it down in a single sitting.
Ken Auletta, "The New Yorker"
"All the Truth Is Out" offers a terrific portrait of how news gets
made It s riveting, a slow-motion car crash [with] shrewd
observations on the miserable state of contemporary political
journalism (and politicians) .The media, as Hart experienced, pick
and choose raw material from an individual life and fashion an
image that often bears only a slim resemblance to the human being
behind it. What matters is not who someone really is or what he has
done. What matters is the symbolic need he meets.
"Salon
" A miniclassic of political journalism that will restart the
debate of 1987.
" "Jack Shafer, "The New York Times Book Review"
If you like political thrillers, if you like dramatic novels about
the world of power and personality, you re going to love the new
book "All the Truth Is Out."
"The Michael Medved Show"
Bai doesn t just make an argument: He tells the juicy Hart story
all over again, right down to the oil-stained alley in which
reporters cornered the candidate and interrogated him about the
blonde in his apartment. Bai s important call for perspective is a
reminder to all of us in the press and the electorate to recognize
the complexity of the human condition, whether we re casting aside
candidates because they wear a funny helmet in a tank or because
they once committed adultery.
"Slate"
"
" Gary Hart. Remember him: the presidential contender who rode a
boat named"Monkey Business"into a media whirlpool? You should, as
[this] book makes clear. And the reason isn t so much the scandal
that swallowed him or his particular exit from the campaign arena.
It s the warning that his story sounded about a new brutality on
the campaign trail, about uncharted waters of media invasiveness
and about the way both would wind up culling the herd, not in favor
of the strongest candidates but in favor of those so driven or
vacuous that the caress of the spotlight redeems the indignities of
the process.
Frank Bruni, "The New York Times
"
Fast-moving [and] vivid .This book will tell you a lot about what
politics asks of and takes out of people, and about the highly
imperfect ways in which we now assess character and substance when
choosing our leaders.
"The Atlantic
"
Matt Baiis right to see the story of Gary Hart s downfall as a
singular moment in American politics.
"The Washington Post"
You think you know it all: Donna Rice, Monkey Business, Hart
taunting the press. You don t. The combustible mix of new
technology and politics was birthed in [the 1987] presidential
campaign, and there was no turning back.
"NPR
" Bai tells [Hart s] story with details that only great reporting
can provide.
"L. A. Times"
An introspective book that is set in another era but offers
insights into ours Bai says what is obvious that the Donna Rice
furor irreparably hurt Hart but he also says what is less obvious,
and very wise: that it hurt us all.
"The Boston Globe"
This book isn t just for politicos. It is a must read for anyone
interested in contemporary politics and media.
"The Christian Science Monitor"
If you think you know what happened to Gary Hart, read this book .A
volume of insight and wisdom, an uncommon page-turner about the
turning points we don t recognize until we re too far beyond them
to turn back.
"Star Tribune"
"A masterfully written account...this first-rate work of political
journalism will fan embers long thought to have gone out."
"Publishers Weekly, "starred review
Bai shows that he is [Richard Ben] Cramer s worthy successor his
important cautionary tale will resonate with journalists and
members of the media as well as with political players and readers
of current history.
"Library Journal," starred review
Vivid, suspenseful, instructive There are so many good stories in
"All the Truth Is Out," it s hard not to keep telling them.
"The Citizen-Times
"
Bai s title embodies the wry humor and empathy that makes "All the
Truth Is Out" such a compelling read...The truth Bai is after is
something larger and more substantial. Bai argues that Hart s fall
unleashed what President Bill Clinton would later call the politics
of personal destruction, and that the fixation of the media on the
ill-defined character issue constituted a tragedy for the entire
country.
"Columbia Journalism Review
" Perhaps you re one of the many millions who believe something has
gone sadly wrong in national politics .If so, "All the Truth Is
Out" is for you.
"The Dallas Morning News"
A new look at a scandal that changed American politics [a] probing
narrative.
"Kirkus"
Digging deep into a long-ago, mis-remembered scandal, Matt Bai has
written an acutely intelligent and surprisingly moving page-turner
about Gary Hart, journalistic blindness, and the trivialization of
American politics.
George Packer, author of "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the
New America
"
In the tradition of his friend Richard Ben Cramer, Matt Bai
astonishes us by delving deeply into a story and thus overturning
our views about how the press should cover politics. This
fascinating and deeply significant tale shows how the rules of
American politics and journalism were upended for the worse by the
frenzied coverage of Gary Hart s personal life. The soot still
darkens our political process.
Walter Isaacson, author of "Steve Jobs"
A finely written, strikingly mature and thoughtful revisitation of
the tawdry episode that destroyed Gary Hart s promising political
career. It would have been enough for Matt Bai just to tell that
story, or to assess what it cost those directly involved, including
the journalists sucked into it, but he goes much further, weighing
its profound cost to us all. "All the Truth Is Out" is in the
impressive tradition of "Nixon Agonistes," only with a dramatic
personal narrative at its core. I could not admire it more.
Mark Bowden, author of "Black Hawk Down"
What a tally of loss is to be found in this passionate and
unsparing book about a turning point in modern America an insider s
account, brilliantly told by one of America s finest political
journalists.
Lawrence Wright, author of"The Looming Tower
"
As an account of an emblematic scandal what we knew, thought we
knew, and never knew till now Matt Bai s"All the Truth Is Out"is
funny, sad, and riveting. As a work of cultural history and
criticism, it is splendid a clear-eyed but wholehearted exploration
of the forces that have given us our (often disastrous)
contemporary notions of campaign coverage, leadership, character,
privacy, and redemption.
Margaret Talbot, author of"The Entertainer
"
The kerfuffle about alleged sexual impropriety that torpedoed Gary
Hart s presidential bid in 1987 drove an uncommonly promising
leader from public life. It also helped to spawn the gotcha
journalism that has ever since sacrificed propriety and substance
on the altars of prurience and sleaze. Fueled by a keen reverence
for the finest traditions of his craft, Matt Bai revisits the sorry
tale of Hart s humiliation to measure the depths of journalism s
debasement today, and the harm it continues to inflict on American
democracy.
David M. Kennedy, author of "The American Pageant"
What makes "All the Truth Is Out" such an extraordinary achievement
is that the reader is spellbound by every unfolding detail, in the
manner of a crime novel even while, as Matt Bai makes all too
clear, the true crime of the Gary Hart saga is how politics and
journalism descended hand in hand into a gotcha netherworld from
whence it s unlikely to return.
Robert Draper, author of "When the Tea Party Came to Town
"
With extraordinary care and rare insight, Matt Bai leads us from
the unraveling of Gary Hart s presidential campaign in 1987 to the
present day a trail that has brought American politics to a truly
sad state.
Robert B. Reich, author of "Aftershock"
Important and compassionate.
Ted Koppel"
""All the Truth Is Out" offers a terrific portrait of how news gets
made...It's riveting, a slow-motion car crash...[with] shrewd
observations on the miserable state of contemporary political
journalism (and politicians)....The media, as Hart experienced,
pick and choose raw material from an individual life and fashion an
image that often bears only a slim resemblance to the human being
behind it. What matters is not who someone really is or what he has
done. What matters is the symbolic need he meets."
--"Salon"
"Important and compassionate."
--Ted Koppel, "NPR"
"Gary Hart. Remember him: the presidential contender who rode a
boat named "Monkey Business" into a media whirlpool? You should, as
[this] book...makes clear. And the reason isn't so much the scandal
that swallowed him or his particular exit from the campaign arena.
It's the warning that his story sounded--about a new brutality on
the campaign trail, about uncharted waters of media invasiveness
and about the way both would wind up culling the herd, not in favor
of the strongest candidates but in favor of those so driven or
vacuous that the caress of the spotlight redeems the indignities of
the process."
--Frank Bruni, "The New York Times
""Bai...tells [Hart's] story with details that only great reporting
can provide."
--"L. A. Times"
"An introspective book that is set in another era but offers
insights into ours...Bai says what is obvious--that the Donna Rice
furor irreparably hurt Hart--but he also says what is less obvious,
and very wise: that it hurt us all."
--"The Boston Globe"
"If you think you know what happened to Gary Hart, read this
book....A volume of insight and wisdom, an uncommon page-turner
about the turning points we don't recognize until we're too far
beyond them to turn back."
--"Star Tribune"
"A masterfully written account...this first-rate work of political
journalism will fan embers long thought to have gone out."
--"Publishers Weekly, " starred review
"Bai shows that he is [Richard Ben] Cramer's worthy successor--his
important cautionary tale will resonate with journalists and
members of the media as well as with political players and readers
of current history."
--"Library Journal," starred review
"Vivid, suspenseful, instructive...There are so many good stories
in "All the Truth Is Out," it's hard not to keep telling them."
--"The Citizen-Times
"
"Bai's title embodies the wry humor and empathy that makes "All the
Truth Is Out" such a compelling read...The truth Bai is after is
something larger and more substantial. Bai argues that Hart's fall
unleashed what President Bill Clinton would later call the
'politics of personal destruction, ' and that the fixation of the
media on the ill-defined 'character issue' constituted a tragedy
for the entire country."
--"Columbia Journalism Review"
"A new look at a scandal that changed American politics...[a]
probing narrative."
--"Kirkus"
"Digging deep into a long-ago, mis-remembered scandal, Matt Bai has
written an acutely intelligent and surprisingly moving page-turner
about Gary Hart, journalistic blindness, and the trivialization of
American politics."
--George Packer, author of "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the
New America
"
"In the tradition of his friend Richard Ben Cramer, Matt Bai
astonishes us by delving deeply into a story and thus overturning
our views about how the press should cover politics. This
fascinating and deeply significant tale shows how the rules of
American politics and journalism were upended for the worse by the
frenzied coverage of Gary Hart's personal life. The soot still
darkens our political process."
--Walter Isaacson, author of "Steve Jobs"
"A finely written, strikingly mature and thoughtful revisitation of
the tawdry episode that destroyed Gary Hart's promising political
career. It would have been enough for Matt Bai just to tell that
story, or to assess what it cost those directly involved, including
the journalists sucked into it, but he goes much further, weighing
its profound cost to us all. "All the Truth Is Out" is in the
impressive tradition of "Nixon Agonistes," only with a dramatic
personal narrative at its core. I could not admire it more."
--Mark Bowden, author of "Black Hawk Down"
"What a tally of loss is to be found in this passionate and
unsparing book about a turning point in modern America--an
insider's account, brilliantly told by one of America's finest
political journalists."
--Lawrence Wright, author of "The Looming Tower
"
"As an account of an emblematic scandal--what we knew, thought we
knew, and never knew till now--Matt Bai's "All the Truth Is Out" is
funny, sad, and riveting. As a work of cultural history and
criticism, it is splendid--a clear-eyed but wholehearted
exploration of the forces that have given us our (often disastrous)
contemporary notions of campaign coverage, leadership, 'character,
' privacy, and redemption."
--Margaret Talbot, author of "The Entertainer
"
"The kerfuffle about alleged sexual impropriety that torpedoed Gary
Hart's presidential bid in 1987 drove an uncommonly promising
leader from public life. It also helped to spawn the 'gotcha'
journalism that has ever since sacrificed propriety and substance
on the altars of prurience and sleaze. Fueled by a keen reverence
for the finest traditions of his craft, Matt Bai revisits the sorry
tale of Hart's humiliation to measure the depths of journalism's
debasement today, and the harm it continues to inflict on American
democracy."
--David M. Kennedy, author of "The American Pageant"
"What makes "All the Truth Is Out" such an extraordinary
achievement is that the reader is spellbound by every unfolding
detail, in the manner of a crime novel--even while, as Matt Bai
makes all too clear, the true crime of the Gary Hart saga is how
politics and journalism descended hand in hand into a 'gotcha'
netherworld from whence it's unlikely to return."
--Robert Draper, author of "When the Tea Party Came to Town
"
"With extraordinary care and rare insight, Matt Bai leads us from
the unraveling of Gary Hart's presidential campaign in 1987 to the
present day--a trail that has brought American politics to a truly
sad state."
--Robert B. Reich, author of "Aftershock
"
"A masterfully written account...this first-rate work of political
journalism will fan embers long thought to have gone out."
--"Publishers Weekly" starred review
"Gary Hart. Remember him: the presidential contender who rode a
boat named "Monkey Business" into a media whirlpool? You should, as
[this] book...makes clear. And the reason isn't so much the scandal
that swallowed him or his particular exit from the campaign arena.
It's the warning that his story sounded--about a new brutality on
the campaign trail, about uncharted waters of media invasiveness
and about the way both would wind up culling the herd, not in favor
of the strongest candidates but in favor of those so driven or
vacuous that the caress of the spotlight redeems the indignities of
the process."
--Frank Bruni, "The New York Times
"
"Important and compassionate."
--Ted Koppel, "NPR
"
"Bai's title embodies the wry humor and empathy that makes "All the
Truth Is Out" such a compelling read...The truth Bai is after is
something larger and more substantial. Bai argues that Hart's fall
unleashed what President Bill Clinton would later call the
'politics of personal destruction, ' and that the fixation of the
media on the ill-defined 'character issue' constituted a tragedy
for the entire country."
--"Columbia Journalism Review"
"A new look at a scandal that changed American politics...[a]
probing narrative."
--"Kirkus"
"Digging deep into a long-ago, mis-remembered scandal, Matt Bai has
written an acutely intelligent and surprisingly moving page-turner
about Gary Hart, journalistic blindness, and the trivialization of
American politics."
--George Packer, author of "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the
New America
"
"In the tradition of his friend Richard Ben Cramer, Matt Bai
astonishes us by delving deeply into a story and thus overturning
our views about how the press should cover politics. This
fascinating and deeply significant tale shows how the rules of
American politics and journalism were upended for the worse by the
frenzied coverage of Gary Hart's personal life. The soot still
darkens our political process."
--Walter Isaacson, author of "Steve Jobs"
"A finely written, strikingly mature and thoughtful revisitation of
the tawdry episode that destroyed Gary Hart's promising political
career. It would have been enough for Matt Bai just to tell that
story, or to assess what it cost those directly involved, including
the journalists sucked into it, but he goes much further, weighing
its profound cost to us all. "All the Truth Is Out" is in the
impressive tradition of "Nixon Agonistes," only with a dramatic
personal narrative at its core. I could not admire it more."
--Mark Bowden, author of "Black Hawk Down"
"What a tally of loss is to be found in this passionate and
unsparing book about a turning point in modern America--an
insider's account, brilliantly told by one of America's finest
political journalists."
--Lawrence Wright, author of "The Looming Tower
"
"As an account of an emblematic scandal--what we knew, thought we
knew, and never knew till now--Matt Bai's "All the Truth Is Out" is
funny, sad, and riveting. As a work of cultural history and
criticism, it is splendid--a clear-eyed but wholehearted
exploration of the forces that have given us our (often disastrous)
contemporary notions of campaign coverage, leadership, 'character,
' privacy, and redemption."
--Margaret Talbot, author of "The Entertainer
"
"The kerfuffle about alleged sexual impropriety that torpedoed Gary
Hart's presidential bid in 1987 drove an uncommonly promising
leader from public life. It also helped to spawn the 'gotcha'
journalism that has ever since sacrificed propriety and substance
on the altars of prurience and sleaze. Fueled by a keen reverence
for the finest traditions of his craft, Matt Bai revisits the sorry
tale of Hart's humiliation to measure the depths of journalism's
debasement today, and the harm it continues to inflict on American
democracy."
--David M. Kennedy, author of "The American Pageant"
"What makes "All the Truth Is Out" such an extraordinary
achievement is that the reader is spellbound by every unfolding
detail, in the manner of a crime novel--even while, as Matt Bai
makes all too clear, the true crime of the Gary Hart saga is how
politics and journalism descended hand in hand into a 'gotcha'
netherworld from whence it's unlikely to return."
--Robert Draper, author of "When the Tea Party Came to Town
"
"With extraordinary care and rare insight, Matt Bai leads us from
the unraveling of Gary Hart's presidential campaign in 1987 to the
present day--a trail that has brought American politics to a truly
sad state."
--Robert B. Reich, author of "Aftershock
"
"Digging deep into a long-ago, mis-remembered scandal, Matt Bai has
written an acutely intelligent and surprisingly moving page-turner
about Gary Hart, journalistic blindness, and the trivialization of
American politics."
--George Packer, author of "The Unwinding: An Inner History of the
New America
"
"In the tradition of his friend Richard Ben Cramer, Matt Bai
astonishes us by delving deeply into a story and thus overturning
our views about how the press should cover politics. This
fascinating and deeply significant tale shows how the rules of
American politics and journalism were upended for the worse by the
frenzied coverage of Gary Hart's personal life. The soot still
darkens our political process."
--Walter Isaacson, author of "Steve Jobs"
"A finely written, strikingly mature and thoughtful revisitation of
the tawdry episode that destroyed Gary Hart's promising political
career. It would have been enough for Matt Bai just to tell that
story, or to assess what it cost those directly involved, including
the journalists sucked into it, but he goes much further, weighing
its profound cost to us all. "All the Truth Is Out" is in the
impressive tradition of "Nixon Agonistes," only with a dramatic
personal narrative at its core. I could not admire it more."
--Mark Bowden, author of "Black Hawk Down"
"What a tally of loss is to be found in this passionate and
unsparing book about a turning point in modern America--an
insider's account, brilliantly told by one of America's finest
political journalists."
--Lawrence Wright, author of "The Looming Tower
"
"As an account of an emblematic scandal--what we knew, thought we
knew, and never knew till now--Matt Bai's "All the Truth Is Out" is
funny, sad, and riveting. As a work of cultural history and
criticism, it is splendid--a clear-eyed but wholehearted
exploration of the forces that have given us our (often disastrous)
contemporary notions of campaign coverage, leadership,
'character
"In the tradition of his friend Richard Ben Cramer, Matt Bai
astonishes us by delving deeply into a story and thus overturning
our views about how the press should cover politics. This
fascinating and deeply significant tale shows how the rules of
American politics and journalism were upended for the worse by the
frenzied coverage of Gary Hart's personal life. The soot still
darkens our political process."
--Walter Isaacson, author of "Steve Jobs"
"A finely written, strikingly mature and thoughtful revisitation of
the tawdry episode that destroyed Gary Hart's promising political
career. It would have been enough for Matt Bai just to tell that
story, or to assess what it cost those directly involved, including
the journalists sucked into it, but he goes much further, weighing
its profound cost to us all. "All the Truth Is Out" is in the
impressive tradition of "Nixon Agonistes", only with a dramatic
personal narrative at its core. I could not admire it more."
--Mark Bowden, author of "Black Hawk Down"
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