Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Politician

I love nonfiction, what I love more than non-fiction is non-fiction regarding current affairs and in this book, when I say affairs I do mean AFFAIRS.
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I had heard clips on the news about John Edwards infidelity over the years and really didn't think much of it because, sadly, it seems as though a Mistress is the latest accessory to our elected officials (I know, I should not generalize).
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One night as I idly flipped through the channels I came across the interview of Andrew Young and his wife. They proceeded to tell the interviewer of a wild story of how Andrew Young, John Edwards Aid, slowly became entangled in Edwards life and eventual John Edwards scandal and lies. For reasons beyond what I can understand, Andrew Young claimed the paternity for John Edwards love child. As a wife, I do NOT understand how Andrews wife let him get this far in over his head. Having said that, I do very much like Andrews wife. She saw Edwards for who is was from the beginning (that is why husbands should always listen to our intuition).
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Of course I wanted to hear more and rushed out to buy the book. To introduce the elephant in the room, in the prologue Andrew Young says, "My critics will say I am writing this book for money. They are partly correct. The Edwards scandal has left me practically unemployable, and as a husband and father, I have serious responsibilities I can meet by publishing my story." Then he goes on to tell the story in a very mater-of-fact way. It is not written in such detail that you get a visual, it is written in a way that he is just telling you his version of the story.
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To be honest if you watched the interview, you pretty much know all the juicy parts to the book. Overall it was a good quick read that left me feeling a bit sad. It would be very interesting if he wrote a follow-up book in 10 years. I would like to know if he thought writing this book made his life better or if it just continued the story making it worse for himself.

5 comments:

  1. I don't like nonfiction. That's kind of a sweeping statement, isn't it? I just figure I live a nonfiction life, why would I want to read about someone else's? I want pure, unadulterated untruth. The kind I could never imagine. That way I can escape reality and feel like I just vacationed. Because vacations are nonfiction for me.

    I'm glad you reviewed this book though. Now I feel like I know more than I do about the subject of John Edwards. And you did it in a way that makes me want to read the book! Especially as I am currently coming out of a terribly long and unhealthy relationship with a really stupid book.

    I miss you. The end.

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  2. I like nonfiction and have to admit to a curiosity about this book - thank you for the great review. One of the things that struck me was the quote that his career is basicially over after this. Wow. What an interesting position to be in - and probably unwillingly, at least at first.

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  3. His wife should not have agreed (I always wondered about that) but it always seemed to me that his claiming paternity and the mistress refusing a paternity test for her child spelled "red flag" and pointed to lies and cover-up.

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  4. It also shows how low Edwards sunk once he started with the lies...mistresses, children out of wedlock, using a scapegoat, arrogantly criticizing other men (Clinton) for doing what you are doing...it all starts with one lie.

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  5. I hear ya Penelope! What kind of wife would say "No problem babe! Claim paternity for that womans child!" Craziness, I tell you!

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