Believer: My Forty Years in Politics

"A portrait of political campaigning that is more like what we hope than what we fear . . . a stout defense--indeed, the best I have read--of the Obama years." --David Gergen, The New York Times Book Review

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

David Axelrod has always been a believer. Whether as a young journalist investigating city corruption, a campaign consultant guiding underdog candidates against entrenched orthodoxy, or as senior adviser to the president during one of the worst crises in American history, Axelrod held fast to his faith in the power of stories to unite diverse communities and ignite transformative political change. Now this legendary strategist, the mastermind behind Barack Obama's historic election campaigns, shares a wealth of stories from his forty-year journey through the inner workings of American democracy. Believer is the tale of a political life well lived, of a man who never gave up on the deepest promises our country has to offer.

The heart of Believer is Axelrod's twenty-year friendship with Barack Obama, a warm partnership that inspired both men even as it propelled each to great heights. Taking a chance on an unlikely candidate for the U.S. Senate, Axelrod ultimately collaborated closely Obama on his political campaigns, and served as the invaluable strategist who contributed to the tremendous victories in 2008 and 2012. Switching careers again, Axelrod served as senior adviser to the president during one of the most challenging periods in national history: working at Obama's side as he battled an economic disaster; navigated America through two wars; and fought to reform health care, the financial sector, and our gridlocked political institutions. In Believer, Axelrod offers a deeper and richer profile of this extraordinary figure--who in just four years vaulted from the Illinois State Senate to the Oval Office--from the perspective of one who was at his side every step of the way.

Spanning forty years that include corruption and transformation, turmoil and progress, Believer takes readers behind the closed doors of politics even as it offers a thrilling call to democratic action. Axelrod's Believer is a powerful and inspiring memoir enlivened by the charm and candor of one of the greatest political strategists in recent American history.

Author: David Axelrod
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 02/02/2016
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780143128359

About the Author
David Axelrod spent eight years as a reporter and columnist for the Chicago Tribune. As a political consultant, Axelrod has managed strategy for more than 150 local, state, and national campaigns. Axelrod most recently served as senior strategist to President Obama's successful reelection campaign. He served in that same role in then-Senator Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, before going on to serve in the White House as senior adviser to the president. After the 2012 campaign, Axelrod founded the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.