Scripted for Change: The Institutionalization of the American Presidency Book

Here we go...a book where I had to Google the cover to make sure I knew the meaning of the word "mendacity." I did. In my dying Borders (or in two dying Borders -- I had to wait until this book was 50% off) I opened a few pages and WOW. I was back to reading Harpers Magazine, in book form. The four or five pages I thumbed through were scathing -- they completely matched my mood about current affairs. I picked up the book for $12.50.

I read this book in two whirlwind sessions, about four months apart. Herein lies the book's problem. Mr. Hodge would have done better to spend less time on a single witty, cleverly crafted history lesson on the differences between (Jeffersonian / Madisonian) Republicanism vs. Hamiltonian Federalism. Instead, your eyes will glaze over at points between pages 110ish to 235. Whither Barack Obama? By devoting so many pages to the 18th and early 19th centuries, the author overemphasizes the preamble of his argument, and at times loses the point of the book.

But this book deserves four stars. I read through it in two whirlwind sessions, so you can, too. During the final chapter and a half, the pages flew by and I caught myself alternating between chuckles and exclaiming, "hell yes!" to nobody in particular. If you want "easy to read," check out "The Redneck Manifesto," which I have previously reviewed. If you want current affairs, stick to magazines (books are so out of date). But if you want a good, scholarly argument about what's wrong with this country and how we should all get over our differences and fix it, check this one out. It's a good read, and now I can use the word "mendacity."