The first biography of the most popular anchor in cable news. Rachel Maddow has beaten the odds in a way that’s novel in today’s America: she uses her brain. In a world of banal and opinionated soundbites, she regularly crushes Sean Hannity’s ratings thanks to her deeply researched reports. And in our highly polarized world, Maddow amiably engages the staunchest conservatives, while never … conservatives, while never hesitating to expose their light-on-facts defenses.
As a result, she’s become the top anchor for MSNBC and a beloved representative for all that progressive America holds dear. The news that Maddow was the first publicly-out lesbian to anchor a prime-time TV news show seemed almost anticlimactic to her millions of viewers, who will be surprised and intrigued by little-known details of her life, as written by New York Times bestselling biographer Lisa Rogak.
Growing up in a conservative California town – and viewing herself as a perennial outsider – helped spark an early interest in activism. After attending Stanford and Oxford, she opted for a minimum-wage job as a radio DJ in a tiny Massachusetts market while finishing her Ph.D. She planned to pursue a career as an activist, but 9/11 changed all that, so she returned to local radio where she could help listeners by “explaining stuff.” A stint at Air America raised her national profile, which led to her groundbreaking MSNBC show where she dissects the news of the day with an approach found nowhere else on TV.
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I have watched Rachel Maddow as a news anchor for cable news for as long as I can remember. I found her to be intelligent, fascinating and can really breakdown complex issues foreign to be in bite size pieces that I can comprehend. This book was a really exciting read for me to learn more about the person I admired.
This biography by Lisa Rogak really was well written in telling the story of Maddow, a top anchor for MSNBC, as a member of the LGBTQ community and well loved by millions of progressives. I thought that the writing was superb and well researched and very thorough. It is an amazing biography that is presented very well and told a wonderful story of what made her who she is today.
I highly recommend this biography to learn about a well beloved icon.
Maddow has impressed me with her cogent and reasoned narratives in explaining news stories. Earlier this year I read her book Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russian, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth in which she explains the gas and oil industry’s influence and power and how Putin’s goal of becoming a gas and oil supplier to Europe and the world has impacted current American politics. I count it as one of the best 2019 books I read..
I was late to discovering Rachel Maddow in spite of her popularity as I don’t care for most cable and network news shows featuring a personality. I prefer print media sources.
In 2015, I followed the Michigan online newspaper Bridge stories on the Flint, Michigan lead water crisis. Maddow turned this local story into national news. She publicized the decisions by Flint’s emergency managers which bought about the contamination and hosted a live Town Hall meeting in Flint. Maddow caught my attention at this time.
When St. Martin’s Press offered me a chance to read Rachel Maddow: A Biography by Lisa Rogak I was very pleased. I knew I had a lot to learn about Maddow.
I was disappointed when Rogak’s coverage of Maddow’s involvement was a few sentences. I hoped for more insight, especially since this showed Maddow’s activist side as well as her penchant for finding buried news.
I did learn about Maddow as a person, her early activism, her work habits, and her overall career. It was no surprise to learn that Maddow’s deep intelligence and perfectionist drive was manifest from childhood.
The portrayal leans heavy on the personal. I had no idea of Maddow’s struggle with depression or even of her earlier activism in AIDS and LBGT organizations. I knew she was lesbian and have noted her handsome, no-frills style. Maddow’s wardrobe choices take up too much space, her preference for hoodies and sneakers mentioned several times. I appreciate that Maddow found the love of her life.
I preferred the sections which described her ability to put personal politics aside and her reasoned interactions with people whose political views were vastly divergent from her own.
I wish the author had been able to include a section on Blowout.
I loved the quote about Maddow’s dislike of cable news hosts as ‘brands’ and her comment on how some even profess opinions just for attention and to draw viewers. Maddow sees her role as offering “a useful analysis” to help viewers “come to their own conclusions.” I love that! That is my ideal.
The biography has reinforced my estimation of Maddow.
I was given an Advanced Reading Copy by the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I am a big fan of Rachel Maddow and already knew most of contents of this biography. That didn’t lessen my enjoyment reading this look at her life. She is an incredibly talented woman, one of those special people to have on your list that you whip out when somebody asks you who would be you list of guests at your dream dining table. She will always be on my list.
As for the writing and the content, I did wish it had had more depth with interviews from friends, family and associates. When the time comes for Rachel Maddow to write her autobiography – I hope she does write one – I will be eager to read it and learn more of what makes her tick. Until then, this is a good read and the writing style has a comfortable flow.