Inventing Al Gore: A Biography Book

Why did Al Gore, after angry opposition to the Vietnam War, submit to the draft? What happened in Vietnam that made him sullen and bitter? After renouncing politics, what set him back on the track mapped out for him? What made him claim (falsely) that he invented the Internet? How closely is he allied with the tobacco industry? What is the real nature of his partnership with Bill Clinton? How was it altered by the Lewinsky affair? Scheduled for publication during the primaries and covering Gore's career up to his current presidential bid, Inventing Al Gore addresses these issues and more. It is sure to be the most up-to-date, revealing appraisal of the man who would, and perhaps will, be president. Bill Turque, a national correspondent for Newsweek who covered both of Gore's previous presidential campaigns and the Clinton White House, has gained unrivaled access to Gore's key advisers, friends, and family. He unveils a man who in private can sing and dance to George Strait's music but in public measures every comment and gesture with near-pathological caution. As Turque details, Gore's great political albatross - a lack of empathy - was hatched during his lonely childhood. Turque's unstintingly keen analysis also uncovers the genesis of Gore's questionable fundraising and of a political platform laden with dense, emotionally safe planks such as bioethics, global warming, and the Internet. Inventing Al Gore reveals Gore to be one of the most intelligent, idealistic men in Washington, yet one who is repeatedly prone to prevarication, exaggeration, and avoidance of hard issues. Turque offers meticulous, colorful, insightful details that will sharpen the debate over whether Gore can outgrow his limitations and realize his vision as president.