Greenberg (The Two Americas
), polling adviser to Gerhard Schröder and Al Gore, among others, recounts his experiences working for five world leaders during their campaigns and governance. He begins with a candid look at his first major campaign, Bill Clinton's 1992 victorious run for the presidency. Greenberg went on to work with many others, including Nelson Mandela in his presidential run, Tony Blair as he unveiled “New Labour” (modeled on Clinton's New Democrat strategy, which Greenberg helped to create) and Ehud Barak's attempts to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. While there is plenty of talk about focus groups and polling numbers, Greenberg doesn't get bogged down in jargon, and the strength of the book lies in his insider perspective on the leaders who helped shape this century. He astutely assesses their strengths and weaknesses to discover why some succeeded and others failed in bringing their governing vision to fruition. Perhaps his most important contribution is his perspective on the role of pollsters, which he sees as bringing public opinion into the realm of politics, as he writes, “The fundamental lesson is that people matter because elections matter.” (Feb.)
