The Value of Presidential Candidate Autobiographies

Everything we hear/read/watch on the news has a perspective. That's not necessarily a good or bad thing -- it is simply the nature of the media. Any media -- not just the modern media. There's no way to avoid it. Unless you're getting your "news" from the horse's mouth, it's going to come to you through the filter of someone else's opinion.

For this reason, when I was trying to make up my mind in the 2004 presidential election, I benefited from carefully reading the candidates' autobiographies. It was wonderful to hear them say precisely what they wanted to say, and I enjoyed thinking about the different ways they chose to portray themselves. And all this, without having to worry about policing the filter. (Obviously the candidates write from their own biased perspectives . . . but how they go about constructing their own filters is, in itself, thought-provoking.)

We have quite a raft of presidential candidates this election year! North Carolina's primary is Tuesday, May 6. Since I'm registered as "unaffiliated," I get to choose which party's primary I want to vote in. That means extra books for my (aspirational) reading list.

Let's begin the list with one of the candidates who is tied for first in the "most books published" contest.*

Books by John McCain:
1. Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them (2007)
2. Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember (2005)
3. Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life (2004)
4. Worth the Fighting For: A Memoir (2002)
5. Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir (2000)

Stay tuned to find out who is tied with McCain for the lead.

*For purposes of the contest, I am not considering such classics as McCain's 1997 bestseller, Impact of Emerging Trade Issues on U.S. Consumers: Hearing Before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation or his 1992 smash hit, Forging a Military Youth Corps: A Military-Youth Service Partnership for High School Dropouts: The Final Report of the CSIS Panel. We're interested mass-media offerings here -- i.e. books Lily might actually read.