Book Review: Going Rogue by Sarah Palin and Lynn Vincent

Although I have been involved in a few political campaigns, I am passionate over certain political issues, and I make it a point to vote in every major election, I don't consider myself to be an extremely political person. I don't mind talking about politics (or "religion", the two things you're not supposed to talk about), but it just isn't one of the things I really get excited over. I don't usually read political books, magazines, or articles.

Therefore, I didn't know much about Sarah Palin before reading this book. However, I'm glad I did.

The book began by describing Palin's early years as a typical American girl who is obviously proud of her Alaskan childhood. She gives us a sense of what it was like growing up in America's Last Frontier in the 60's and 70's. She had a happy family life, evident in the memories she shares of her parents, grandparents, and siblings.  

One thing I especially enjoyed reading about was how she became a Christian. I admire her for her boldness in proclaiming her faith and her trust in God in all aspects of her life. Several times throughout the book Palin refers to the fact that it is God who has planned her future and that she desires to follow Him and rely on Him for everything.

Palin also writes about her husband and five children and some of the adventures they have shared in their lives together.

The next part of the book talks about Palin's early political career, from city council to city mayor, and eventually her stint as governor of Alaska.

There is then a section on the campaign for vice-president and, finally, a chapter and epilogue which contains, in my opinion, the best parts of the book: Palin's views on where we are as a nation and where we should be heading. This is the section where she gets into what has made our country great (with a heavy emphasis on the Reagan administration) and the steps she considers necessary to get us out of recession and moving forward into "freedom and prosperity."

There were times when I was reading the book that I thought Palin was griping about her detractors a little too much (one blog called it "whining"). But in a lot of the cases she mentioned I felt that I was finally getting "the other side of the story" instead of what I usually hear on the evening news about what is happening on the political scene. I have read that there are several untruths in this book, but I can't tell if this is people really trying to set the record straight, or if they are just people who don't like Palin and are attempting to discredit her.

I enjoyed the stories Palin told about her husband, Todd, and her children. I can relate to much of what she said because I, too, am a working mother of five who is attempting to do what is best for her children. Sometimes I felt sorry for her family because of the sacrifices they had to make, but it is apparent that they have been very supportive of her and her efforts.

As I finished reading, I came away with the sense of hope and of thankfulness to God that politicians like Sarah Palin do exist (although I don't think Palin would want to be called a politician because of the bad connotation it has received). I am also thankful that we have a government where the people can decide on who will lead our country, even though I am not happy about Obama being that person. I'm glad we have only three more years until we can possibly replace him with someone better. And I am convinced that someone like Sarah Palin (or John McCain) would make a good choice.

This book is good reading for anyone wanting to know Sarah Palin more, regardless of your political viewpoint. If you cannot (or will not) read it all, at least read Chapter Six, Epilogue, and  "A View from Alaska." Those sections make the whole book worth the read.

Other reviews of Going Rogue (pro and con):

Bookwired
Jezebel
Basil and Spice
MichNews
Brenia

(Unfortunately, there were several negative reviews that I could not provide links for because of the vulgar language used in them. It's sad that some people cannot write dissenting reviews without such words.)