The political columnist for 'New York' magazine goes behind the scenes of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's historic Senate bid - the unexpected campaign that is polarising the nation.
The moment famed New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement, the call went out to a First Lady who had done more than any in history to establish her own identity as a political thinker - and who had long been tempted to emerge from her husband's shadow. Hillary's decision to enter the Senate race was nonetheless a daring and unprecedented move, a lightning rod for a nation weary of the scandal she represented and yet endlessly curious about who she really was.
Now Michael Tomasky exposes the fascinating inner workings of the battle that has stolen the limelight from a lackluster presidential race - and that will remap the political landscape of the new century. Tomasky has covered the Clinton campaign since Hillary made her first tentative steps toward candidacy. Here he reveals the untold stories of how she came to run for the Senate, how Rudolph Giuliani and then Rick Lazio planned to meet her challenge, and how the rogues' gallery of New York politicians - from Al Sharpton to Al D'Amato to George Pataki - sought to reshape the race to serve their own purposes.
Filled with trenchant observations, this is a rollicking tale of hardball politics in the nation's fiercest arena.