The most influential people in a political race aren't the campaign managers, the strategists or even the candidates themselves. In fact, you won't even find them on a campaign's list of official members or volunteers.

Enter the world of the political hitman. Few know that these operatives exist, and campaigns go to great effort to distance themselves from the people who dig up their dirt. But political hitmen wield a secretly powerful position in today's American politics, where scandals derail campaigns and negative campaigning decides who gets elected and who doesn't.

For the past twelve years, Stephen Marks has worked silently behind the scenes as one of the country's top opposition researchers: a political hitman and an assassin of reputations. Confessions of a Political Hitman is Marks's intensely personal and explosive story through more than a decade in the underbelly of American political campaigns.

From his early days in politics through his rapid movement into the secret world of opposition research, Marks discovers a talent for digging up dirt and uncovering political liabilities. His work involves a wide scope of American politics, from state governments to presidential elections to the Republican Revolution. But the exciting work soon leads to disillusionment as candidates he believed in turn out to be worse than expected, and hypocrisy abounds on both sides of the political fence. Eventually Marks finds himself living in the shadows, both politically and personally, and searching for escape.

In Confessions of a Political Hitman, Marks reveals the fascinating and incredible details of what really goes on behind the scenes in American campaigning-includingthe political realities behind the campaigns, careers and attack ads of some of Washington's heavy hitters, including George W. Bush, John Kerry, Jack Abramoff and countless others.

Confessions of a Political Hitman is one man's story about secrets, lies, hypocrisy and influence-painting a troubling picture of whom we elect and how they get elected.

"Part memoir, part industry expos, Marks's account relates how he became a Republican Party operative digging up dirt on Democratic candidates. His field goes by the name 'opposition research.' It is mostly legal, according to Marks, but usually secretive and, by his own evolving standards, frequently immoral. Marks drifted into the field during the first half of the 1990s and became a true believer in the GOP cause. The book names names and cites examples, from local races to statewide campaigns (Jeb Bush vs. Lawton Chiles) and includes contests for the U.S. Senate (Jesse Helms vs. Harvey Gantt) and U.S. House of Representatives, as well as presidential elections (Bob Dole vs. Bill Clinton and John Kerry vs. George W. Bush). Marks began writing the book after coming to doubt his vocation's ethics. Despite this turnabout, he is not an admirable whistleblower with a likable personality. Marks's tone and language drip with sleaze heightened by passages about his womanizing. In fact, that and often poor treatment of candidates and staff members might lead readers to conclude that Marks fell lower than his clients. Marks has written an important book that fills a gap in the popular literature about American politics, but it is not a pleasant read." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Beginning in 1994, the author worked as an opposition research operative for a number of Republican political campaigns, digging up dirt on their political rivals. In this memoir, he describes his activities in this role, offering a view inside some of the seamier areas of American politics. Whether the title is intentionally intended to echo the work of John Perkins or not, the reader should not expect the same sort of systemic critique found in Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, although Marks does expose a certain level of not particularly surprising corruption and muck. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

For the past 12 years, Marks has built a career as one of the countrys top opposition researchers--a political hitman and an assassin of reputations. Here, he uncovers the fascinating and unbelievable details about what really goes on behind the scenes in American campaigning.

When a politician's dark secret is exposed in the middle of a campaign, a political hitman is behind it. When a political ad airs that's so repulsive everyone talks about it, behind the scenes a political hitman has made his mark.

For the past 12 years, Stephen Marks has built a career as one of the country's top opposition researchers: a political hitman and an assassin of reputations.

This engrossing story follows Marks from his early days through his rapid movement into the secret world of opposition research. The exciting work of digging up dirt on political candidates soon turns to dirty tricks and manipulation. From creating ads linking John Kerry to Willie Horton to fleeing Florida with the Mob on his trail, Marks finds himself living in a world he cannot escape.

In Confessions of a Political Hitman, Marks uncovers the fascinating and unbelievable details about what really goes on behind the scenes in American campaigning. You'll be shocked to see the political realities that produced some of Washington's heavy hitters including George W. Bush, John Kerry, Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay and countless others.