Synopses & Reviews
The story of Andrew Cuomo's political life reads like a novel, and for the first time that story will be told in THE CONTENDER-a no-holds-barred biography by Vanity Fair writer Michael Shnayerson. In many ways, Cuomo's rise, fall and rise again is an iconic narrative: the story of the young American politician of vaunting ambition, aiming for nothing less than the presidency. Like many other politicians, Cuomo had to come back from seeming political death and reinvent himself. He did so, brilliantly, by running to become New York's attorney general, and compiling a record of significant cases that focused on public corruption. He then ran for, and won, the governorship in 2010, promising to clean up America's most dysfunctional legislature.
In THE CONTENDER Shnayerson also digs deep into Cuomo's fascinating personal life-from his marriage to Kerry Kennedy to his relationship with Sandra Lee. Cuomo remains one of the country's most potent and impressive political leaders, about whom pundits tend to agree that the White House is not a question of whether, but when. With Cuomo's reelection this November, everyone is going to be buzzing that he is a rising star for 2016. We are publishing to capitalize on this national interest at what will be kickoff of the next Presidential election.
Synopsis
A no-holds-barred biography of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Andrew Cuomo is the protagonist of an ongoing political saga that reads like a novel. In many ways, his rise, fall, and rise again is an iconic story: a young American politician of vaunting ambition, aiming for nothing less than the presidency. Building on his father's political success, a first run for governor in 2002 led to a stinging defeat, and a painful, public divorce from Kerry Kennedy, scion of another political dynasty, Cuomo had to come back from seeming political death and reinvent himself.
He did so, brilliantly, by becoming New York's attorney general, and compiling a record that focused on public corruption. In winning the governorship in 2010, he promised to clean up America's most corrupt legislature. He is blunt and combative, the antithesis of the glad-handing, blow-dried senator or governor who tries to please one and all. He's also proven he can make his legislature work, alternately charming and arm-twisting his colleagues with a talent for political strategy reminiscent of President Lyndon Johnson. Political pundits tend to agree that for Cuomo, a run for the White House is not a question of whether, but when.
Synopsis
Andrew Cuomo is the protagonist of an ongoing political saga that reads like a novel. In many ways, his rise, fall, and rise again is an iconic story: a young American politician of vaunting ambition, aiming for nothing less than the presidency. Building on his father's political success, a first run for governor in 2002 led to a stinging defeat, and a painful, public divorce from Kerry Kennedy, scion of another political dynasty, Cuomo had to come back from seeming political death and reinvent himself.
He did so, brilliantly, by becoming New York's attorney general, and compiling a record that focused on public corruption. In winning the governorship in 2010, he promised to clean up America's most corrupt legislature. He is blunt and combative, the antithesis of the glad-handing, blow-dried senator or governor who tries to please one and all. He's also proven he can make his legislature work, alternately charming and arm-twisting his colleagues with a talent for political strategy reminiscent of President Lyndon Johnson. Political pundits tend to agree that for Cuomo, a run for the White House is not a question of whether, but when.
About the Author
Michael Shnayerson became a contributing editor at Vanity Fair in 1986 and has since written more than 75 stories for the magazine, most recently reporting on the environmental hazards in the U.S., and investigating the likelihood of hacking into voting machines. He began his career in 1976 as a reporter at the Santa Fe Reporter and moved to Time as a staff writer in 1978. In 1980 he became editor in chief of Avenue. He has been a consulting editor at Condé Nast Traveler since its inception in 1987. Shnayerson is the author of Irwin Shaw: A Biography (Putnam, 1989) and The Car That Could: The Inside Story of GM's Revolutionary Electric Vehicle (Random House, 1996), which was named one of the best business books of 1996 by BusinessWeek; and he is the co-author, with Mark J. Plotkin, of The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria (Little, Brown, 2002) and co-author of Harry Belafonte's memoir My Song (Knopf, 2011).