Jim's Reviews > Rachel Maddow: A Biography

This was a very quick read, at only 219 pages, published in 2019. I have to admit that I don't have cable and have never seen one of Maddow's shows. From clips I've seen of her, I have been impressed by her talent for explaining things and trying to make things understandable for a large audience. Very unique. And the fact that she does not dumb herself down and respects the intelligence of her listeners impresses me greatly, especially as I have been a teacher.. As the bio also points out, she adds humor to her presentations which, naturally, makes it easier to follow her arguments.
I was most interested in her life growing up in a conservative town in California and how she got into her career. She had planned to be an activist but took a job as a radio DJ in a small Massachusetts town and discovered that she liked the job, then going from radio to TV... I'm most impressed by her "overpreparation" for her programs, how hard she works and the hours she puts in to put together an hour show. Certainly a very driven person. How many people can do what she does and do it so well? Not me!
I give the book 3 stars. I learned a lot about Maddow, but there is not really much depth to the book. It doesn't get into some of the issues that she's talked about. But, after all, that isn't the purpose of the book... Still, Lisa Rogak's book is good for what it is.