Perhaps it's understandable: the wit and lyricism that characterize Cramer at his best may be simply unsustainable over 1097 pages. If anything, Cramer's portraits lean towards caricature. Cramer manages to refrain from building heroes out of these extraordinary narratives, though so many of the candidates' lives play on beloved 'immigrant story' or 'crippled soldier overcoming all odds'-type themes. We see these men in the first moments of their campaigns, hiring and firing and visiting speech coaches and crafting The Message we also see them as they meet their campaign albatrosses – Biden's rhetorical borrowing, Hart's rumored infidelities, Gephardt's indefinable 'weirdness.' Current political buffs will appreciate cameos by, among others, Joe Trippi – whose revolutionary campaign strategy actually debuted with Gary Hart – and Al Gore. He takes us through the candidates' childhoods and their personal tragedies. These mini-biographies are the highlight of the book, and some of Cramer's finest work. In his attempt to find out what it takes to pursue the White House, Cramer introduces us to the parents and even the grandparents of the six candidates. The book, begun in 1986 and finally published in 1992, is widely recognized as a touchstone text in modern political reporting.

Cramer follows six candidates – the first President Bush, Bob Dole, Gary Hart, Michael Dukakis, Joe Biden, and Dick Gephardt – as they set out to claim the White House, delving into the minutiae and the majesty of their political and personal lives. Richard Ben Cramer's What It Takes is a Homeric re-creation of the 1988 presidential election. Reissued by Vintage in paperback in 1993. Richard Ben Cramer, What It Takes: The Way to the White House

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Ben cramer what it takes