Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow is a fantastic book and a must buy for the holidays. It is well written and well researched. A must read.

Rachel Maddow is one of our favorite people. She tells it the way she sees it. 


Coming from California in one of the only tiny Red sections of the state, she quickly outgrew the conservative beliefs of her hometown and has always considered herself an outsider. 


This is a good look at some of her family and personal life, as well as the story of how she became the top anchor at MSNBC and the only one that our current president never calls out! Why? Because this woman researches everything. She loves shining the light on the things politicians don't want us to see or talk about.


She is respectful of all of her guests, no matter the political affiliation. I think this is one of the many things we admire her for. She isn't putting on a show or being flashy, she's showing you and explaining the facts. Just the facts. And for that, we watch her every time she is on the air.


Rachel does not just spout opinions, she walks us through the tangled web of politics today and helps us understand the FACTS. 






NetGalley/ January 7th, 2020 by Thomas Dunne Books

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Review I am a huge Rachel fan. Her ability to tell a story in an enlightening and factual way is incredible. I was happy to learn about her educational background as well as her passions. Great book.

I enjoyed this book and learned quite a bit about Rachel. It's an easy read and well worth the time. I look forward to Rogak's next work.

Rachel Maddow's TV show is consistently engaging and informative, but this real life visit into her life was fantastic. Its always interesting to get to know your favorite TV host a bit better and to hear what makes Rachel Maddow tick was just that.

I always respected Rachel Maddow as a host, commentator, and storyteller, but after reading this book- especially Maddow’s overall approach to life and the demands she places upon herself with her show- I have even more respect for her as a person. The author showcased the many facets of Rachel Maddow, not only the commentator and activist, but also the funny and quirky side.
This was a very informative and interesting biography.

I was interested in reading the Rachel Maddow book by Lisa Rogak because Rachel grew up about 20 minutes from where I grew up (I am 7 years older than Rachel.) It was interesting to hear about her early years and her time on Air America. I used to listen to that radio station and had no idea she was one of the radio hosts.

There were several quotes from Rachel, which showed her senses of humor. In watching her on her show, I’ve always felt she had a great sense of humor, and the book does prove that. She appears to be super down to earth and approachable. She is a hard worker, has a passion for social issues, and doesn’t take no for an answer. As Rachel states in the book, she has found what she loves to do and is good at doing it.

Overall, a pretty good book to get to know how Rachel got to be where she is today.
#NetGalley

In the interests of transparency, I think Rachel Maddow is brilliant, and I watch her most evenings, confident that I will learn something. Lisa Rogak tracks Maddow’s life from birth to her current status as the most watched cable anchor. I think much of Maddow’s personal trials and tribulations intentionally remain in the shadows. It must be challenging to write a biography about a current journalist who is in her prime, with years ahead to further her profession and live her life, without much time or interest in defining who and why she is for the general public.

After reading this book, I did not know much more about “Rachel, the Person” than I did before. I did learn a lot more about the making of a television news show, the anchor’s commendable ethics in choosing stories and telling them, her respect for others and her ability to interview without directing anger or ridicule towards her guest. She is one of the few television journalists left who place greater importance on informing the public, rather than merely influencing it.

This is an important book to read if you consume any amount of cable news. It will help you understand the how and why of what you watch. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was my pleasure!

In this biography, RACHEL MADDOW, by Lisa Rogak, it quickly become clear that Rachel Maddow is a driven and unique person. From a young woman, she becomes borderline obsessively involved in what she is passionate about, be it AIDS patient care, politics and political policy, or creating the highest quality nightly show every day. Rogak chronicles Rachel Maddow's life prior to her show, how she started in the radio part time, then to Air America radio, then to what is part of the zeitgeist of American political television, "The Rachel Maddow Show". Rogak, using previous interviews, pieces together Maddow's personal life: how she escapes the city every week to unwind with her partner and how Rachel has learned how to deal with her depression. Rogak paints a pictures of a woman who never stops; she always seems to be working on something, finishing something else, and thinking of the next topic or issue to tackle next and only with her designed breaks and escapes, does Rachel not work every moment of every day.
Rogak writes in detail about Maddow's look presentation on her show and how Rachel is very particular about how she looks and wants to look as professional and yet minimalist as possible so that she garners respect without \ actually making any statements or distractions visually that would lessen the impact of the information delivery on her show. Throughout the book, Rogak also created the persona of Rachel that she is the polar opposite of the typical TV personality, she is committed to delivering her message each night and circumstances lead her to television because she could connect to more people that most other mediums. Having a unique interview for the book would have provided a connection between the writer and Maddow and lacking that, at times, left the book feeling like a aggregation of interviews and articles instead of a true biography.
RACHEL MADDOW, by Lisa Rogak, does a good job walking the reader through the life of Rachel Maddow and creates a definitive idea of what makes Rachel the one-of-a-kind person that is compelled to inform and educate our society as well as she can and as often as she can.

First book of 2020!!

This was a fairly short read (just about 200 pages), on a person I greatly admire. I watched her show for years, but now listen to it while commuting to and from work each day. I didn't really know much about her as a person so I jumped at the chance to read this to get to know her better. I was surprised many times at how much she isn't that typical liberal. In listening to her show, I feel that she is very fair in getting at the truth (no matter at whose expense it is (liberal/conservative)) and criticizing corrupt behavior and those people who work against the common interests of everyone in our country. However, she is much more down the middle than I realized and that only makes me respect her more. Her whole goal in life is to provide information to her fellow citizens about things that aren't getting the headlines so as to inform. Her preparation for everything she does is borderline obsessive and unhealthy, but that is the only way she can do it. It must come at a great personal toll on her health mentally and physically (and I now will try to stifle my feelings of annoyance when she takes the day off), but she has taught me something almost every time I listen to her and for that I am thankful.

I think the biggest takeaway I'd like to mention is that if you write her off as the lead talking head of an ultra liberal network then you are sorely mistaken. If anything, this book further illustrates to me that we all are too quick to judge each other and put people in boxes based on certain characteristics. Rachel had great relationships with people you would be surprised at (i.e. Tucker Carlson and Pat Buchanan) despite her steadfast disagreement with their policy positions. I even scratch my head at some of her reasonings, but that is the point, isn't it?

My one slight criticism is that I wish there would have been a chapter that was more current. It sounds like this kind of ended in mid 2018, but a lot has changed (particularly with people Rachel had close relationships with of conservative views) and I'm very curious how those relationships have evolved with those changes. Are those people unrecognizable to her? Or does she still find a way to bridge the political divide?

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Dunne Books and Lisa Rogak for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

Review Date: 01/01/2020
Publication Date: 01/07/2020

Rachel Maddow has been my favorite on-air news reporter/personality for many years. This well-written and well-researched book further solidified my interest in Maddow's work. She not only tells it like it is but she has the less than ideal background to have true empathy for others. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to know more about Maddow's life and career.

it is always so amazing to be able to take a peek into the life of someone you admire. This book does that in spades. When you are so used to watching someone, it is sometimes hard to remember the humanity and that they had to start somewhere. This book does a wonderful job of clearly going over everything while still making it seem engaging and real.