Overview

Alpha Dogs tells the gripping story of the remarkable group of men who invented modern politics and turned 'spin' into a global phenomenon.David Sawyer dreamed of a career as a film-maker; Scott Miller, the son of a shoe salesman, was a brilliant copywriter. Unlikely partners, together they became a political powerhouse. Directing democratic revolutions from the Philippines to Chile, steering a dozen presidents and prime ministers into office, and instilling the campaign ethic in corporate giants from Coca-Cola to Apple, the consultants of Sawyer-Miller were the Manhattan Project of spin politics.In this pulsating book, James Harding tells the story of the men whose political savvy, entrepreneurial drive and sheer greed came to alter the landscape of global politics. Alpha Dogs charts the creation of a new style of political campaigning and its triumph across the world.'Fascinating' Peter Preston, Observer'As an analysis of one of the prime unseen forces behind modern politics, Alpha Dogs is an unremittingly rich source of entertainment.' Jonathan O'Brien, Sunday Business Post'Alpha Dogs holds the reader's attention like the most deliciously odious political attack ad. Fortunately, the book is also honest and perceptive.' The Economist

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Reviews

[A] stinging new book... - Newsweek   Alpha Dogs  holds the reader's attention like the most deliciously odious political attack ad...The book is also honest and perceptive. - The Economist   This absorbing first book by the editor of the Times tells the story of Sawyer-Miller, a pioneering and hugely influential campaigning company in the US that laid the foundations for our modern methods of politics and made 'spin' a global phenomenon. - The Bookseller  “James Harding’s Alpha Dogs is one of those wonderful books that takes you to a time and place you may not know much about but where life as we know it was changed in real and lasting ways. This inside story of how American-style political spin was sold to the world is a fascinating and insightful glimpse into the clockwork of global power. What’s more, it’s a great read featuring complex characters, high stakes, and drama. They’ve tried to make movies about this sort

""[A] stinging new book..."" - ""Newsweek "" """"Alpha Dogs"" holds the reader's attention like the most deliciously odious political attack ad...The book is also honest and perceptive."" - ""The Economist """""" ""This absorbing first book by the editor of the Times tells the story of Sawyer-Miller, a pioneering and hugely influential campaigning company in the US that laid the foundations for our modern methods of politics and made 'spin' a global phenomenon."" - ""The Bookseller"""""" “James Harding’s ""Alpha Dogs"" is one of those wonderful books that takes you to a time and place you may not know much about but where life as we know it was changed in real and lasting ways. This inside story of how American-style political spin was sold to the world is a fascinating and insightful glimpse into the clockwork of global power. What’s more, it’s a great read featuring complex characters, high stakes, and drama. They’ve tried to make movies about this sort ""[A] stinging new book..."" - ""Newsweek"" """"Alpha Dogs"" holds the reader's attention like the most deliciously odious political attack ad...The book is also honest and perceptive."" - ""The Economist """""" ""This absorbing first book by the editor of the Times tells the story of Sawyer-Miller, a pioneering and hugely influential campaigning company in the US that laid the foundations for our modern methods of politics and made 'spin' a global phenomenon."" - ""The Bookseller"""""" ""James Harding's ""Alpha Dogs"" is one of those wonderful books that takes you to a time and place you may not know much about but where life as we know it was changed in real and lasting ways. This inside story of how American-style political spin was sold to the world is a fascinating and insightful glimpse into the clockwork of global power. What's more, it's a great read featuring complex characters, high stakes, and drama. They've tried to make movies about this sort of thing but movies can't hold a candle to the real intrigue, ambition, and plot twists that in the end impacted millions of lives."" --David Rothkopf, author of ""Superclass"" ""A terrific read. Long before Karl Rove and James Carville became household names, Scott Miller and David Sawyer were peddling the techniques and political snake oil of modern American campaigns to dictators, scoundrels, and earnest and courageous reformers throughout the world. James Harding gives us an eye-opening, sobering account of the rise and fall of one of America's premier political consulting firms, and the saints and sinners it helped get elected to office. It's the rough and tumble of modern politics and the alpha dogs who made it that way."" --Dennis W. Johnson, GeorgeWashington University, author of """"No Place for Amateurs: How Political Consultants Are Reshaping American Democracy"""""""" ""Since Theodore White, those who write about politics strive to shape a narrative, tell a story that makes events come alive. Most fail. James Harding succeeds. Harding sits readers at his campfire and vividly tells the story of the birth over the past three decades of modern campaign consulting firms, notably the Sawyer Miller Group, a firm that started with noble intent and ended in cynicism. Harding is a man of learning, so there is a historical frame of reference, a perspective on how those who set out to educate citizens came to manipulate them both here and abroad. But what makes this story come alive are the characters: those who speak of their early hopes and of their later depravity; those who quit and those whose lives end in tragedy those who know they have had a pernicious effect on politics; and those in designer suits who don't have a clue or don't much care. The two most frequently cited words of the 2008 presidential campaign--""change"" and ""authenticity""--owe to the frustration of Americans with the spin and manipulation so commonplace in campaigns. If you want to understand why, ""Alpha Dogs"" is the book for you."" --Ken Auletta ""James Harding's ""Alpha Dogs"" is one of those wonderful books that takes you to a time and place you may not know much about but where life as we know it was changed in real and lasting ways. This inside story of how American-style political spin was sold to the world is a fascinating and insightful glimpse into the clockwork of global power. What's more, it's a great read featuring complex characters, high stakes, and drama. They've tried to make movies about this sort of thing but movies can't hold a candle to the real intrigue, ambition, and plot twists that in the end impacted millions of lives."" --David Rothkopf, author of ""Superclass"" ""A terrific read. Long before Karl Rove and James Carville became household names, Scott Miller and David Sawyer were peddling the techniques and political snake oil of modern American campaigns to dictators, scoundrels, and earnest and courageous reformers throughout the world. James Harding gives us an eye-opening, sobering account of the rise and fall of one of America's premier political consulting firms, and the saints and sinners it helped get elected to office. It's the rough and tumble of modern politics and the alpha dogs who made it that way."" --Dennis W. Johnson, George Washington University, author of """"No Place for Amateurs: How Political Consultants Are Reshaping American Democracy"""""""" ""Since Theodore White, those who write about politics strive to shape a narrative, tell a story that makes events come alive. Most fail. James Harding succeeds. Harding sits readers at his campfire and vividly tells the story of the birth over the past three decades of modern campaign consulting firms, notably the Sawyer Miller Group, a firm that startedwith noble intent and ended in cynicism. Harding is a man of learning, so there is a historical frame of reference, a perspective on how those who set out to educate citizens came to manipulate them both here and abroad. But what makes this story come alive are the characters: those who speak of their early hopes and of their later depravity; those who quit and those whose lives end in tragedy those who know they have had a pernicious effect on politics; and those in designer suits who don't have a clue or don't much care. The two most frequently cited words of the 2008 presidential campaign--""change"" and ""authenticity""--owe to the frustration of Americans with the spin and manipulation so commonplace in campaigns. If you want to understand why, ""Alpha Dogs"" is the book for you."" --Ken Auletta

Author Information

James Harding is the editor of The Times. He was previously Washington bureau chief of the Financial Times. This is his first book.

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