Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting of Networked Politics from Howard Dean to Barack Obama (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780199936786)

Taking Our Country Back presents the previously untold history of the uptake of new media in Democratic electoral campaigning over the last decade. Drawing on interviews with more than sixty political staffers, fieldwork during the 2008 primaries and general election, and archival research, Daniel Kreiss shows how a group of young, technically-skilled Internet staffers came together on the Howard Dean campaign and created a series of innovations in organization, tools, and practice that have changed the elections game. He charts how these individuals carried their innovations across Democratic politics, contributing to a number of electoral victories, including Barack Obama's historic bid for the presidency. In revealing this history, the book provides a rich empirical look at the communication tools, practices, and infrastructure that shape contemporary online campaigning.

Taking Our Country Back is a serious and vital analysis, both on-the-ground and theoretical, of how a small group of visionary people transformed what campaigning means today and how technical and cultural work coordinates collective action.

Author: Daniel Kreiss
ISBN-10: 0199936781
ISBN-13: 9780199936786
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Language: English
Published: 08/06/2012
Pages: 248
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.70d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2013