Blind Trust

by Barbara Boxer

Book Overview

Now married (to a Republican ) and in her second term, United States Senator Ellen Fisher (Democrat) is about to chair explosive hearings on Homeland Security. Before she goes head to head with the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B00342VFXW
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Great poltical mystery

This books is a nice political mystery novel. There are many predictable twists and turns throughout, but also a few that you will never see coming. Overall it was a great book.

Political life in DC

Barbara Boxer has written a fast-paced, very readable novel on politics, power and outsized egos in our nation's capital.This is fiction of course, but despite that it is not difficult to imagine how wrong things can go when fanatical people get involved in government as an arena for their maniacal designs.Ellen finds herself a target of lies and character assassination in a battle over the chairmanship of Homeland Security. Slaughter, read Rush Limbaugh, spews his vitriolic and libelous thoughts at the behest of one of the principal villains, in an attempt to get rid of Senator Ellen. The novel is a short one . It explores a not too complicated theme with excitement and verve. You will enjoy it.

Blind Trust delivers a behind-the-scenes view into modern-day politics

I enjoy reading books that give a peek into the politics of government, especially by politicians I admire. And, I was interested in reading Blind Trust when I saw the name Mary-Rose Hayes as the coauthor, since I have read and enjoyed previous works by Ms. Hayes. This is a fast-moving, plot-driven story that provides insights into the power of the media and its ability to shape historical events. It's discouraging to see how much time politicians need to spend monitoring their media enemies and how the time devoted to "putting out fires" interferes with their ability to legislate. Although this book is fiction, one can't help but connect the characters with real people in office. And I imagine that is just what Senator Boxer had in mind!

An Excellent Political Thriller

Who could be better qualified to co-author a novel about a United States Senator from California than a real United States Senator from California? And Senator Boxer and Mary-Rose Hayes have done a great job of it! I suspect that Mary-Rose Hayes did most of the actual writing, but I greatly doubt that she could have made Ellen Fischer Lind so real without Barbara Boxer's vital input. Senator Boxer's inside knowledge is evident throughout the book. On the eve of an important confirmation hearing she will chair (no, not the very night before the hearing begins, but shortly enough before that to discredit Ellen without (it is hoped) giving her enough time to rebut effectively) information about stocks in her blind trust is hacked and leaked to newspapers and to right-wing talk show host Sam Slaughter, and others. Despite lacking even a shred of evidence that Ellen had any such knowledge (she didn't), Slaughter ridicules the idea that Ellen didn't know all about what stocks were in her blind trust. She is accused of hypocrisy for owning energy stocks while speaking out against energy companies. Her critics conveniently ignore the fact that knowing she owned energy stocks, if it influenced her speeches and Senate votes, would have muted, not encouraged, her criticism of those companies. Before she can recover from that blow, she is revealed to have a connection with a "suspected Al Qaeda operative." It turns out that the "suspected Al Qaeda operative" had no connection with Al Qaeda, and came under "suspicion" despite the total lack of evidence therefor only when Ellen's enemies discovered her (indirect) connection with Ellen. Don't think for a moment that the events in this novel are far from reality. The methods used to discredit the fictional Ellen are remarkably similar to the methods used to discredit the non-fictional Dan Rather and the almost certainly genuine documents he and his producers had showing that George W. Bush was A.W.O.L. from the Texas Air National Guard. [...]

An Inside Look at Dirty Tricks in Washington

I read nonfiction books for information and fiction for enjoyment. I don't care about the author's political party. In this case, I found the book to be a rousing romp through political combat, and to be most enjoyable. Senator Boxer is a respected member of the United States Senate and is well-qualified to spin a yarn in which she shines a spotlight on political dirty-tricks. Senator Ellen Fisher Lind, a Democrat, is Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee and the Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights and Homeland Security. As such, she stands in the way of the appointment of Carl Satcher, a wealthy Republican, to be Secretary of Homeland Security. The trouble with Satcher is that he is willing to stomp all over the Constitution in the name of security. In this, he is strongly supported by Republican Vice President Craig Fulton. Suddenly, one smear after another falls upon Senator Fisher, and she worries that she may have to step down from the Chairmanship. But she hangs tough, and her husband, a former Republican Congressman, fights back to find the source of the smears. The result is a political war and a thoroughly entertaining book.