Tension City by Jim Lehrer – 4 stars

Hi All,

I just finished reading Jim Lehrer’s memoir about his role as moderator for 11 debates.

Positives:

1. The book is an easy read, only 200 pages.
2. Lehrer gives historical context for debates from 1960-2012. He also does a nice job explaining that debates are now a “must” on the way to being President or Vice President.
3. Lehrer discusses the Commission for Presidential Debates and explains the increasing independence of the Commission, especially over the last decade.
4. Lehrer references the debates held at William & Mary and University of Richmond. I think this connection back to the Commonwealth is important for our students.
5. The book details the history of debates, memorable moments, etc all while explaining Lehrer’s perspective as a moderator and his mistakes along the way. I appreciated that Lehrer discusses the amount of debate preparation needed, and how he would have done things differently.
6. Finally, I think this would arm our students with knowledge prior to the VP Debate.

Cons:

1. While its an easy read, parts of the book drag (in my opinion). The book also “time hops” a bit, so the reader does need to pay attention.
2. Some faculty may have a harder time using this in class. I don’t see that as an issue as I still pull out the central themes of democracy, history, how to overcome mis-steps, etc.

 

Overall, I like this book if we decide to focus our efforts on a book related to the debates.

 

-Jen

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