Tension City

I (Amorette) also read “Tension City” by Jim Lehrer- I would give this book a 4/5.

Pros: I think it is an easy read for our freshmen and it is a good length (198 pages). The writing style is straight-forward and easy to follow. I think this book is very relevant because it describes Jim Lehrer’s experiences moderating many presidential and vice presidential debates over the years. I could see LSEM professors having mock debates in class, maybe with the peer mentor being the moderator. I think this book highlights some of the “behind the scenes” workings of debates which may be important for our freshmen to understand. I also like some of the professional and moral issues brought up by the author, such as completely researching a topic, being prepared, being a good listener, how to move on after making a mistake etc. All of these are interesting critical thinking topics that could be discussed in an LSEM class for any major.  We could also assign LSEM students to watch one of the debates the author discusses (like the Gore facial expressions one) and then discuss presentation of self or some other topic.

Cons: The author spends a lot of time “name dropping” and many of these news anchors etc our students may not be familiar with. At times, the book dragged on and repetitive and I fear that some of our students may not finish reading the book.

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