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Rating: 
Summary: A Splendid Historic Look at Campaign Strategy From A Master
Review: "Power Plays" is one of the finest books I've read on politics. Dick Morris does an exemplary job underscoring the successes and failures of major political figures ranging from the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Charles De Gaulle to Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and George W. Bush. He successfully compares and contrasts how politicians like Clinton and Blair successfuly reformed their political parties, and led them to victory, while others, most notably George McGovern, led reformations within their parties yet lost their own bid for political power. Morris succinctly outlines several different types of political power plays, ranging from standing on one's own principles to divide and conquer and what Morris has coined as "triangulation"; co-opting the positions of your opponents and turning them into yours. "Power Plays" is a fascinating look at political history which should be required reading for both politicians and historians.Dick Morris has organized successful political campaigns since his days as a student at New York City's illustrious Stuyvesant High School. His perceptive insights on current political campaign strategy as well as his terse historical overview of major American and foreign politicians will be of interest to anyone intrigued with politics, not only politicians and historians.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable and Important Book!
Review: Dick Morris has crafted an engrossing book on many levels. Whether you enjoy a good story, history, politics, or just wanna learn better ways of dealing with the people in your world, I reccomend this book.
I learned alot about historic, contemporary and international figures. The book involves you in the political drama of each principal he states. He entertains as well as informs. Its smart enough for a scholar and readable enough for the regular Joe, like myself, who has an interest in such things.
This Book best serves as a manual. Like "The Prince", it observes the contemporary landscape and finds the great methods to the madness. This is a book that belongs on the shelf of those in leadership and anyone who gets lost in the jungle of personal politics. Morris outlines political truths that should be applied especially if you are a good person seeking to promote a great cause in your world.
Rating: 
Summary: Some Valuable Insights But Not WIthout Its Flaws
Review: Dick Morris, well known political operative and architect of Clinton's 1996 "triangulation" strategy has attempted to write a book of political history. He partially succeeds and partially fails. In this book, Morris looks at a number of different political figures from the 19th and 20th century. (Actually, except for Lincoln, all are from the 20th century) In trying to analyze why some had success and others failed, Morris breaks his stories into categories of strategies. Some politicians such as Churchill and De Gaulle are regarded as having stood up for their beliefs while waiting for others to come around to their view. Others are regarded as having triangulated their positions between two opposing views. These would include G.W. Bush and Clinton of course. He also examines politicians who exploited new technologies such as FDR with radio and JFK with television. The book is generally interesting but Morris has two major problems. First, he sees all policy advocated by political figures as strategic. This is certainly what I would associate with the Clinton administration but I hardly think that Churchill had electoral strategy in mind when he entered the wildreness for a dozen years. Morris fails or perhaps cannot differentiate governing from running for office. The other problem is in his insistence on forcing square pegs into round holes. There is really very little similarity between De Gaulle's France and Lincoln's pre-Civil War united States. Nor can Wilson's problems in selling the Versailles treaty be equated with actually running for office. In my view, Morris would have done better to simply take a dozen or so of these stories and looked at each one as unique while using his expertise in electoral strategy to show what a political figure did right or wrong. To force each story into a few very broad categories weakens this book considerably. I would still recommend reading it, however.
Rating:
Summary: Some Valuable Insights But Not WIthout Its Flaws
Review: Dick Morris, well known political operative and architect of Clinton's 1996 "triangulation" strategy has attempted to write a book of political history. He partially succeeds and partially fails. In this book, Morris looks at a number of different political figures from the 19th and 20th century. (Actually, except for Lincoln, all are from the 20th century) In trying to analyze why some had success and others failed, Morris breaks his stories into categories of strategies. Some politicians such as Churchill and De Gaulle are regarded as having stood up for their beliefs while waiting for others to come around to their view. Others are regarded as having triangulated their positions between two opposing views. These would include G.W. Bush and Clinton of course. He also examines politicians who exploited new technologies such as FDR with radio and JFK with television. The book is generally interesting but Morris has two major problems. First, he sees all policy advocated by political figures as strategic. This is certainly what I would associate with the Clinton administration but I hardly think that Churchill had electoral strategy in mind when he entered the wildreness for a dozen years. Morris fails or perhaps cannot differentiate governing from running for office. The other problem is in his insistence on forcing square pegs into round holes. There is really very little similarity between De Gaulle's France and Lincoln's pre-Civil War united States. Nor can Wilson's problems in selling the Versailles treaty be equated with actually running for office. In my view, Morris would have done better to simply take a dozen or so of these stories and looked at each one as unique while using his expertise in electoral strategy to show what a political figure did right or wrong. To force each story into a few very broad categories weakens this book considerably. I would still recommend reading it, however.
Rating:
Summary: How History is Made
Review: Historians and Political Scientists tend to focus on what leaders' have accomplished, weighing them as effective or not, rather than examining how they achieved them, or even how they came to office in the first place. This overlooked aspect of history is known as political strategy, and Dick Morris has taken a huge step in filling that void with his stunning new book "Power Plays." Morris cites six different types of strategies that political leaders can use. But the use of these strategies alone are not a prescription for success or failure. It is how leaders' execute these strategies that determines whether or not they will prevail. For example, both Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater pursued the same policy goals using the same basic strategy, what Morris calls Standing On Principle. But whereas Goldwater was combative and negative, Reagan was joyful and positive. Goldwater ran against the liberal establishment, while Reagan ran against the Soviet Empire. Morris continues to examine the successes and failures of the six strategies through well-written historical examples, and his juxtaposition of the two outcomes from the same strategy makes the book convincing. Along the way, Morris treats us to other previously unknown illuminations of history. Wilson could have the vote for the League of Nations had he campaigned on idealistic and nationalistic principles rather that legalistic ones. Gore would have won in 2000 had he stayed aligned with his traditional environmentalism. Rockefeller strayed too far to the left to be elected but GW Bush managed the feat by not isolating his base of support. We are also introduced to how leaders should act in times of crisis, as exemplified by Roosevelt and Churchill durin the Second World War. How not to act in a crisis was exemplified by Johnson during Vietnam, which cost him his Presidency. Morris' book is therefore a real achievement, which incorporates historical examples into a well-defined theoretical framework, making this a genuine piece of political science that will not only stand the test of time, but may well influence more scholars to study campaign strategy in addition to more traditional historical pursuits.
Rating:
Summary: Great for any future politician
Review: It dosen't matter if you want to get into politics localy or nationally, this is the book for you. While I found there were a few needless chapters,(see his persistence on vote.com in the "future" section) most of the book is an absolute must to read.
The book is written well, with valuable insight and lessons from history and experience. I think anyone wanting a career in politics should give this one a read, they will be smarter for it.
Rating:
Summary: Best book of the year
Review: Morris examines why various political leaders, particularly reformers, won or lost. He looks and the strength and weaknesses of these leaders, what they did, the opportunities taken and those missed. This book is essential not only for those in politics, but anyone who is looking for a fresh look at leadership in general. Most of the books I read go on a bookshelf once I am done - this one is right behind my desk, as I find myself referring to it often. Truly an excellent book.
Rating: 
Summary: A limited analysis of political leaders
Review: Morris is an intelligent and astute political advisor, but this book is dull, repeats itself and really has nothing to say. The new prince was an exciting piece of political writing, this is dull and dreary. Morris has nothing really to say and is only at his best when dealing with contemporary politicians such as Al Gore. He loses himself in chapters on DeGaulle and other leaders.
Rating: 
Summary: worthless
Review: Morris is worthless and so is his uncreative, lame book.
Rating:
Summary: worthless
Review: When you talk about political pundits, you talk about Dick Morris. After all, it's Dick Morris - need I say more. Didn't think so. Dick Morris has proven himself amongst preeminent political gurus of the last quarter century through his skillful handling of Clinton's ongoing improprieties in The White House. Although he was let go by Clinton, Dick Morris shows little or no ill will towards his former boss. He tends to lampoon Al Gore moreso and his total fiasco of a campaign in 2000. From his unique insights into Watergate to his visceral reaction to Hillary's lewd advances toward him, this shocking tour de force is any political pundit's book du jour, if you will. I was contemplating giving it 4 stars due to his lack of dirt on Clinton, but then I remembered one thing: It's Dick Morris. 5 Stars.
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