The Breakthrough; Politics and Race in the Age of Obama

New York: Doubleday, 2009. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. viii, [2]m 277, [1] pages. Notes. Index. Signed by the author on the title page. Gwendolyn L. Ifill (September 29, 1955 - November 14, 2016) was an American Peabody Award-winning journalist, television newscaster, and author. In 1999, she became the first woman of African descent to host a nationally televised U.S. public affairs program with Washington Week in Review. She was the moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and co-anchor and co-managing editor, with Judy Woodruff, of PBS NewsHour, both of which air on PBS. Ifill was a political analyst and moderated the 2004 and 2008 vice-presidential debates. She authored the best-selling book The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding light on the impact of Barack Obama's presidential victory and offering profiles of prominent leaders such as Deval Patrick and Cory Booker as well as up-and-coming African-American politicians. In The Breakthrough, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama's stunning presidential victory and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power. Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Mayor Cory Booker, Governor Deval Patrick, and Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama (all interviewed for this book), and also covers numerous up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on exclusive interviews with power brokers such as President Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, his son Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict, the race/ gender clash, and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history. The Breakthrough is a remarkable look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the future of American democracy in the age of Obama.