Hurrah! Alexandra Kerry book being released August 19!

Book by Kerry's daughter looks back at '04 campaign

Monday, August 18, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - During the height of the 2004 New Hampshire presidential primary, Sen. John Kerry's advisers gathered for an important strategy session.

But they weren't huddled in some sleek campaign headquarters conference room. Kerry's team squeezed into foot-tall plastic chairs in a cozy grade-school classroom, leaning over tiny desks with swirls of kiddie finger painting.

Alexandra Kerry, the Massachusetts senator's eldest daughter, recounts the odd scene in her new book, "Notes From the Trail," which goes on sale Tuesday, Aug. 19.

"This most serious business, the behind-the-scenes of a bid for a job many argued was among the most important on the planet, occurred in a room with mats piled in the corner for nap time, with the latest poll numbers being passed around like graham crackers," she writes

Alexandra Kerry was never a big fan of politics. Still, Kerry, the oldest daughter of Sen. John Kerry and his first wife, Julia Thorne, agreed to hit the campaign trail for her dad during his unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid. A filmmaker and former actress, Kerry, 34, traveled to 33 states in four months but was a reluctant public figure. In "Notes From the Trail: Presidential Politics From the Inside Out," a poignant and candid new memoir and art book, Kerry describes what it was like to be part of a presidential campaign but still feel like an outsider. Her intimate prose is complemented by evocative photos from Kerry and photographers CJ Gunther, Hector Mata and Dina Rudick. In a statement to NEWSWEEK, Senator Kerry calls the book "a wonderful, personal insight" and says it "provides an opportunity to view an exceptional experience through a unique lens--that of an artist." NEWSWEEK's Jamie Reno spoke to Alexandra Kerry about the book and how her time on the campaign changed her perspective on politics, America and even herself.

Your book is also a chronicle of the road, and as an Iowa native I was particularly taken by your touching descriptions of Iowa, your first stop on the trail.
I encountered an incredible level of compassion and sophistication in Iowa. Iowans are so kind. Iowans listen like nobody else on the campaign trail.