Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down

Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down
Author(s)	Kaylene Johnson
Language	English
Genre(s)	Biography
Publisher	Epicenter Press
Published in English	May 2008
Pages	160
ISBN	978-0979047084
OCLC Number	192056280
Dewey Decimal	979.8/052092 B 22
LC Classification	F910.7.P35 J64 2008

Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down, by author Kaylene Johnson, is a biography of Sarah Palin. Written before Palin was nominated for the Vice President of the United States, it describes her upbringing and her quick rise to power as Governor of Alaska.

The book was called the "definitive primer" on Palin as of the time of her Vice Presidential nomination.^[1]

History

The author, Kaylene Johnson, is a longtime Alaska resident who lives outside of Wasilla, where Palin had served as mayor. Epicenter Press, which published the book, is a small publisher of books about Alaska, based in Seattle, Washington, run by editor Kent Sturgis, who was raised in Alaska.^[2]

Surgis approached Johnson for a "quick turnaround" biography of Palin, who was then Governor of Alaska.^[3][4] He gave her three months to write the book, which would be published and distributed within a further three months.^[3] She accepted because she had long admired Palin and wanted to learn more about the Governor.^[2]

In September 2008, after Palin's nomination as vice president, it was reprinted by Tyndale House.

Public and critical reception

The book had been selling relatively well in Alaska, with 6,500 books in print and 3,500 on order four months after publication.^[5] However, the vice-presidential nomination by John McCain of the book's subject, who was then relatively unknown as a national political leader, caused an upsurge of interest. The day after McCain's announcement Barnes and Noble telephoned for an order of 15,000 copies.^[2] As of late October 2008^[update], the book had been on The New York Times Best Seller list for six weeks,^[6] peaking at number three, with more than 350,000 in print.^[1][5]

The book has been described as "upbeat",^[4] "friendly",^[7]"admiring",^[8] and "laudatory".^[9]

See also

• Going Rogue: An American Life
• Going Rouge: Sarah Palin An American Nightmare

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Andrea Billups (2008-10-12). "Palin bio's author basks in limelight: Pick for VP ignited book's sales". Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/12/palin-bios-author-basks-in-limelight/. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Phyllis Fletcher (2008-10-11). "Publisher Of Palin Biography Hits Jackpot". National Public Radio. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Larry Muhammad (2008-10-07). "Palin bio fell into Spalding grad's lap". Louisville Courrier-Journal. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081007/FEATURES06/810070363. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Hillel Italie (2008-08-29). "McCain VP decision boosts book on Alaska governor". Associated Press. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Jim Carlton (2008-08-29). "New Demand for Palin Book". Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/08/29/new-demand-for-palin-book/. 
6. ^ "Paperback Nonfiction". New York Times. 2008-10-26. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/books/bestseller/bestpapernonfiction.html. 
7. ^ Tim Jones (2008-08-30). "Meet 'Sarah Barracuda'". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-sarah-palin-profile,0,6192766.story. 
8. ^ Karl Vick and James V. Grimaldi (2008-09-07). "Palin's Family Has Always Held a Place in Her Politics". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/06/AR2008090603024.html. 
9. ^ Hall, Dennie (2008-10-12). "Politics inspire looks at candidates, issues". Daily Oklahoman. http://www.newsok.com/politics-inspire-looks-at-candidates-issues/article/3309325. 

External links

• kaylene.us - author's official site
• Alaska Magazine
• The New York Observer
• Time
• Reuters
• Minnpost