"Double Down"

Double Down: Game Change 2012 (Mark Halperin & John Heilemann)

I really liked the original Game Change, and I guess it's not much of a shock that I liked this book as well - it's more of the same in the best sense, in this case covering (checks title) 2012. What really stood out to me is that the authors apparently got access to all the candidates, as we get to hear what they're thinking throughout the whole campaign. The 2012 campaign may not have been the most exciting - Obama basically had it locked up the whole time - but because of the detail they're able to include, the authors have produced a book that's very tough to put down (aside from the slow introduction dealing with Obama's political situation heading into the campaign).
That said, I do have two small issues. One is that the authors can't stop using annoying buzzwords, including "flooding the media zone", "doubling down" (groan), and looking for "game changer"s. Luckily nobody was thrown under the bus, moving forward, because it is what it is. This is also true of the original Game Change, so I can't really act surprised.
The second and I think bigger issue is that there were a few areas the authors didn't talk about. They cover a lot of ground, but I wanted to read about the meltdown of Romney's get-out-the-vote computer system, and I would have loved to have seen some more detail on why Romney's team thought they would win considering almost every poll had them losing. (As it is this just gets a fleeting mention.)
These issues aside - and wanting more of a book ends up speaking well of it, I guess - you shouldn't pass this up.

Grade: A-