Official Review: The Wizard of Sacramento: Governor Jerry...

[shannonkate8]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Wizard of Sacramento: Governor Jerry Brown" by William Smithers.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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For those of you who are unaware, like I was, Jerry Brown was the governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. In his second run as governor, he followed the daunting footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many of us can remember Schwarzenegger but not Brown. Others, like William Smithers, paid attention.

The Wizard of Sacramento: Governor Jerry Brown by William Smithers is not a biography of Jerry Brown, though it does cover some basics and background information. So, what is it? The preface of the book tells readers exactly what to expect from this book. In the author’s words, this book, “is an independent assessment of the nature, priorities, politics and governmental methods of California Governor Jerry Brown, especially as they are to be found in this decade.” Essentially, the book covers the nature of Governor Jerry Brown’s recent tenure in office. Specifically, the author goes out of their way to provide a wealth of information from the time and point out Brown’s unethical and contradictory politics related to the environment.

This book is full of information from the very beginning. As mentioned, the author makes sure to provide the reader with a preface of expectations for the book and I quite liked that. I knew what to expect from this book. Even so, I was shocked by some of the information I read. At times, Governor Brown seemed to only want to make more money, specifically from fracking and didn’t care who he hurt. Even state and federal laws were skipped over just to make more money.

I also liked and appreciated that the author ended the book with a conclusion and epilogue. The conclusion clearly states what the author discussed in the book, but in an even simpler format. It summed up everything nicely. Additionally, the epilogue does make sure to note that the work relied on outside information and the author provides this list of extensive references.

As a whole, I liked the book. It provided a large amount of information and was neatly summarized. I understood the point the author was trying to make and they also supported their points with references. The book was not too long, though the author could ramble a little at times. It also was not too short and I did not feel like I was missing much information. Essentially, the author achieved exactly what they seemed to want.

That said, it is reminiscent at times of a persuasive essay as the author mainly supports their point of view rather than an objective, independent assessment. There were also grammatical errors. Specifically, there was some mixing of words, missing punctuation, and some paragraphs were different fonts and colors. These aspects significantly influenced my rating, even though I did enjoy the book.

As such, I give the book 3 out of 4 stars. The book was concise, well-researched, and fulfilled my expectations of such a book. If the book was properly edited, this may be a higher rating. However, if others are interested in politics and environmental decisions, this is a good resource. I would also recommend it to students of criminal justice who are looking at potential corruption and white-collar crime.

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The Wizard of Sacramento: Governor Jerry Brown
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[MsH2k]

I lived in California at the end of Brown’s first tenure as governor and left before his second. I was curious about this book. Thanks for your thorough review!

[Harty Muli]

I think the politics of America is overshadowed/dominated by that of the towering US President Trump. I almost don't get to know of any other politician, of course except Schwarzenegger as you may have alluded to in your review. Nice review though.

[book_fanatic_]

Seems like an informative book about Jerry Brown and the politics of California, but maybe not the right one for me. Thanks for the nice review.

[shannonkate8]

I think the politics of America is overshadowed/dominated by that of the towering US President Trump. I almost don't get to know of any other politician, of course except Schwarzenegger as you may have alluded to in your review. Nice review though.

Its hard to know of anyone who isn't very loud in the press, or outside of the state you live in. It was interesting to read this though, since it was short and filled with info. It also fits into my education when we learned about white collar crimes.

[shannonkate8]

I lived in California at the end of Brown’s first tenure as governor and left before his second. I was curious about this book. Thanks for your thorough review!

This would definitely be something you could relate to and understand more than me!

[MrsCatInTheHat]

Did it seem like the author used a variety of impartial, unbiased resources?

[shannonkate8]

Did it seem like the author used a variety of impartial, unbiased resources?

They used quite a few news articles to quote what happened at the time. I recall the LA Times and Associated Press, amongst others. Of course, some people may say certain news sources are biased.