Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination for 2012. But even though he's become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to much of America, his character and core convictions elusive, his record little known. Who is the man behind that sweep of dark hair, distinguished white sideburns, and high-wattage smile? He often seems tow people at once: A savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating, money-his-only-object deal-maker. A man comfortable in his faith and family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters.
Finally, readers will discover the real Romney in this definitive, unflinching biography written by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman. The book explores Romney's home life, his bond with his wife and how they handled her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, and his difficult years as a Mormon missionary in France, where a fatal car crash had a profound effect on his path. It also illuminates Romney's privileged upbringing in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, his rejection of the 1960s protest culture, and his close but complex relationship with his father.
Based on more than five years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, THE REAL ROMNEY includes a probing analysis of Romney's tenure at Bain Capital, one of the world's leading private investment firms, where staggering profits were won through leveraged buy-outs that often created jobs, but also destroyed them. This penetrating portrait offers important new details, too, on Romney's failed race against Senator Ted Kennedy, his role leading the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics, his championing of universal health care in Massachusetts, and why his 2008 run for president ended in disappointment.
In The Real Romney, Kranish and Helman delve searchingly into the psyche of a complex man now at his most critical juncture. They show the remarkable lengths that Romney has gone to in order to succeed in politics and business, shrewdly shifting identities as needed, bringing tough-minded strategy to every decision and always carefully safeguarding his own public image. The Real Romney also reveals the man who is a devout Mormon, loving husband and father to five sons, and the youngest child of a father who lit the way. For the first time, readers will gain a full understanding of the kind of man Romney is-the kind of man who may be running their country.
