Laura Mandanas reviews Drift by Rachel Maddow

As the first out lesbian primetime anchor, Rachel Maddow has always been a pleasure to watch. She’s also a pleasure to read. Engaging and full of personality, the voice and tone of her recent release, Drift, will sound very familiar to fans of The Rachel Maddow Show. (Literally. As in, I could hear the author’s voice in my head as I read each and every sentence. Which was great, because I’m madly in love with Rachel Maddow’s sexy brain and adorable haircut. Ahem. An unbiased review this is not.)

The central argument of Maddow’s book is that over the past 40 years, US military life has drifted away from US civilian life, causing a profound shift in the country’s approach to war-making. Increasingly secretive and privatized, war is now essentially waged at the whim of the president. Drift traces back the chain of events that brought us here.

While readers who aren’t familiar with American politics or history might have to look up a few things here or there, the book lays things out in an exceedingly clear manner. Anyone with at least a passing interest in American warfare should be able to follow along. It’s worth a read no matter which direction one leans politically.

Terrifically well researched, this book makes a strong case for a) how weird things have gotten, and b) how important it is to fix it. In the last chapter, Maddow gives a bullet point list of ways to begin. It’s excellent stuff.

Bottom line: Drift is a smart book by a smart (and somewhat smart-alecky) lady. There aren’t any lesbian characters between the covers, but you should read it anyway.

For a sample, check out msnbc.com. For upcoming book tour dates and locations, check out The Maddow Blog.