I just finished reading this book. It was great. Lee Atwater was a political campaign genius, very unorthodox and hated by many (mostly Democrats, but he also pissed off plenty of his rival Republican consultants). I love his individualism, unorthodox style, and his rather un-Republican views of certain social issues. I would love to know how he and the Republican Party would have evolved if he had not died of a brain tumor in 1991. The political part of the book was fascinating, especially the stories about the 1998 Bush-Dukakis race, but two other parts of the book really hit hard, i.e., caused me to have an emotional connection with the book: (1) the story of how his little brother was killed when he pulled a pot of boiling water off the stove; and (2) the poignant story of his demise late in his young (about 40) life. Many of the key people around him, like Mary Matalin, are still around today. It is hard to imagine the pain of those who were close to him. The book captures the emotional elements defining his life and death very, very well. I think it should be made into a movie.
