The Real Romney

“Absorbing and fair-minded.”
—New York Times

“Romney’s story in full and clear detail…fascinating in-depth stuff.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A fascinating story [that] sheds next light on an elusive subject.”
—Boston Globe

Despite his political prominence, Mitt Romney remains an enigma to many in America. Who is the man behind that sweep of dark hair and the high-wattage smile? A savvy politician or someone who will simply say anything to win? A business visionary or a ruthless dealmaker? In this definitive, unflinching, and widely-acclaimed biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, readers will finally discover the real Mitt Romney. Based on hundreds of interviews and more than five years of reporting, The Real Romney offers for the very first time a full understanding of this complex political figure.

Mitt Romney has masterfully positioned himself as the front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Even though he’s become a household name, the former Massachusetts governor remains an enigma to many in 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 to be two people at once: a savvy politician, and someone who will simply say anything to win. A business visionary, and a calculating dealmaker. A man comfortable in his faith and with family, and one who can have trouble connecting with average voters.

In this definitive, unflinching biography by Boston Globe investigative reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, readers will finally discover the real Romney. The book explores Romney’s personal 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 complicated 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 buyouts that helped create jobs but also destroyed them. This penetrating portrait offers important new details, too, on Romney’s failed Senate race against Ted Kennedy, his role leading the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics, and his championing of universal health care in Massachusetts. Drawing on previously undisclosed campaign memos, e-mails, and interviews with key players, Kranish and Helman reveal the infighting and disagreement that sunk Romney’s 2008 White House bid—and his conscious decision to switch tactics for his 2012 run.

In The Real Romney, Kranish and Helman delve searchingly into the psyche of a complex man now at his most critical juncture—the private Romney whom few people see. They show the remarkable lengths to which Romney has gone 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 public image. 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.

“An excellent biography.” - David Frum, The Daily Beast

“Balanced and informative. . . A well-written and useful resource for Romneyana great and small.” - Louis Menand, The New Yorker

“A fascinating story [that] sheds new light on an elusive subject. . . . It illustrates well how in his private life and in business, he has relied on a tight, protective circle all his life. . . . This biography helps to explain why he still struggles to free himself from the shackles of his stereotype.” - The Financial Times

“A fascinating story [that] sheds new light on an elusive subject. . . . It illustrates well how in his private life and in business, he has relied on a tight, protective circle all his life.” - The Financial Times

“The great service of this new biography is that it humanizes Romney. The authors sniff over their subject with bloodhound thoroughness, dredging up old report cards, housing deeds, and family records and videos. They interview seemingly everyone who had contact with Romney in every phase of his life.” - The New York Times Book Review

“Kranish and Helman are veteran and well-regarded reporters. . . . They give a comprehensive account of the Bain years -- the greatest contribution of their book.” - Michael Tomasky, The New York Review of Books

“Who is the real Mitt Romney? This well-researched biography by two Boston Globe reporters offers useful clues.” - Katha Pollitt, The Guardian

“A comprehensive and eminently fair-minded biography of the GOP’s fitful frontrunner.” - The New Republic

“A timely, balanced new biography. . . . An impressively researched and thought-provoking portrait of a man many Americans may want to know more about in the coming weeks and months.” - The Boston Globe

“The writers, two senior journalists at The Boston Globe, have thoroughly trawled through the would-be-president’s history, and indeed that of his zealous Mormon ancestors. The book charts the various stages of Romney’s polymorphic life in impressive detail. . . . All this is well done. The analysis of Romney’s time at Bain is balanced and fair.” - The Economist

“The writers have thoroughly trawled through the would-be-president’s history. The book charts the various stages of Romney’s polymorphic life in impressive detail. . . . All this is well done. The analysis of Romney’s time at Bain is balanced and fair.” - The Economist

“Kranish and Helman have done a good job of finding and interviewing people who knew Romney at various early stages of his life. . . . They deserve credit for a well-balanced and thorough campaign biography.” - The Washington Independent Review of Books

“Michael Kranish and Scott Helman, veteran Boston Globe reporters, have assembled a genuinely compelling story and a more thorough record of Romney’s life than has yet appeared. . . . The mass of evidence and insight they’ve gathered reveals a man who has devoted himself not to elaborating a new politics but to doggedly making the philosophy of his father come to life.” - The Washington Post

“Kranish and Helman have assembled a genuinely compelling story and a more thorough record of Romney’s life than has yet appeared.” - The Washington Post

“The Real Romney pulls together lots of details into a narrative that’s absorbing and fair-minded.” - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“Balanced and rigorous reporting on Romney’s life and career. . . . The authors are especially good on his close relationship with his father, a three-term Michigan governor who unsuccessfully ran for president in 1968.” - USA Today

“The Real Romney lays out Romney’s story in full and clear detail, including fascinating in-depth stuff about his family’s history. . . . This book shows us a Mitt Romney for whom family and faith remain unshakable pillars and who knows that his ‘power-ally is money.’” - The Los Angeles Times

“The Real Romney lays out Romney’s story in full and clear detail, including fascinating in-depth stuff about his family’s history, showing us a Romney for whom family and faith remain unshakable pillars and who knows that his ‘power-ally is money.’” - The Los Angeles Times