The Walter Shapiro book

[MBS]

4. When you read it, remember that he was following these

guys right from the beginning, starting in 2002, so some of his descriptions of JK show the Senator when he was still essentially learning the ropes, still finding his way . . and at a time when he was also dealing with the near-simultaneous blows of the loss of both of his parents, his prostate cancer, and more (an unimaginable set of burdens, especially because they came pretty much all at once, and something the Media barely mentioned)
Shapiro didn't nail everything (Some of the passages on Edwards suggest he was initially mesmerized by him). Still, it's amazing what he was able to perceive this early on, and gutsy of him to publish the book before he could reorganize those perceptions to jibe with What Happened Next.