Coming up short a memoir of America
"From political economist, cabinet member, beloved professor, media presence, and bestselling author of Saving Capitalism and The Common Good, a deeply-felt, compelling memoir of growing up in a baby-boom America that made progress in certain areas, fell short in so many important ways, and still ha...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Alfred A. Knopf,
2025.
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| Edition: | First hardcover edition. |
| Subjects: | |
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| Summary: | "From political economist, cabinet member, beloved professor, media presence, and bestselling author of Saving Capitalism and The Common Good, a deeply-felt, compelling memoir of growing up in a baby-boom America that made progress in certain areas, fell short in so many important ways, and still has lots of work to do. A thought-provoking, principled, clear-eyed chronicle of the culture, politics, and economic choices that have landed us where we are today-with irresponsible economic bullies and corporations with immense wealth and lobbying power on top, demagogues on the rise, and increasing inequality fueling anger and hatred across the country. Nine months after World War II, Robert Reich was born into a united America with a bright future-that went unrealized for so many as big money took over our democracy. His encounter with school bullies on account of his height--4'11" as an adult-set him on a determined path to spend his life fighting American bullies of every sort. He recounts the death of a friend in the civil rights movement; his political coming of age witnessing the Berkeley free speech movement; working for Bobby Kennedy and Senator Eugene McCarthy; experiencing a country torn apart by the Vietnam War; meeting Hillary Rodham in college, Bill Clinton at Oxford, and Clarence Thomas at Yale Law. He details his friendship with John Kenneth Galbraith during his time teaching at Harvard, and subsequent friendships with Bernie Sanders and Ted Kennedy; his efforts as labor secretary for Clinton and economic advisor to Barack Obama. Ultimately, Reich asks: What did his generation accomplish? Did they make America better, more inclusive, more tolerant? Did they strengthen democracy? Or, did they come up short? In the end, though, Reich hardly abandons us to despair over a doomed democracy. With his characteristic spirit, humor, and inherent decency, he lays out how we can reclaim a sense of community and a democratic capitalism based on the American ideals we still have the power to salvage"-- |
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| Item Description: | "A Borzoi book"--Title page verso. |
| Physical Description: | 394 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-378) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780593803288 0593803280 |
| Author Notes: | Reich was an assistant to the Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice from 1974 to 1976. He directed the policy planning staff of the Federal Trade Commission from 1976 to 1981 and taught on the faculty of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1981 to 1992. He served as the 22nd Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. He became the University Professor and the Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy at Brandies University in 1997. He is currently the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Reich has written numerous books including Locked in the Cabinet; Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America; Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life; Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future; Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few; and The Common Good. In 2003, he was awarded the Vaclev Havel Foundation Prize for his pioneering work in economic and social thought. (Bowker Author Biography) |
