No Apology: The Case for American Greatness

No Apology is a fluff-free book of principles and ideas that Mitt espouses. Unlike other modern political books, this is not a vacuous autobiography, but a well-written book about relevant problems facing our country and how to fix them. The topics covered included national security, the economy, education and energy. Its obvious Mitt is well-read and a deep thinker on these issues. As a conservative, I can't help but read this and be very impressed with Mitt and hope that he becomes the 2012 GOP standard-bearer, particularly after recalling Gov Palin's painful appearances (like the Couric interview) during the 2008 campaign which indicated that while she had the right ideology, was lacking in the depth we should expect from presidential candidates. I can't imagine other prominent Republicans having the same depth as Mitt displays in this book; who else would point out the problems with populism and pure democracy as he does? My biggest gripe is the chapter on energy, which was not written as well-reasoned and sure as the rest of the book. While he came to what I believe are all the right conclusions, he did not always come to them for the right reasons or with a lot of hedging. For example, for all the emphasis he places on data on each topic in the book, he seems to accept many arguments of the global warmists without any doubt. His justification for supporting ethanol subsidies, while admitting they are counter-productive, seems a calculation to admit the truth but to not lose all support of the ethanol-loving 2012 Iowa primary voters. Overall a great book and one you will learn a lot from, not just validate what you already believe. I would recommend the book to left-thinking readers also, as its written in a positive, persuasive light and seems to be written to an audience that may not necessarily agree with him.

Mitt Romney is a superb communicator with great clarity of thought. The book resonates and informs, and is a good overview of his philosophy. Its a good read.

In his new book, which is perhaps his entry into the next presidential election, Mitt Romney talks about foreign policy and domestic issues --- he delivers some possible solutions as well. He wants America to be safe and active with a vigorous free market. He discusses national security, economic productivity, education and energy among other things. Romney does use lots of data to back up his opinions. That's actually a good thing, though some people might be turned off by it. Romney tells us, "This is a book about what I believe should be our primary national objective: to keep America strong and to preserve its place as the world's leading nation. And it describes the course I believe we must take to strengthen the nation in order to remain prosperous, secure, and free." But we also learn about Romney, the man. He is the son of a third generation American Immigrant whose family was run out of Mexico by Mexican revolutionaries. He grew up as part of a family that worked itself up from horrible poverty to live what most consider the American Dream. His father worked as a wall plasterer while he supported his family and worked his way through college. Mitt's father became president of American Motor Corporation (AMC) and later became three-time governor of Michigan. Romney discusses the values he grew up with. Of course, he went into politics like his father before him. He tells us in his book that if America turns to socialism, freedom throughout the world will be lost. If we are not careful with what we have left, we'll become a second-rate country. I found the book enlightening and hopeful. I think you will too. - Susanna K. Hutcheson

The answer to that question is why most readers will bother buying, borrowing or reading this book by the former Massachusetts Governor and 2008 Presidential primary candidate. In this time of national and international recession the voters and affected non-voters around the world are looking for a leader who can actually solve the major emergencies facing America, Freedom and Capitalism itself. As the grandson of American Immigrants whose family was run out of Mexico by Mexican revolutionaries angry with American Expatriates, Mitt grew up as part of a family that worked themselves up from desperate poverty to live the American Dream. His father worked as a wall plasterer while he supported his family and worked his way through college. He eventually earned his way into the presidency of American Motor Corporation (AMC) and bet his house (or at least the money he'd made from selling his home) on the successful development of the Rambler compact car. He later became three-time governor of Michigan. Mitt grew up in a family that had strong core values and he discusses those core values throughout this book. This reviewer actually met most of Mitt's family including Gov. George Romney when Mitt ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate in Massachusetts. The whole family was part of that campaign and the lessons they learned with that loss served Mitt well a few years when he successfully won election for the Governorship of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Romney managed to do a good job managing that state even though he didn't have enough Republican legislative votes to uphold a veto and therefore had to reach across the aisle to the Democrats controlling the State House in order to accomplish his agenda. Romney believes that if America becomes a victim of socialism that freedom throughout the world will be lost. If the nation is not careful, it will become a second rate world country--still strong enough to survive, but not strong enough to defend freedom anywhere else in the world. "There are three pillars that sustain a free and strong America: l. A Strong Economy 2. A Strong Military 3. A free and Strong People." Romney then provides an agenda for a free and strong America. His list of goals includes 64 separate items and even Romney admits that his is not a complete list of changes needed. Studying that agenda will provide the reader with a decent idea of how Romney would tackle the nation's problems. The book's second chapter "Why Nations Decline" is also instructive. Mitt briefly examines the reasons the Ottomans, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Chinese, the British, the Soviets--these were all super-powers of their respective eras "and they were all surpassed." The reasons for these nation's failures were eerily similar to much of what is occurring in the USA and Western Europe. The book examines many of the reasons for today's problems and provides some pretty decent ideas about how to solve them. Romney also describes