Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

My sister got me a signed copy of this book at Biden's recent book signing in Rehoboth Beach. I worked on Biden's '78 Senate race, while I was a sophomore at the University of Delaware. And yes, I am a proud NATIVE DELAWAREAN (not many people can say that!), also raised, like Joe, in New Castle County, of working class parents who believed in Joe's same "Get Up" and just do it code. Yes, the book is full of stuff from an Andy Hardy movie; yes, it's feel-good and all-American, with the faint wafting of the stars and stripes in the background, just as in the cover photo. But this is how Joe Biden really is! I worked with him and his sister Val pretty closely in the early senate campaigns, and since then I've known Tommy Vallely and some others close to Joe. And he is really like this! Passionate, committed, slightly arrogant and full of himself, "toothsome", mighty attractive, and focused. If he were from California or Texas he'd have a shot at the Presidency, even with the Kinnock slip-up. As he's from a tiny state, his chances are already greatly reduced. Whatever happens in '08, Joe Biden still makes me proud to be a Delawarean.

Senator Joe Biden of Delaware has led a very interesting life. Dealing with a speech problem as a child he vividly remembers those who helped him with the problem in school and eventually overcoming the problem by facing up to it by handling his publiic speaking requirements like other students. Tragedy lurked shortly after his election to the Senate in 1972 with the death of his wife Neila and young daughter. Remarriage and interacting with his Senate colleagues on the issues confronting America brought renewed interest into his life. President Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court and Biden's efforts to get the nomination blocked is covered in detail. Biden suffered from headaches that were so bad they nauseated him and turned out to be two brain aneurysms that were to prove life threatening. One of Biden's big issues were the genocide taking place in the former Yugoslavia with Slobodan Milosevic meeting with Biden and trying to pull the wool over his eyes by claiming he was not at fault for the suffering taking place. Biden refused to be moved by Milosevic's entreaties. The other big issue Biden wanted to deal with was what he referred to as America's "dirty little secret," the violence against women where American males believed it was okay for a husband to hit his wife. The last part of the book deals with Biden's frustration with President George Bush's inability to work with people who disagree with him and the path America has taken in the last seven years. This is a frustration shared by millions of others in this country who see the future of America threatened for future generations. It remains to be seen what price America will pay for the blunders of the present administration. Whatever part Senator Joe Biden plays in the next administration he will be an asset in helping to redirect America's future.

I have to admit I am a huge Joe Biden fan- so you can take that into consideration in reading this review. Nevertheless, I can't tell you how amazed I am by this book. I am a fan but no sycophant. I was expecting a mildly interesting tome- a washington "index page read.". You know the book- you buy it just to flip through the index and see if there's any names you recognize and want to read about. Well this is not that book. This actually grabs you from page one- even before page one- the prologue alone is worth the price of admission. If you read Richard Ben Cramer's "What It Takes" and liked it, you will love this book too. You don't even have to be a Joe Biden fan to enjoy this book- the story of his life so far and the stories that make the man are truly worthy of your time.

What a read. I'm only half way through the book but I feel like I've gotten one of the best (at least that I have read) eye wittness accounts to the most significant events of the past 35 years. Travelling with Avril Harriman at 36 years old for a tete a tete with Tito! Debating the power of the Soviet Union with Kissinger. The touching personal stories of how Mike Mansfield and Hubert Humphrey and others took the 30 year old widow under their wings in his first days in the Senate. Its a remarkable story if you have even the slightest interest in politics and world affairs. I knew a lot about Biden before this book, but there is something almost Forrest Gumpian about his life. And I mean that in a positive way. He has lived- and almost died- through seven Presidents and gives us his unvarnished, typical Biden-esque, take on them all. Some of the most chilling parts of the book however are his assesment of this administration. Coming from someone who has been a senator for 35 years it holds some great weight with me. But bottom line is that PTK is one of the best political biographies I have ever read. Don't expect some typical Presidential campaign policy book- "why my health plan is the best"- this is a true memoir no holds barred take on our past present and future.