An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century [Hardcover]

Richard Gephardt (Author), Michael Wessel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

This mix of memoir and political argument is a surprisingly personal and revealing guide to the bold thinking and innovative political ideas of the Democratic Leader of the Housewho is also one of the leading contenders for the presidency in the year 2000.. For over two decades, Congressman Richard Gephardt has been in the public eye. As a leader of the Democratic Party and a former presidential candidate, he is, after the president and vice-president, the most powerful Democrat in America. But many Americans have never heard what Gephardt really thinks about the challenges we now face as a nation and as Americans.Until now. An Even Better Place is the result of over a decade of work and thought about what we need to do to make our country better for our parents, our children, and ourselves. Part memoir and part argument, it comes at a time when politics as we know it has stagnated in bitter partisanship, when despite a booming economy, surprisingly few people feel secure, when our schools are getting worse and worse and our voter turnout less and less. Indeed, as Gephardt argues, American democracy itself is at risk. Meanwhile, a quiet crisis continues: families without adequate healthcare; experienced workers no unemployed; children growing up in poverty. And yet, as Gephardt explains, there is reason to hope. Solutions existsome easy, some hardand An Even Better Place is full of them.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For over two decades, Richard Gephardt has represented the people of St. Louis, Missouri, in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is also a major figure in the national Democratic party, serving as the House Minority Leader and (should the Dems ever regain the majority) the most likely candidate to become Speaker of the House. Having foregone the presidential campaigns of the 2000 election to take a shot at House leadership, Gephardt has laid out in An Even Better Place his conception of the most pressing concerns affecting the American people on the brink of the 21st century.

Although he does have specific recommendations in areas like public education and international trade, Gephardt's overarching theme is one of reinvigorating what he sees as the two main components of liberalism, community activism, and citizen participation. His goal is to move away from the destructive politics of personal attacks and reassert an active commitment to fulfilling values and ideals. He lays out his ideas, formulated through years of contact with the people he represents, in a clear, straightforward style. And though he's extremely engaging, even friendly, the stakes are of the utmost seriousness. "Democracy and freedom depend upon all kinds of citizen participation," Gephardt warns. "Without it, they will die--maybe sooner, maybe later, but they will die." Whether or not you agree with Gephardt's specific policy suggestions, that principle seems unassailable--and his commitment admirable.

From Publishers Weekly

The man who would be the next Speaker of the House presents readers with a thoughtful, earnest book in which he reflects on his 23 years in Congress and articulates what he believes needs to be done to make America an even better place. After an obligatory call for leaders in Washington to stop the "politics of personal destruction," the Missouri Democrat reviews his career, discussing what he's fought against (NAFTA) and what he's lobbied to pass (the Patient's Bill of Rights, a higher minimum wages) in Congress. Addressing the needs of the future, Gephardt identifies what he calls a "quiet crisis" brewing in this country: a crumbling Social Security system, millions of people who are overworked and underpaid, millions more without adequate health care. The only way to fix these problems, Gephardt states, is for the American people to renew their sense of civic duty and to help government help people help themselves. Perhaps because he is not running for national office (he declined to seek his party's presidential nomination in 2000), Gephardt is far less self-promoting in these pages than the average pol is in the average campaign-season book. While the book has its share of bland platitudes, Gephardt offers some real insights into such issues as American trade policy (he's not nearly the protectionist his critics claim) and welfare reform (he hates the reform bill Clinton signed on the eve of the 1996 election). Most of all, he comes off as an honorable career politician trying to redefine what it means to be a labor Democrat in a post-industrial economic and political landscape.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620169
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620164
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,670,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good political and progressive book, July 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

To me, Gephardt has been a representative of everything I care for in the Democratic party - a belief in the rights of labor, civil rights and opportunity for all, as well as special privilege for none. In this book, he does not disapoint. He paints a great picture of what Democrats want for America. He potrays well the party's compassion and traditional call to reach out and include more and more Americans into the middle class while making the rich pay their fair share in building a good society.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good outline of what's missing in America, July 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

An excellent book regarding the political/social issues facing the U.S. now and in the future. Mr. Gephardt's views might even qualify as almost Progressive (views which should be self-evident an any remotely democratic society). Unfortunately, Mr. Gephart dances around the issues of Pentagon over/mis-spending and the the abuses and manipulations of elements within Corporate America. Despite these concessions to political correctness, "An Even Better Place" is a wonderful book and should be read by every Amercian who cares about how our country is run.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What our country needs!, November 10, 2003

By 

Healy Thompson (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century (Hardcover)

The previous reviewer either read a different book than I read or didn't actually pay any attention to what s/he was reading.

Gephardt certainly does NOT advocate attacking his opponents. In fact, one of the main themes of his book is moving beyond political attacks.

I found Gephardt's book inspiring and true. He provides a helpful overview of some of the core problems in our country and, unlike so many others, he offers creative and well-reasoned solutions to those problems.

If Representative Gephardt's commitment to going to the source to learn the real story about problems in the U.S. and around the world were shared by others, our world would be much better off.