Fighting for Life [Hardcover]

Robert P. Casey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 1996

Former Governor of Pennsylvania Robert P. Casey has lived a life infused with political justice and morality. But when heart and liver failure threatened to end his life, he began to see with his new eyes. An inspiring story of one public servant's personal act of courage.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849912245
• ISBN-13: 978-0849912245
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,932,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Autobiography of a Governor, and of a Patient, February 26, 2007

By 

LEON L CZIKOWSKY (Harrisburg, Pa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighting for Life (Hardcover)

"Fighting for Life" is a unique book of alternating stories connecting one person. One story is that of a man facing a fatal disease, undergoing and surviving a rare heart and liver transplant, and returning to productive life. The other is the story of a man who facing adversities reaching his goal of becoming Governor and, on his fourth attempt, is elected and serves two terms. Both stories are of the late Governor Robert P. Casey, and this book is his autobiography.

The one intermingled story is of Bob Casey's fight against Appalachian familial amyloidosis, a rare disease found only in a few people of Irish descent in Kentucky, West Virginia, Chicago, and then Pennsylvania. (Ironically, a similar disease would later prove fatal to both the Mayors of Pittsburgh and Erie.) It would be his Auditor General successor Catherine Baker Knoll who would get Bob Casey to read a book on transplants by Dr. Tom Starzl that would later lead Dr. Starzl to successfully perform this rare two organ transplant. This is a story of incredible medical work and a fighting patient who survived these procedures and not only would be only be return to work as Governor but continue to become a national leader on several issues.

The other story is that of Bob Casey, the State Senator, Auditor General, and then Governor. Bob Casey would arise from political death after losing three races for Governor. In his first race, he won the endorsement of the Democratic State Committee, failed to respond to his opponent's "man against the machine" campaign, and discovered too late the mistake in not answering the charges as that slogan helped defeat him. In his second race, he distanced himself from the political machines, only to discover the political machines such as that of Mayor Jim Tate's in Philadelphia, who then distanced themselves from Casey. In his third race, he was hampered by the inclusion of other Caseys running on the ballot which may have cost him some votes in the confusion.

Still, the name "Bob Casey" held some political magic, even if not initially for Robert P. Casey. Robert Casey, no related to the future Governor, was elected State Treasurer on the basis of having the same name. (Indeed, the Treasurer candidate avoided campaigning to allow the confusion over the two names to build.) Another non-relative named Robert Casey won the Democratic primary for Lt. Governor. Thus, when Robert P. ran for Governor the fourth time, he advertised himself as the "Real Bob Casey".

Bob Casey is to be credited with upgrading the office of Auditor General. Prior to Casey's tenure as Auditor General, it was mostly a lesser functioning row office usually held by a relatively inactive politician. Bob Casey turned the office into an aggressive auditor, not only of government finances, but of government functions. This not only provided a more powerful check on executive branch functions, but it also prepared Bob Casey to learn how to become a good Governor.

Finally, on his fourth try in 1986, Bob Casey hired Jim Carville, who had never managed a winning campaign, to be his campaign manager, believing that people who have tried hard without winning would work harder for victory. This proved to be the case as Casey finally won elected as Governor. Jim Carville went on to manage the successful Presidential campaign of Bill Clinton.

As Governor, Bob Casey writes that he is proud that he put "family formation" on a similar perspective as "capital formation". His Administration fought dead beat dads and made Pennsylvania the top state in child support collections. He fought for and won passage of laws making it tougher to get abortions. He stopped efforts at bringing legalized gambling to Pennsylvania. He created a program that eradicated water borne diseases that had plagued parts of Pennsylvania, providing us all with safe drinking water that today we all take for granted.

This book summarizes Bob Casey, the politician, and Bob Casey, the man struggling against a rare disease. This is a terrific autobiography that brings together Bob Casey, the person.

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Worth the Wait., August 4, 2008

By 

Gerard J. St John (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Fighting for Life (Hardcover)

Pennsylvanians had to wait 20 years for Governor Casey to come to office. On three separate occasions in the 1960s and 1970s, Bob Casey lost elections for the office of Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On the third such occasion in 1976, many observers attributed the election result to voter confusion in which many Casey supporters cast their votes for another person named Robert P. Casey who was a candidate for Lt. Governor. In 1986, he made another run for Governor, this time as "The Real Bob Casey," and he won. In 1990, he was reelected, receiving 68 percent of the total vote. Shortly after his reelection, Casey learned that he was suffering from a rare, incurable disease that sometimes affects persons of Irish ancestry who live in the Appalachian region. Three years later, Casey underwent a heart/liver transplant that enabled him to finish his term in office and write this autobiography. He died in 2000.

This short (215 pages) book presents Bob Casey's vision of politics and government. Essentially, Casey believed that it is a function of government to help the weak and the oppressed in the community. Throughout the narrative, the Governor often mentions some segment of the population and then briefly describes the policies of his administration that provided that segment of society with assistance and support, be it in education, healthcare, job training, child support etcetera.

Especially important to Casey was the subject of abortion, which "excludes an entire class of fellow human beings from our care and protection." In Casey's words, "Who speaks for the child?" When Casey sought to "speak for the child" at the 1992 Democratic Convention the convention managers refused to let him speak, all the while putting pro-abortion speakers on the program. Despite that public insult, Casey chose to stay with his Democratic Party and try to change its present posture from within. The book sets out Casey's thoughts on that subject and also explains his evolving view on the relationship between the Supreme Court of the United States and the chief executive of a sovereign state with respect to interpretation of the Constitution.

Unlike most autobiographies, this one is not written in a sequential format. Instead, the heart/liver transplant is the main framework, spread throughout the book from beginning to end. From that main story, the book moves back and forth in time to cover Casey's family life, his early years in Scranton, his college years at Holy Cross, his law school years at George Washington, his early law practice and his political career. It is an unusual approach to an autobiography - but it works.

It is an excellent book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling, life-affirming story, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fighting for Life (Hardcover)

Governor Casey writes eloquently about his opposition to the violence of abortion, while trying to advance politically in a party that has wholeheartedly embraced unrestricted abortion on demand. His pro-life beliefs were only strengthened by his own life-threatening health challenges as he became even more convinced of the importance of protecting lives that others have concluded are not worth living (the weak, the disabled, the unwanted).

At the same time he makes the case for protecting and respecting the innocent unborn baby, he insists that society must have great concern and compassion for the young women who find themselves in the desperate position of having an unplanned pregnancy.

There are no easy answers to abortion, but Gov. Casey's prescription of love and compassion for BOTH mother and baby would certainly be a good beginning to a possible resolution to this tragedy.