Letter to a New President: Commonsense Lessons for Our Next Leader [Hardcover]

Robert C. Byrd (Author), Steve Kettmann (Collaborator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008

A legendary Senator advises our next President on the commonsense values necessary to lead our nation
United States Senator Robert C. Byrd is the longest-serving member of the United States Senate in the history of our great Republic.  Senator Byrd has served the people of West Virginia, and the nation, for fifty-four years, and has served alongside eleven Presidents.  He was twice elected by his colleagues to the position of Senate Majority Leader and currently is chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Byrd has lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, the Cold War, the resignation of a U.S. President, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and traumatic military conflicts around the globe, including Iraq and Vietnam. Byrd has been a witness to it all.  And now, in his ninetieth year of life, he wants to share the commonsense lessons he has learned from his unique vantage point in history.
In Letter to a New President, Byrd recounts lessons drawn from his remarkable life as a young boy growing up poor in the coalfields of southern West Virginia to his meteoric rise to the pinnacles of power in Washington, D.C.  From his unique vantage point in history, Byrd focuses his observations on underappreciated and seldom discussed virtues like personal responsibility, careful consideration before making decisions, and a sense of decency and fairness even toward fierce opponents.  A student of history and a defender of our Constitution, Byrd looks to the past for lessons and, in Letter to a New President, studies present failures as guides for constructive lessons for the future.
This book will help the next President grapple with the heavy demands of the office.  Every American who cares about where this country is heading will find rich wisdom in Byrd’s sage advice.
Enlightened by a wide-ranging knowledge of American history and a love for the guiding principles of the Constitution, Byrd’s observations sharpen the focus of the historical moment in which we find ourselves, as no one but Senator Byrd can.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this book-length letter to the next president, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) draws on his 56 years of experience in Congress to offer advice, admonition and encouragement. With frequent references to past presidents, especially his personal favorite, Harry Truman, Byrd claims that his passion for the Constitution is only rivaled by his love for his wife. He presents a readable, if slight, survey of past presidencies and a scathing evaluation of the greatest crisis in the nation's history brought about by the failings of the Bush administration: the buildup to the war in Iraq and the president's bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Chapter headings such as Bring Back the Fireside Chat and scads of references to Emerson, Jefferson and Thoreau provide a rich philosophical context to Byrd's political thought, even as much of his advice feels familiar and anodyne: Build Your Presidency Around Accountability. The book's detailed analysis of the great power and responsibility of the executive branch is timely, and prospective presidents and concerned citizens would be well-advised to read Byrd's book. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“Senator Byrd draws on a lifetime of experience to offer a guiding hand to our country’s next Commander in Chief. His unfailing faith in God and country provides an example of the best we should hope to find in our leaders as well as any of our fellow citizens.” --President Jimmy Carter

“Few people are better qualified to advise the next President of the United States than Senator Robert Byrd. In this book, he draws on his vast knowledge and experience with complex issues in both domestic and foreign policy, and offers remarkable insights and extraordinary wisdom about the immense challenges our next President will face here at home and in our ties with other nations. It’s a book that will appeal to every citizen who cares about our country as well.” --Senator Edward Kennedy

"From one of the most respected and revered voices over the last half-century comes wise and insightful advice not only for our next president but for all of us. This treasured work deserves high critical praise and should reach the widest audience." --Doris Kearns Goodwin

"This is a moving and insightful book that should be read by all of us -- even if we won't be the next President! I highly recommend it." --Andrei Cherny, author, The Candy Bombers

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312383029
• ISBN-13: 978-0312383022
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,636,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Advice from one of the best of a dying breed, August 6, 2008

By 

Diane Kistner (Georgia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Letter to a New President: Commonsense Lessons for Our Next Leader (Kindle Edition)

I was reminded I wanted to buy this book when I read a review accusing Robert Byrd of focusing on tearing down George W. Bush and "name-calling." This did not sound like the Robert Byrd I've been watching defend our blessed U.S. Constitution for almost my entire adult life, but I wanted to see for myself.

Beyond cautions to the new president, whether Republican or Democrat, about what "he or she" will inherit from George W. Bush, I found this book to be a very balanced, long-sighted view of the history of this nation and the principles on which it was founded. Stating the truth of where we now stand is not "name-calling"; the reality is that the Bush/Cheney administration and its enablers have very seriously undermined and damaged America and her Constitution. We the People, her lifeblood, have become so perilously anemic and "unmoored" from history and reality that the U.S. citizenry is hardly capable of the kind of debate and reflection required for self-governance. And yet we have little trust in our leaders.

Senator Byrd lays out a number of important approaches the new president must take to restore the confidence of the American people in her leaders and--most importantly--themselves as citizens who, in the final analysis, must be informed enough to self-govern, as the Founding Fathers intended.

Here are the steps Byrd urges our new president will take:

1. Bring back the fireside chat.
2. Teach the people about the Constitution.
3. No life stands outside history.
4. A big lie is still a lie; tell the truth.
5. Build your presidency around accountability.
6. Let the press do its job, even when that might sting.
7. We can do better than photo-op diplomacy.
8. A new approach to the rest of the world: influence.
9. Less partisan warfare, more real debate.
10. Don't forget the basics: Have the patience to reflect.

Each section includes the rationale for why that approach is critical to this nation's survival. The book is full of the thoughts and actions of presidents and other leaders during our long history--the good, the bad, and the ugly. Throughout, Senator Byrd urges an awareness of the fact that history does repeat itself, and how.

Senator Byrd's mind is still sharp and his spirit still mighty, even if his body is inexorably declining. In his nineties, it was shocking to me to realize (as Byrd mentions in one of many interesting asides) that he actually served for four years in the Senate with PRESCOTT Bush, George W.'s grandfather. A telling tale that every Legislative Branch member ought to consider carefully follows:

"I was considered stubborn in some quarters and eccentric in others when I flew to the Soviet Union in 1979 to meet with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev in my role as Senate Majority Leader. I went to reinforce upon him the constitutional importance of giving the Senate ample time to thoughtfully review an important nuclear-arms treaty of the day, SALT II.... By the end we had reached an understanding. I drank a toast to him, and he toasted me, too. Brezhnev understood that he must respect the role of Congress and give us time for thorough consideration of the treaty."

If only George W. Bush had had the same respect for Congress (and they for each other and for the American people) instead of bums-rushing them into authorizing him to invade Iraq right before the 2002 mid-term elections! Many thousands of lives and many billions of taxpayers' dollars might have been far better spent.

Senator Byrd's perspective on history and governance is wide and deep, tempered by decades of struggling to stay true to his moral sense and calling as he has fought tirelessly to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Unlike many, he has demonstrated the capacity to take time to think, to change, to grow. I will always remember him pulling that little red copy of the U.S. Constitution out of his breast pocket on the Senate floor. I hope the next president will also carry one, not as a prop but as a reminder as Byrd does, ever-mindful of its import.

It must be for Senator Byrd--and for any American who is informed enough to understand the implications of the last eight years--terribly saddening to think he may not live long enough to see a new president rouse us all once again to fight for our country's heart and soul: our hard-won Constitution and rule of law; our honesty, integrity, humility, values, and transcendent ideals. His heart must be breaking a second time now.

I thank you for your service, Senator Byrd. May God be with you always.

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, but it seems tired after reading his other books, October 20, 2009

By 

B. Adducchio - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Letter to a New President: Commonsense Lessons for Our Next Leader (Paperback)

This book is very well-written, and well thought out. But after the second or third chapter, I got tired of hearing the same gripes about President Bush. Also, there are moments in the book when Byrd seems too egotistical. He puts himself on a pedestal about his decisions to object to war. But he doesn't mention at all about his decision to vote for the Patriot Act, even during the part when he discusses wiretapping citizens and how Bush was wrong to do that. Overall, it's a good book for people that like Senator Byrd.

3 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars for Poor Leadership by Example, July 24, 2008

By 

Thomas D. Franklin "T. David Franklin" (209 Byrd Lane Clarksburg, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Letter to a New President: Commonsense Lessons for Our Next Leader (Hardcover)

My Grandmother, and Mother both told me, "If you can't say anything nice about someone, you shouldn't say anything at all"; Senator Robert C. Byrd would have been wise to follow such sage advice in his latest book. His book is full of critisism of President George W. Bush. He should have warned the readers of his book in the title that it was actually an attack of our president. Don't get me wrong, a little blame properly placed is never a bad thing, but he spends more time name calling, then offering solutions, and wise advise.

I honestly tired of reading his attacks, throughout the book, and I'm a registered Democrat and I live on Byrd Lane in Clarksburg, WV. This kind of literature should have come with a money back offer if not completely satisfied.