Customer Reviews

The Principled Politician: The Story of Ralph Carr

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I couldn't put this book down. First ,it's a story that had to be told. Carr is an amazing person and has an incredible, until-now untold story. I feel like I unearthed a historical gem by reading about him. Second, Carr's story is incredibly timely in this era of partisanship and the breakdown of politics. It's inspiring that a significant elected official like him could take a principled stand on such an important issue, and he has lessons for politicians today on all issues. Third, Schrager is a terrific writer. It was like reading fiction in a good way, in that I felt like I was reading a novel even though I wasn't. The combination of dialogue and quotes and events, in an accessible but not at all condescending style, was great. Fourth, Schrager obviously poured his heart and soul and time into this -- the amount of work reflected by it ,both in the sources and the care with which he writes, is evident.

In June/08, I was privileged to hear a speech presented to our family by Adam Schrager. The topic was his book: The Principled Politician - The Ralph Carr Story. Mr. Schrager's resonant voice would hold one's interest on any topic, but his presentation and his words were most important and captivating. He began his speech by quoting Gov. Carr:

"Never speak beyond the bladder capacity of your audience." The hour long talk extended to a question and answer period. None would admit that bladders were about to burst, but none would leave before the presentation was ended.

We bought all the books available to us that day.

The Principled Politician is a thoroughly researched, objectively written, long overdue book. Often, insincere plaudits are heaped upon deceased persons, most especially on noted politicians, but Schrager tells a different story. "Principled" is an accurate description of Ralph Carr, Governor of CO from 1939 to 1943. His entire life and political career were guided by sound moral principles from which he never backed down. Mr. Schrager convinces the reader of the truth behind the character label by revealing hundreds of facts, incidents, and quotations seldom or never before stated in complete form.

We learn about Mr. Carr's early life in the mining villages of CO and his days studying law at the Univ of CO, but the emphasis of the book is on the years he served as CO's Gov - the WW2 years when most all politicians and most of the country denounced "yellow bellied Japs" in the US. Carr stood virtually alone in voicing the rights and the honor of the Japanese in America. When evacuation and incarceration of all Japanese - non-citizens and native born US citizens alike - living on the west coast, were ordered, Carr did not "invite" the Japanese to CO, but he "welcomed" them, unlike any other politician in all the states. Concentration camps were not welcomed in any state or neighborhood even though decreed by the US gov't and guarded behind barbed wire. Carr listened to his inner voice, heeded his principles and followed gov't rules and demands with a sincere welcome to the "dirty Japs."

Carr's vociferous opponents and the anti-Carr press were overwhelmingly in the majority. His civil rights stance and friendliness to the Japanese in America assured his defeat for a run in the US senate. Nevertheless, he never caved in.

Japanese Americans owe much to this incredible man. In reality, all Americans benefited by his courage and stubborn defiance of what he knew was wrong. Some say we need politicians like him today. The truth is, we ALWAYS need politicians like Ralph Carr.

Thanks to Mr. Adam Schrager to whom we also owe much. I believe, he, like Mr. Carr, is a principled man. Six years of his life were devoted to the research and writing of this book.

Ralph Carr was the governor of Colorado when the United States entered World War II. A rising star in national Republican circles, he was also a man with strong personal principles. And he was steadfast in adherence to the rule of law - including the United States Constitution.

Carr's stubborn adherence to his principles brought him into conflict with the tide of anti-Japanese hysteria that swept across the US after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, and was at its worst in the Western US. Carr welcomed Japanese-Americans to his state - the only governor in the US to do so.

When Carr was deluged with letters, telegrams and phone calls from citizens urging him to lock up all "Japanese" people including American citizens, to call up the National Guard and turn them away from the borders, and to do even worse things, he didn't call out his pollsters or convene a focus group. He searched his mind and heart and followed his understanding of the legal, and the right, thing to do. And did it. He said, "If you harm them, you must harm me first."

Adam Schrager has done a service to American history with this book. He explains Carr as a man, a lawyer, and a politician, and chronicles his refusal to be stampeded - by misinformed and scared citizens, by angry bigots, or by the federal government. Carr's principled stand on this issue earned him a barrage of threats and insults and ended his political career. It also earned him the respect and gratitude of many for his calm voice among the hysteria. This was a shameful chapter in US history: thousands of loyal citizens of Japanese descent were rounded up into internment camps, even as their relatives were fighting and dying for the United States.

Emotions cooled after the war ended, and Carr was beginning to regain respect and standing with the public when he died from complications of diabetes.

I highly recommend this book.

When many of us were in school, we got sugar-coated history, often skewed toward America always being the good guys. This book is about a hero who's human, and who believes to his core in the U.S. Constitution. I wish it was required reading in schools. Students need to know that you can be an ordinary American AND be a hero, that we all need to stand up for what we believe is right. You'll hear people say they've never heard of Ralph Carr, even in Colorado and even among those of Japanese descent. Maybe it's because we like for our heroes to win, to succeed in their causes. Carr didn't -- Japanese American citizens were put in camps, to our eternal dishonor, Carr lost his re-election and the circumstances may have caused his death. But the important lesson to learn is that he spoke out, giving dissenters a voice and the rest of the people something to think about. When the Western governor's met to talk about the "Japanese problem," and one by one said they would not have Japanese camps in their states (some even saying they would hang them from the pine trees), Carr's representative said Colorado would welcome them. Sometimes we can't turn the tide of public reaction immediately -- as we've recently seen -- but it shouldn't stop any of us from speaking up. Thanks to Adam's tenaciousness in presenting this subject to the public, we now have on record the complete story of how one small man with a loud voice made a difference.

Adam Schrager is a precise and thoughtful writer. He allows history to be told and not to be judged by him but by the reader. He wrote of an important and historical episode in American history. Within that episode stood a unique man who not only believed in the Constitution but did so as a politician. Today, there is a preponderance of revisionism. Adam Schrager would have none of that. No previous reviewers would turn their anger toward the Empire of Japan. This one will. As much as I hurt for the true and legal citizens of Japanese decent, I hurt for the rest of our population who saw their sons' intestines removed with bayonets while they lie, still alive, on the side of the road during the Bataan Death March (read Ghost Soldiers). A truly evil enemy felt little remorse, albeit unwarranted, toward an honorable segment of America by its follow citizens in the only true multicultural country on the planet.

Ralph Carr was a man to revere. Principle guided his life and accompanied him to Colorado's highest office. What a fine and necessary need fulfilled at a desperate and frightening time. The Japanese easily found their enemies within their borders. Americans didn't have the luxury or the time.

That there was one State having an authority in Ralph Carr to have the clear head and clear morality to see past the appearance of the ancestry and into the heart of the American within, there was a story to be told... a story long needing to be told and, perhaps, soon to be forgotten.

I thank the author for his writing style that allowed me to read on with interest and his humanity for putting me there and not out here second guessing. And to you Governor, you can finally be appreciated.

I loved this book. The Principled Politician is incredibly well researched and skillfully written by Adam Schrager. Fast paced and riveting, I sometimes felt like a voyeur standing unseen in the corner of the room watching history unfold.

Adam Schrager finally tells the story of Governor Ralph Carr in a manner this remarkable person truly deserves. There is right and wrong and the circumstances of the times should not alter that fact. Schrager beautifully shares this story of a man who chose to do what was right, despite it being incredibly unpopular among the mob mentality of the time. It also compels the reader to seriously consider the responsibility we all carry as citizens in our country and the choices we make.

Governor Ralph Carr was a person who represented the type of leadership our country's founders envisioned for our nation. Because of Adam Schrager's remarkable work we finally see what a living embodiment of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights looks like - and what we all can become in this great nation.

A great read for any student of politics or history. This book offers a unique and inside look at a Governor as he struggles to lead against what is popular and politically expedient. The author's extensive research brings to light a very difficult and often unwritten period of American History. Growing up in Colorado I heard many times about Governor Carr and the World War II Internment Camps but this book moved me to make the drive to Camp Amanche.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Colorado Politics or World War II History.

What a read!

In the darkest hour of the previous administration, this book gave me hope (pre-Obama) for what I always thought citizens AND politicians could be.

Again and again as I read, I measured myself against Ralph Carr's courage, and wondered if I could find the strength to stand to the hatred, fear and smallness of spirit. I'm not sure I could, but now I have a high water mark to try for.

Ralph Carr realized the promise of America, and Adam Schrager has told his story (how did I not know about it before this book?) in a compelling and forthright book.

Buy it, read it, then buy other copies for your friends, because you'll want to revisit this inspiring book often (and you know how hard it is to get a book back...)

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have. I must stand by anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he does wrong."

- Abraham Lincoln

In "The Principled Politician: The Ralph Carr Story," author Adam Schrager has found just the right brush with which to paint the Colorado legend: a country lawyer thrust into governance, all too ready to do what he believed right rather than politically expedient.

Carr made his living early in life in newspapering and law, most notably as a lawyer in Antonito and a U.S. district attorney before the Republican powers-that-be saw his electoral potential and drafted him in the 1938 race for governor.

Widowed and charged with caring for his then-teenage children, Carr reluctantly carried the GOP mantle, vowing to bring financial restraint and smart spending to a state woefully in the red.

As Schrager points out, Carr attained great popularity beyond Colorado's borders for his fiscal savvy and ability to salvage a bureaucratic nightmare; so much so, there was serious talk of Carr lending his clout as a candidate for vice president during Wendell Willkie's failed bid to unseat Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Carr stayed home to handle the business of Colorado, and little could he know how much his leadership would be needed.

With the new decade came the attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese navy, and with that came a wave of fear and outrage throughout the country surrounding those of Japanese, Italian and German descent.

When others sought to expel or imprison Japanese-American citizens, Carr would not bend in insisting they be treated as any American should be according to our Constitution.

When the vast majority of Coloradans angrily decried measures to allow internment camps and relocation efforts in their state - not for moral objection, but out of racial hatred - Carr held to his conviction that his state would do what was asked of it in wartime, no matter how unpopular the move was.

It's an amazing story usually reserved for the realm of fiction, such as the advocacy of Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird." Schrager does a supreme job at presenting a rich historical narrative for much of this incredible story.

If there is any knock against "The Principled Politician," it is not knowing where to draw the line in presenting the wealth of sources speaking to the anti-Japanese sentiment that existed.

In Schrager's defense, it is hard for some of today's readers to comprehend the post-Pearl Harbor anger that existed in America without a solid knowledge of World War II. But his superb narrative is somewhat bogged down by example after example of the prevailing racial climate of the time.

Overall, the author has certainly done his homework and presented this history in a timely and accessible way without veering far into the greater story of World War II or the Japanese-American internment.

This is the Ralph Carr story, and Schrager's "Principled Politician" serves as one of the finer histories about Colorado seen in some time.

This book is totally awesome, I'm not much of a reader, but I literally could not put this book down until I finished it. Adam's storytelling makes Ralph Carr come alive....I actually feel like I know him personally now. Carr was an amazing and too little recognized giant of Colorado politics. This book is a must for anyone who loves Colorado or who thinks we should again have politicians of principle.