Customer Reviews

Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

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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.

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.

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.

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.

"Just because our heroes were murdered does not mean the dream does not live buried deep inside our broken hearts." These were the words that attracted me to Joe Biden over 20 years ago. His book: "Promises to Keep." is a deeply personal account of a young man in a big hurry, who rose from modest roots to become one of the most powerful people in the United States. His interactions with giants like Mike Mansfield and Henry Kissinger, Ted Kennedy and Ronald Reagan are heart warming and insightful. He clearly a man substance and broad experience.

On the personal side he has suffered through the death of his first wife and daughter, an aborted and embarrassing end to a presidential campaign and faced his own mortality not once, but twice. He "got up," (a phrase he uses often in the book) to survive his health and political problems. The section about his extraordinary second wife Jill is storybook touching. Unlike many political biographies, Joe Biden's book is a series of stories, the kind my grandfather would tell -- usually interesting, often funny, and always with some lesson attached. Reading this book is a peek into the fascinating past and the hopeful future he has for himself and the country.

Biden is no longer a young man, but a seasoned elder statesman who deserves consideration when we cast our votes next year. If you enjoy "Promises to keep," like me you will see a one book - one vote equation.

Joe Biden's book is a great read, period. Bill Clinton's autobiography was a dull, self-absorbed treatise; this latest release by one of America's most informed and sincere politicians is, by comparison, well-written and balanced. Biden's life stories, including personal tragedies and mistakes, are interwoven with the Senator's work on foreign and domestic policy issues. All readers will gain new insights into many of our nation's and the world's most prominent political leaders. This is the story of the man who best understands the international scene: We either need him as our President or Secretary of State.

I never knew that Joe Biden had to deal with so much tragedy in his life. Between the loss of his wife and daughter to his two life threatening aneurysms, you're amazed he was even able to bounce back from so much tragedy. While the political sections of the book, such as the descriptions of the Bork hearings are riveting, it is the personal stories that come through the most. It is obvious that this man truly loves his family. The chapters about his first wife and her death are heartbreaking. The way he writes, you almost feel as if you are going through it with him. The story of how he met and married his current wife, Jill, are equally interesting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a story of someone who was knocked down a few times and managed to keep getting back up.

Joe Biden was born in 1942 in Scranton Pa. His father was a car salesman and his mother a housewife. Biden comes from a large Roman Catholic family. His world was one of school athletics, church and talking
politics and girls with the guys. Joe graduated from the University of Deleware and Syracuse University's Law School. His grades were mediocre but he had a burning drive to succeed in politics.
Biden married early to a fine lady who was the daughter of a wealthy Repbulican. He became a member of the town council and in a surprising upset defeated a longterm incumbent Republican to became the youngest man in the United States Senate. Biden was only 29 in 1972 when he took his seat in the US Senate Chamber where he still serves with distinction.
Biden has had a difficult private life. His first wife Neilia and their young baby daughter Cora were killed in a horrific traffic accident soon after his election to the Senate. In 1988 Biden suffered from a serious brain aneuryism which almost cost him his life. A second marriage to wife Jill and the birth of a daughter kept Biden from the pit of suicidal despair. He has a strong faith in God and believes in the promise of America as a beacon of democracy and hope for the huddled masses throughout the world.
On the political scene he ran for the presidency in 1988 but had to withdraw from primaries due to the scandal of his plagarizing a speech made by British Labor Leader Neal Kinnock. He was accused of cheating on a law school exam (he was not cheating but the damage in the press had already been done!). Biden is now in a very uphill race to seize the nomination for the Democratic flagbearer in the 2008 race.
Biden has served as the powerful chairman of the Justice Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States Senate. Mr. Biden has won plaudits and suffered from thrown bricks for his advocacy for protection for women of rape/sex crimes and for his opposition to Reagan nominee the controversial Robert Bork to sit on the US Supreme Court. Biden and liberal forces kept Bork off the court.
Biden is a leading critic of George W. Bush's rush to war in Iraq. He has scathing remarks to make about the neocons led by Donald Rumsfeld, Vice-President Dick Cheney and policy wonks in the Defense Department.
Biden did good work in getting aid for the Bosnians in their war against the evil dictator Malosovich. His acumen in foreign policy led John Kerry to consider him for Secretary of State if he had been elected in the 2004 race against incumbent George W. Bush. Biden was a harsh critic of the Reagan Iran-Contra mess and is a brilliant Middle Eastern expert.
It was fascinating to hear Biden tell us his impressions of legends in the Senate such as John Stennis, Ted Kennedy, Ted Stevens and others. These powerful leaders are also human beings with all the problems "all flesh is heir to."
The book's second half deals more with policy issues than personalities but Biden has done a good job in this his first book. Anyone who is politically engaged would gain from a reading of Biden's memoir. What's ahead for the Senior Senator from Delaware? Only time and the voters of America will decide!

After reading this book, I feel that it's probably the most honestly written autobiography that I've ever read from an elected official. Much like his Senate floor speeches and TV appearances, Sen. Biden tells the reader how he really feels and in typical Biden style, does not pull any punches or censor himself. Joe Biden has gotten into trouble over the years because he speaks his mind and tells the truth regardless of the political consequences of doing so or how controversial his words might be at the time. Usually in the end, he ends up being right. While many politicians will watch the polls and say what they think people want to hear depending on how the political winds are blowing at the time while towing the line of political correctness, Joe Biden always tells it like it is with no filter. This habit has always been his "Achilles Heel" in the minds of some people (particularly the press). But it's guys like him who the average blue collar citizen can get behind because they know that he's real and has no hidden agenda. He didn't grow up silver spoon fed or have a famous family name. He didn't go to an Ivy League college as a legacy or have a well-connected father. He grew up a middle class kid in a small state that many people couldn't find on a map if they tried. Every year when the financial wealth of members of Congress is released to the public, Sen. Biden is always either at the bottom of the list or dead last. He has not gained financial wealth during his years as a Senator like others have because they have done favors for special interests. This man owes no favors to the lobbyists or Corporate America. He's never accepted PAC $$$ for his campaigns. He has no skeletons in his closet or else somebody would have found them by now. Sen. Biden has said many times that there are certain issues that are worth losing elections over. How many politicians would come out and say that? This is the one candidate who is not going to flip-flop on issues because he feels it's politically expedient to do so. In short, this guy is the straight up, what you see is what you get presidential candidate that this country has been longing for.

The Senior Senator from Delaware is usually known for saying boisterous and surprising statements. His alarming statements are often a window in to a deeper level of analysis that few in public service are willing to espouse, or more importantly, able to deduce. His new book adds a context to the intellegent and impassioned Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Brief bios can not hardly explain the life of a man who has committed so much of his life to public service and faced so many personal challenges along the way. Neither do 30 second sound bites do justice to carefully thought out policy positions.

The reflective book on one's life appears to be a trend among Presidential candidates these days. No other book released thus far has woven a clearer tale of someone who is ready to assume the pressure and responsibility of President while still having the practical experience to manage where some academics have fallen flat. By the time Biden gets around to talking about his current run for the Presidency he has painted the picture of his ability to hold office but one might wonder how he will manage to climb the obsticles in his way. In reflection though you realize that anyone this brilliant will find a way.

Without a doubt this book is worth reading if you want to be totally baffled how someone this bright could be considered "second tier"