Straight to the Heart: Political Cantos [Hardcover]

Angela Alioto (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998

One of America's most outspoken political activists turns her laser-sharp focus on the American political process, confirming our worst fears about influence peddling and governmental favors for sale.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Angela Alioto, a former member of the San Francisco board of supervisors and two-time mayoral candidate, has not written a politician's memoir, although Straight to the Heart draws upon her experiences in city and state politics. Instead, using the nine circles of Hell from Dante's Inferno as her model, she takes readers on a guided tour of the political system and its most egregious sinners.

Many of the examples are drawn from San Francisco politics, but they speak to broader concerns about issues such as corruption and public health, which affect all communities. She writes passionately about the dangerous influence that power-hungry coalitions and corporate groups such as the tobacco industry wield over governments at every level. She also discusses frankly what we, as citizens, can do to make the system better by getting involved.

From Library Journal

Alioto, the daughter of former San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, served four terms as a city supervisor from 1989 to 1997. She uses Dante's Inferno as a metaphor to portray the political world in San Francisco, where she battled frequently with established political power networks. Alioto descends with the reader through the Circles of Hell, describing the political failings of the inhabitants of the circles, from the twilight of the Outer Circle where, she thinks, the politically uncommitted reside to the frozen depths of the lowest circles that Alioto reserves for tobacco industry representatives and politicians who accept their contributions. In this impassioned defense of her years of public service, Alioto pulls no punches in condemning those who tried to thwart her progressive programs. Because of the local nature of the subject matter, her book will have limited interest outside California.?Jill Ortner, SUNY at Buffalo Libs.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Russian Hill Pr; 1st edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965352420
• ISBN-13: 978-0965352420
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,181,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic!, March 20, 2003

By 

Joseph D Murray (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straight to the Heart: Political Cantos (Hardcover)

Provides, in human terms, the modality & methodology vital to bring the city (and the country) to a nexus of understanding as to how & why government can transform our collective way of life!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfect for the political junkie, tells it like it is, January 20, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco/Rome) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straight to the Heart: Political Cantos (Hardcover)

Very few political books have the honesty and the integrity that this book has...it is full of real life events in San Francisco politics and it is full of San Francisco tradition....you really feel like you are living the adventure and that you can make a difference whether its with the homeless problem or the lack of competitive bidding in city contracts...facinating reading!

5.0 out of 5 stars the first female president, September 10, 2009

By 

Jeffrey A. Gustavson "jeffswims" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Straight to the Heart: Political Cantos (Hardcover)

Caatch the wave by the woman who had the courage to stand up to all the powers to be and fight for what was right. This is the woman who asked for and received special dispensation from Pope Benedict to have the National Shrine of St. Francis built in the city for whom it was named. A woman whose father deserves to have a street named after him long before they even consider it for Willie Brown. Truly, the heart of the city and, in the absence of Bobby Kennedy, the woman I consider my political idol along with Jerry Brown. May God bless us all.