Taking the Hill: From Philly to Baghdad to the United States Congress (Hardcover)

by Patrick J. Murphy (Author), Adam Frankel (Contributor) "My family history is one of the lost chapters in the larger American story..." (more)
Key Phrases: brigade combat team, paign manager, West Point, Bucks County, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Murphy, a first-term representative from Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District, recounts the story of his unlikely political journey in this partisan autobiography. Born to a policeman and a legal secretary in 1973 Philadelphia, Murphy's early life was unexceptional. After meeting President Clinton in 1996—a defining moment in my life—Murphy graduated from Pennsylvania's King's College and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the army. He attended the Widener University School of Law before joining the army's Judge Advocate General's Corps. As an army lawyer, he served at West Point and was deployed to Bosnia before joining the 82nd Airborne Division. In 2003, he was deployed to Iraq and led a Brigade Operational Law Team (BOLT) for seven months. After leaving the army, he challenged Republican Rep, Mike Fitzpatrick—a rubber stamp for George Bush on Iraq—in the 2006 congressional election. A staunch critic of the Iraq War, Murphy won a narrow victory and now serves on the front lines in Washington at a defining moment in our history. Short on self-awareness and long on hyperbole, Murphy's narrative fails to rise above conventional campaign biography. (Feb. 19)
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Review

“From Bosnia to Baghdad to the Kerry campaign and Murphy family’s dinner table in the working neighborhoods of Pennsylvania, the pages of Taking the Hill overflow with hair-raising adventures, thoughtful observations, and a story of service, sacrifice, and good old fashioned courage. Accomplished as a professor, paratrooper, and now a public servant—Patrick Murphy is an American original with a voice we’ll be hearing for decades to come.”—John Kerry 

“Taking the Hill shows us why Patrick Murphy is one of the brightest stars in the next generation of American leaders.  With characteristic passion and candor, Murphy gives us a powerful indictment of the Bush administration's failures in Iraq. And his inspiring life's story offers hope to all who have the courage and determination to reach for the American Dream.”—Barack Obama

"Political observers have buzzed about Patrick Murphy as the only member of Congress to have served in Iraq.  Yet in these pages, he thinks of himself as the son of a cop and legal secretary whose best friend works for Budweiser.  And therein lies the lesson he offers in this account of his meteoric political rise. This is a story of humility, honesty, and honor which will serve the politician and non-politician well."—Michael Smerconish, radio host, columnist and author

"A magnificent journey of conscience, hope, courage, and American spirit…and a blisteringly great and unusually fun read. In these days of raw cynicism toward politicians, Patrick Murphy's route from blue collar Philadelphia, to the trenches  of Baghdad, to the halls of Congress, is a needed reminder that some  politicians are forged by fire, principle, and ideals."—Brian Haig, author of Man in the Middle

“My hero Winston Churchill said that "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all the others." Congressman Murphy, a soldier-politician of this new century, is the living proof of that. As a Philadelphia guy myself, I take great pride in Pat Murphy and got a wild kick reading about his exciting young life. Like him I grew up in Northeast Philly and spent so much of my time in nearby Bucks County. I can't believe how much this young fellow has done - lawyer, prosecutor, paratrooper, national legislator. This guy was born airborne.”—Chris Matthews, Host of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews and NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (February 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805086951
• ISBN-13: 978-0805086959
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #373,606 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More interested in taking the Hill than Baghdad, April 28, 2008

By	Quang X. Pham (Orange County, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I saw Murphy in a Discovery documentary about DNC-sponsored Iraq war veterans running for Congress in 2006. He was obviously the most impressive of the bunch and the only one who won. As a Californian who travels to Philly often for business, I am somewhat familiar with Bucks County and the demographics of that area. Murphy beat all the odds: winning his first race with no name recognition and little money. The narrative about his race kept my interest and the details of a long congressional campaign against an incumbent with name ID and money were most interesting. There are, however, much better Iraq war memoirs in print. So I skipped most the gung-ho warrior stuff (Murphy had been a JAG paratrooper, not a grunt or company commander) and went to the last third of the book. He credits his wife (a Republican) with getting him over the top. Keep your eyes on this fall's election as the GOP has recruited Tom Manion, a retired Marine colonel whose son Travis was KIA in Iraq, to challenge Murphy. Regardless of political affiliation, it's good to see fellow veterans get elected to Congress in times of war.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Solid, informative on Congressional race, but not great, April 12, 2008

By	Stephen J. Snyder "Socratic Gadfly" (Lancaster, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This story of Patrick Murphy, the first Iraq War vet to get elected to Congress is informative and sobering. It's also a pretty good read. But, it's not a great read.

The book is more informative when Murphy discusses his run for Congress than in his analysis of how and where Bush went wrong in launching the Iraq War in the first place, or how Bush, Cheney, Bremer, Rumfeld et al screwed up after the invasion.

Throw in the fact that Murphy felt compelled to join the Blue Dog Coalition and renew funding for the School of the Americas, with the larger position that, as a freshman in Congress who got elected on one issue, and this is not a five-star book.

If I were the first rater, I might give it four stars. But, in light of the five-star fluff, it has to get knocked down to three stars as a counterweight.

Since there's nothing new on Iraq, I'll focus on Congressman Murphy.

First, the amount of work involved with getting elected is huge. Especially for a first-time office-seeker with not a lot of name recognition, it can be grueling. Murphy spells that out in detail, both for the Democratic primary and the general election. He then details attack-dog Republican tactics against him in the general election, including a possible Hatch Act violation by the chief of staff of his opponent, incumbent Republican Mike Fitzpatrick.

Next, he discusses the hypocrisy of some endorsements, though he's either too kind or too soft to use the word "hypocrisy."

That includes the Veterans of Foreign Wars endorsing Fitzpatrick, a non-veteran. That includes unions endorsing Fitzpatrick because "he returns our phone calls." (It's all about access, isn't it?)

Murphy then explains his decision to join the Blue Dogs because they stand for "balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility."

But, uhh, Pat ... "paygo" on budget issues is an official position of your party as a whole in both houses of Congress. No need to join the Blue Dogs for that, unless you think Pelosi and Reid are giving lip service.

As for SOAR, especially in light of Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, you're naïve at best if you really think that under this administration, all its days of training human rights thugs are in the past. You should have voted to kill it.

In short, contrary to some comment, a good book but not a great one. While it is interesting to read about the shoe leather of a Congressional campaign, one doesn't have to be an Iraq vet to do that, either.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A leader for the new generation who embodies the values of the greatest generation, February 20, 2008

By	Patriot Pen (Doylestown) - See all my reviews

When I was a boy (40 years ago) I read the autobiography of another Murphy - America's most decorated serviceman of WWII - Audie Murphy. As I read TAKING THE HILL, I was transported back in time as I marveled at the integrity, patriotism, modesty, and commitment to family, faith and country that filled the pages in Patrick Murphy's new autobiography. He reminded me of what is best about our great country. His rise from the streets of Philadelphia to the Halls of Congress is a testament to the power of the American Dream.

This Murphy served in a different war and a different time - and his exploits are not the daring heroics of the battlefield as much as they are the principled battles to win hearts and minds at West Point, in Baghdad and on the political campaign trail. But what shines through is a voice that is unabashedly proud of America, of freedom, and of the values that many cynics no longer believe can be found in our fractured country.

With a modest voice and a pure heart, Patrick Murphy delivers a classic American story. A trouble-making kid who finally grows up and takes responsibility for his life, who learns the importance of service through his family, his faith, his friends, and the military. And who shares the challenges of modern warfare that our political system has become.

His values of duty, service, hard work, determination, and straightforwardness provide a road map for young people to follow. I put the book down and thought how lucky we are to have a leader for this new generation who reminds me that the lessons and sacrifices of the greatest generation were not really lost after all. Patrick Murphy's story is an inspiring journey and should be read by those who are looking for a reason to be confident in troubled times. With Patrick Murphy now in the Congress of the United States, a working class hero has been born - although I can't imagine this courageous and modest young leader would ever use those words about himself.