9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a nice surprise., November 12, 1999
This review is from: Time Present, Time Past: A Memoir (Paperback)
I expected "Time Present, Time Past" to be a typical political autobiography- a lame rehash of old battles with the author steadfastly skiewing events in his favor, and then lying out a few vauge ideas about "making America better". Instead, I was treated to a very intelligent book wherein the author talked about real people and real stories of his growing up. Bradley's candid frustration at being able to unlock the machinery of government and his lack of arrogance is a refreshing change. This book is altogether poignant and readable. Anyone who reads this is going to vote for Bill Bradley next year.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The testimony of a dedicated responsible effective American Senator, December 9, 2006
This review is from: Time Present, Time Past: A Memoir (Paperback)
This is a very well- written and thoughtful book. Bill Bradley wrote it just as his third Senatorial term was coming to a close. Unfortunately close to that time he had to deal with a number of personal tragedies, including his wife's breast cancer, the severe illness of both of his parents. Bradley tells of his Chrystal City childhood, the only child of his arthritically disabled Presbyterian banker father, and his strongly Methodist mother. He does not revel in his own personal athletic feats and accomplishments. Rather he presents us with a picture of small- town life in that era, and the kind of world he grew up in.
One of the strengths of the book is that it tells much about different regions and populations of America. As a Senator and Presidential candidate he visited eventually every state in the Union and he for instance in his chapter on his Scotch- Irish family background describes the economy and social world of the Appalachians.
Bradley is eager to present to the reader his vision of what America should be. He speaks a lot about responsibility and discipline, and communal obligation. These are virtues he himself personally exemplifies, and one feels how strongly he is repelled by an America gone too soft and self- indulgent, too hedonistically obsessed with short- term pleasures.
He tells of his work in bringing about the Tax Reform Bill of 1986 which eliminated many loopholes, and simplified the system so that it had only two tax brackets. He talks about other public initiatives of his related to helping the poor, the one - parent families. He gives a chapter of the book to considering the difficulties the great American middle- class has faced over recent years.
One has the sense in reading the book of his being a thoroughly decent, hard- working and fair person.
Bradley has an amusing little section in which he talks about his efforts at improving his own public speaking. Here of course was his major failing as a political figure, his lack of charisma. He was eclipsed almost instantaneously by the charismatic Clinton.
Bradley is the work- horse of Orwell's fable. The solid honest good person who does the drudgery and certainly does not get a final good reward for it.
This is not to say that Bradley complains . He doesn't. He does not in fact put great emphasis in the work on his own feelings. He does however show how much he cares for America, and is devoted to its well- being.
This is an outstanding political autobiography not because it overwhelms emotionally but because it rationally clearly gives a 'picture' of what America is and might be. And it tells the story of a highly devoted public servant who did his best to make a better America.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The Senator, Statesman, Leader, and all around good man", May 14, 2000
This review is from: Time Present, Time Past: A Memoir (Paperback)
In this intelligent, thoughtful, witty,and captivating memoir Bill Bradley tells stories about America and indivdual Americans while espousing his beliefs about what the nation has become and what it should be. The book transcends the traditional memoir of a politician as it chooses to speak more about the effects of policy rather than what particular policy can benefit our society. The reader feels the former Senator's compassion for the human condition and understands why he would be a wonderful leader. It is a must read for anyone who believes the hardships that face the nation can be overcome.
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