Customer Reviews

Time Present, Time Past: A Memoir

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

"Remedial English"? Forget that, Time Present, Time Past is exceptionally well-written, thoughtful, and straight from the heart. Extremely insightful, this book gives us a look into the frenzied political process of today and into the man who could, SHOULD, and very well may be our president someday.

I hate to use the same word that everyone has been using, but this is indeed an extremely thoughtful book. Bradley takes us through his remarkable rise from small-town athlete to Princeton, Oxford, the NBA, and the U.S. Senate. More importantly, he fuses all that he has learned from his variegated experiences into a compelling philosophy of where we should go as a country and as a people.

The content of this book covers Mr. Bradley's perspective on the issues critical to a strong America. I have yet to hear one politician bring to the table the key issues (race most importantly)that we all face in this country and Bradley brings them to the forefront. He's a great individual and he's won my vote!

Bradley does a wonderful job in this book of recounting not just his life but the lives of many others. He brings us numerous vignettes about individuals and their situations, from across the country and the demographic spectrum. He shows intelligence, morality and more modesty than your typical politician, admitting when he has erred or where he may still be wrong. You might not agree with all he believes (I don't) but it is obvious he has thought through his beliefs and is not just another sound-bite senator. Probably the best book by a politician I have yet read. Highly recommended for any American.

Bill Bradley's ideas on social and governmental issues reflect his intelligence, his compassion for all of America's diverse cultures, and his vision for the future of the United States.

This is an excellent book--good writer, incisive mind, great Democrat! Suggest everyone read it!

EDIT of 19 August 2009 to downgrade to 4 stars. Bill Bradley, like Al Gore, sold out. He accepted the Wall Street lures and chose not to blow the whistle on the two-party tyranny that has betrayed the public trust and mis-spent the public monies for special interests. He is, though smart and good as a person, part of the problem. Shame on him, shame on all of them.

Bill Bradley and John McCain may go down in history as the two smartest men who should have been President, but could not get elected. This is an extraordinarily thoughtful book, and it makes one almost cry out in despair. America has given up the idea of an informed democracy led by informed representatives of the people, and as the author concludes his book, given over all the power to two kinds of technocrats: political technocrats like Karl Rove who will do anything to get their man elected, including unethical misrepresentations against Republicans like John McCain, never mind Democrats; and corporate technocrats, who will kill off the middle class and increase the working poor in the name of corporate bottom lines that pass off the social and economic costs to the very taxpayers being disenfranchised.

The current Congressional and Executive systems do not work as intended. Congress has become insular and corrupt, and the Executive--at the political level--has become ideological and corrupt. Bill Bradley's writing makes it clear that there are solutions, but men like Bill Bradley will not get elected--nor even heard--until sufficient catastrophe befalls America and the people rise up in desperation to reclaim their heritage.

The index is helpful in looking up specific views of the author, e.g. on health care, national security, etcetera.

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