Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution (Hardcover)

by Bill Richardson (Author)
Key Phrases: oil transportation routes, conventional coal plants, carbon pollution, United States, New Mexico, Persian Gulf (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Coinciding with Governor Richardson's campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for president, his proposals for reducing our dependence on foreign oil is substantial, despite their transparent vote-getting tenor. Drawing on his 15 years in the U.S. Congress, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as energy secretary in the Clinton administration, as well as his New Mexico governorship, Richardson provides useful insights into the resistance of powerful entities such as the automobile industry, coal industry and, of course, the oil industry to alternative energy sources. Writing in a folksy style, with personal anecdotes that leaven his wonkishness, Richardson is not shy about trumpeting the breadth and depth of his experience; at times he's almost insufferable, but his battles with those who care more about quick profit than about clean air, clean water and energy-related national security suggest he has earned the right to say, I told you so. Richardson is critical of Republicans, including George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, yet manages to lift portions of the book above partisan politics. Knowing that Congress will often be inhibited by powerful special interests, Richardson would use the bully pulpit of the White House to initiate change, hoping, for example, that calling for automakers to produce plug-in electric cars will drive private markets to do right by the environment. (Nov.)
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Review
"In his writing, he clearly demonstrates his knowledge of and familiarity with energy politics." (The Boston Globe, January 6, 2008)

"In a book that is easy to read for people not well versed with energy issues, his laid-back yet direct personality shines through the book..." (MSNBC.com, November 16, 2007)

Coinciding with Governor Richardson's campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for president, his proposals for reducing our dependence on foreign oil is substantial, despite their transparent vote-getting tenor. Drawing on his 15 years in the U.S. Congress, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as energy secretary in the Clinton administration, as well as his New Mexico governorship, Richardson provides useful insights into the resistance of powerful entities such as the automobile industry, coal industry and, of course, the oil industry to alternative energy sources. Writing in a folksy style, with personal anecdotes that leaven his wonkishness, Richardson is not shy about trumpeting the breadth and depth of his experience; at times he's almost insufferable, but his battles with those who care more about quick profit than about clean air, clean water and energy-related national security suggest he has earned the right to say, "I told you so." Richardson is critical of Republicans, including George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, yet manages to lift portions of the book above partisan politics. Knowing that Congress will often be inhibited by powerful special interests, Richardson would use the bully pulpit of the White House to initiate change, hoping, for example, that calling for automakers to produce plug-in electric cars will drive private markets to do right by the environment. (Nov.) (Publishers Weekly, September 3, 2007)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (October 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470186372
• ISBN-13: 978-0470186374
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #781,828 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Horizon Beyond An Inconvenient Truth, November 3, 2007

By	Jim Harrigan "the dirt man" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

Can you believe this? Bill Richardson has written a truly exciting book. This is the book we've been waiting for - the one that takes us from the stage of awareness that Al Gore produced two years ago to the society that takes control of destiny and begins to live in global wealth, health and security.

Richardson begins by describing the existing current lag in leadership. America needs to reposition its image in the spirit that it has long held. Sacrifice and inspiration are essential to that image. With the image and presence of a compassionate America, nations will succeed in lifting themselves from tyranny, depression, illness and tragedy. We cannot afford to confuse our image as a people - that image that produces inspiration through compassion - with one that will overrun other nations to satisfy an addiction for oil.

Richardson will use the power of the markets to drive America to destiny. In the words of Richardson: "The power of markets is immense. That is one of the great lessons - besides democracy and human rights - that the United States has taught the world over the past two centuries. The market has the power not only to create individual prosperity and growth, as conceived by the great first-ever modern economist, Adam Smith, but also to achieve big things for society as a whole. If we manage the carbon markets sensibly, with strict limits, smart incentives, and practical oversight - as we manage the monetary supply via the Federal Reserve - we can see a market-based economy that actually works toward REDUCING pollution."

Along with markets, the government must play a role - one that will provide sophisticated, integrated, and compassionate policies. The goal of government is to keep the dynamic of a proper functioning market going. Government assists with competition and choice while representing all of the true interests of the citizens. Richardson describes strategies of jawboning, holding to principles, standing to commitments, and using the bully pulpit. Federal government will do well to learn from states and cities. A set of federal Climate Challenge block grants that reward innovation would be part of Richardson's program. Other goals adopted in New Mexico include energy efficiency, green building, renewable energy, green transportation, renewable fuels, incentives, and overarching climate change action.

Richardson has been described as the Democratic Libertarian. Much of what Richardson describes is a reformation and restoration of capitalist principles for a new century. Says Richardson, "All goods cost something to make, and it matters what gets calculated in the cost, whether it's raw materials, human rights, defending oil transportation routes, or damage to the environment that needs to be cleaned up. Until all those things are factored in, you don't really have the true cost." That makes sense to me. True Libertarian values are grounded in wise capitalist principles. However, until we've become free from cynicism, that is, until we've become perceptive enough to account for all values in the face of other prices, we cannot make honest dealings that are consistent with the true spirit of our capitalist enterprises. It's no wonder that Lee Iacocca likes this guy. Iacocca knows leadership, and Richardson brings it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The impetus for change, October 25, 2007

By	D. Lindner "NH activist" (Manchester, New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

NM Governor Bill Richardson, having been US Secretary of Energy, Congressman, and UN Ambassador, shows in this excellent read that he has not only the experience to be credible on this critical issue, but also that he is ready to bring the change we so desperately need in our energy and environmental policy. His narrative, carefully thought through but easy to follow, has an inspiring quality. Governor Richardson is not an ideologue; he is a pragmatic idealist. My favorite President, Teddy Roosevelt, once said, "Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground," and Richardson has certainly done that.

We must do as much as we can as quickly as we can without devastating our economy (without a strong economy, it's hard to get anything else done, including energy initiatives), and it's clear to me that Bill Richardson knows how to do it and is committed to making it happen.

5.0 out of 5 stars A plan full of hope, November 21, 2008

By	LC (NYC) - See all my reviews

I work for the publisher and read this book last year when it came out. Richardson puts forth a strong, yet plausible plan for reducing America's dependency on oil, instead developing new energy sources which we can then export to the rest of the world as well.

Richardson has a great deal of foreign policy experience, and would have been a fine choice for Secretary of State. But I am glad to have him at Commerce, too. His vision, as articulated in this book, will transform the American energy industry and the American economy in the next ten years, and inspire the rest of the world to follow. He compares it to the space race. I'd like to have that kind of strength and pride in America again.