United
Books | Biography & Autobiography / Political
4.2
Cory Booker
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • United States Senator Cory Booker, hailed as “one of the key figures for justice and forthrightness in America today” (HuffPost), makes an impassioned case that the virtues of empathy, responsibility, and action must guide our nation toward a brighter future.Raised in northern New Jersey, Cory Booker went to Stanford University on a football scholarship, accepted a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, then studied at Yale Law School. Upon graduation, his options were limitless.He chose public service. And in 2013, after more than seven years as mayor of Newark, he became the first Black man elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.In United, Booker draws on personal experience to issue a stirring call to reorient our nation and our politics around the principles of compassion and solidarity. He speaks of rising above despair to engage with hope, pursuing our shared mission, and embracing our common destiny. Here is his account of his own political education, the moments—some entertaining, some heartbreaking, all of them enlightening—that have shaped his civic vision. Booker shares the lessons he learned from the remarkable men and women who inspired him to serve and whose example fueled his desire to create opportunities for others. Here also are his observations on the issues he cares about most deeply, from race and the crisis of mass incarceration to economic and environmental justice.In a world where we too easily lose touch with our neighbors, he argues, we must remember that we all rise or fall together—and that we must move beyond mere tolerance for one another toward a deeper connection: love.
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Author
Cory Booker
Pages
256
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2017-01-03
ISBN
1101965185 9781101965184
Community ReviewsSee all
"Meh. Booker tells some emotional stories about the people he came to know while living in a housing project in Newark, but few of his efforts resulted in real change. An expungement program attracted hundreds of applicants, but few qualified; a hunger strike for better security and maintenance at the project brought increased police protection for a few months, but attention faded, and it went back to the way it was at the beginning. He devotes a chapter to a single mother working for $2.13 an hour at IHOP, but doesn't seem to have been able to do anything to improve her situation.<br/><br/>Booker's heart may be in the right place (lots of platitudes about love and faith and gratitude) but he seems unwilling to grapple with systemic racial and economic injustice. He quotes Michelle Alexander's <i>The New Jim Crow</i>, but without her prophetic sense of urgency, and his determination to see the police hierarchy as "good guys" severely impedes his judgement. (One of his "good buddies" is former Newark police chief Gerry McCarthy, who went on to supervise the Chicago police department which murdered teenager Laquan McDonald and then covered it up.) He has also been pretty wishy-washy on gun control.<br/><br/>Though he doesn't discuss his political ambitions, Booker clearly has his eyes on the White House prize, (he was reportedly a top contender for the Democratic vp slot this year). Time will tell if he has the guts and character to back up his ideals."