It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change

by Ron Wyden

Chutzpah Nation is an inspirational call to action by a senior U.S. politician, describing how Americans of all age groups, persuasions, and occupations can defy convention, chart new pathways for their communities, schools, at work and in life.
 
 
US Senator Ron Wyden is widely praised for coming up with sensible-sounding ideas no one else had thought of and making the counter-intuitive political alliances that prove helpful in passing bills.  In Chutzpah Nation, he offers a progressive leader’s manifesto for being a courageous warrior during turbulent times.  It is an inspirational guide to get important things accomplished with a combination of strong allies, persistence, and attention—that is, chutzpah. 
 
“Chutzpah” is a Yiddish word that describes a trait that many Jews consider in-born.  Ron explores chutzpah’s long history and many interpretations and reclaims the word chutzpah for a new American generation, showing how it can be used for good to reclaim idealism and enact positive change.  He shares “Ron’s 12 Rules of Chutzpah” that enable any individual or group to achieve their
   If you want to make change, you’ve got to make noise. In a world where everyone thinks and acts for the short-term, always play the long game.  Leading is Whether in legislation or in life, you’ve got to bring people and ideas together around a shared goal. Show up every day prepared to play. There are only two paths you can take to Start good things and stop bad things. Do both.  Embrace the unscripted moments. Ideas are the seeds of change; find them and plant them wherever and whenever you can. Pay attention to your friends, because they can be far more unpredictable than your enemies. Don’t push rocks up hills. Push boulders. They will fall back on you, but you’ll gain the strength to get to the top. Be a principled  Work with anybody who is serious about moving forward. Political capital doesn’t earn interest and is worth nothing if you don’t spend it. “Compromise” isn’t about horse-trading bad ideas for each other; it’s about blending good ideas into a whole that’s better than the sum of its parts.  
Ron identifies several key values—free speech, health care, reproductive rights, a clean environment, and reigning in Big Tech—and draws on his decades of public service to stress that preserving those values means that loud brashness and boldness will be needed now more than ever.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Memoir

336 pages, Hardcover

Published January 14, 2025

About the author

Ron Wyden is a US Senator for the state of Oregon. Wyden serves on the Committees on Finance, Budget, Aging, Intelligence, and Energy and Natural Resources. He is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and chairs the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness.

Reviews

[Fafani Weinzierl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a 3.5 star book. I actually really enjoyed it up until the last chapter and then it just got old. Great lessons about standing up for your beliefs and the call to care for others. I also learned a lot about the government and some “behind the scenes” things that happen. Not in a bad way - just normal business but I took it for granted.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be both a good read and inspiring in increasingly hard times. Senator Wyden outlines his rules and values that have helped him play the long game in implementing really important change in both easy and divisive times. He tells authentic stories of political battles that I found really interesting and also stories of his childhood and family struggles. I really enjoyed reading it.

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've voted for Wyden for all of his senatorial runs - he represents both Oregon and the US admirably especially on topics of tech and individual liberties. However, like almost all political bios this one stays in the bounds of reading like a campaign pamphlet. Also, not being a b-ball fan is a bit of a handicap here - could have done with less of that but great that he likes hoops.

[Andy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This part memoir, part call to action, confirmed my long admiration of Senator Ron Wyden. He details his efforts to make our country an even better place to live. His narratives about his legislative battles may seem to some to be too much in the weeds, but for many of us, it makes it even more interesting.
I also appreciated his non conformity, there were times when he ran afoul of icons such as Ralph Nader and his leadership on health care reform sometimes clashed with other efforts. But Wyden's genuine positive nature and willingness to compromise helped make Obamacare a reality.
An interesting twist is his first chapter where he described his request to Biden to ignore a Federal District Injunction that would interfere with a woman's privacy rights and ability to make decisions about her health. After the book was published many were dismayed when the conservative US Supreme Court limited the use of Federal Court District Court injunctions which had temporarily put a hold on many of Trump's executive orders. While I disagree with Wyden's call to Biden to ignore the health care injunction, Wyden's argument does show that the recent Supreme Court decision may prove to be good in the long run. And it is such nuance that makes me appreciate Senator Wyden

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I started reading this because I was reading about WireGuard on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WireGuard and I saw that Ron Wyden was mentioned. What hasn't Ron Wyden been involved in? I always admired his bipartisanship, ability to get unlikely reforms passed, and the power he's accumulated, and I wanted to know how he did it. Luckily for me, he published an autobiography a earlier this year.

I guess he thought that message didn't have legs, so he decided to pitch himself as a fearless progressive changemaker instead. And, reading this book, I appreciate where he's coming from on that, but I think the "how" is more interesting than the "why" for him. I also didn't really like the chutzpah framing in general. It felt corny and kind of meaningless to just say "keep trying hard!" In fact, I almost stopped reading in the introduction. Luckily, after a few chapters it becomes a more typical autobiography. I also found it easy to read, so it wasn't hard to keep going through the parts that felt like campaign speeches.

It took til about halfway through the book for him to start talking about how he works well with people he disagrees with. Of course, it wasn't as open about exactly how to accumulate and use power as I would have liked. He spent a lot of time emphasizing his progressive bonafides, for instance. It's very cool that he was the first US Senate candidate, and later, Senator, to endorse gay marriage. Is that a model that other politicians can follow though? And at other points he talked a lot about how he was willing to push back on attacks from left-leaning opponents on healthcare issues. Was it really just "chutzpah" that enabled him to survive these attacks? I did think his multi-decade efforts to improve healthcare in the US has a lot of interesting lessons: he used deep expertise, personal connections, finding points of agreement, and of course parliamentary procedure to advance his goals.

Honestly, it sounds like he's just a really nice and open minded guy who's lucky enough to not need to rely too much on big businesses or ideologues for support, so he can say what he means, focus on outcomes, and be a reliable partner to people of all ideological backgrounds. This is a great lesson, but maybe not a great book title.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not about the politician, but about the biography.

As someone who is not very aware of the ins and outs of political committees, I was a bit confused at times. Who are these politicians? What are these bills?

I also really enjoyed hearing about the day to day of a politician. Hearing about his dating life and speaking with constituents. And the ins and outs of his daily life. But it was mentioned in such a detail where you could really imagine it happening. It made politics a bit more accessible to me, which I liked.

His life story too is fascinating with his college basketball career, his immigrant family, and his upbringing. All worth reading.

[Chris Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was your typical politician's memoir, with its share of digs aimed at enemies and a rose-colored view of accomplishments gone by. I enjoyed the contrast in negotiating styles between the House and the Senate, and welcomed the tributes to mentors and formative leaders of Ron Wyden's early career. I admire his focus on the big issues facing our nation, such as health care reform and climate change. I'm not sure, however, how the current environment in Washington lends itself to the cooperation and bipartisan efforts touted here as the path to social change.

[Shishene · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a progressive, this is a completely partisan and unaware missive which engages in cliche statist party glorification without any self awareness into how his side is a part of the problem. Truly disappointing book.

[Louise Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Senator Wyden, for your decades of service and Chutzpah!! This book is essentially a political history of game changing legislation and battles to protect rights. I also learned a new Yiddish phrase that is now a bumper sticker on my car, tikkun olam. It means repairing the world.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay, but I thought that it would be about more ways to implement change. It was mostly about the author. Some parts were interesting, but I thought some of them rather dry. I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ron Wyden, to use an old compliment, has forgotten more about health care policy than most senators have ever known. His memoir shows the skilled way he has pursued and won passage of significant legislation since his first Congressional term in 1981.

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

He clearly has no idea what progressive change is and this book is proof.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wyden has a down to earth and positive approach to solving basic quality of life issues for America. As a good story teller, he manages to share friendly chuckles along the way.

[Eric Williamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Came to this by way of Senator Wyden on the Realignment podcast - unfortunately the book reads more like a political memoir than a guide to creating progressive change, which I was expecting.

[Readersaurus · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look back at several decades of a bipartisan legislative career. Hopeful and big-hearted, but it hits a little different post 2024 election than when it was penned.