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This Fight Is Our Fight : the battle to save America's middle class
The fiery U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and bestselling author offers a passionate, inspiring book about why our middle class is under siege and how we can win the fight to save it
Senator Elizabeth Warren has long been an outspoken champion of America’s middle class, and by the time the people of Massachusetts elected her in 2012, she had become one of the country’s leading progressive voices. Now, at a perilous moment for our nation, she has written a book that is at once an illuminating account of how we built the strongest middle class in history, a scathing indictment of those who have spent the past thirty-five years undermining working families, and a rousing call to action.
Warren grew up in Oklahoma, and she’s never forgotten how difficult it was for her mother and father to hold on at the ragged edge of the middle class. An educational system that offered opportunities for all made it possible for her to achieve her dream of going to college, becoming a teacher, and, later, attending law school. But now, for many, these kinds of opportunities are gone, and a government that once looked out for working families is instead captive to the rich and powerful. Seventy-five years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal ushered in an age of widespread prosperity; in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan reversed course and sold the country on the disastrous fiction called trickle-down economics. Now, with the election of Donald Trump―a con artist who promised to drain the swamp of special interests and then surrounded himself with billionaires and lobbyists―the middle class is being pushed ever closer to collapse.
Written in the candid, high-spirited voice that is Warren’s trademark, This Fight Is Our Fight tells eye-opening stories about her battles in the Senate and vividly describes the experiences of hard-working Americans who have too often been given the short end of the stick. Elizabeth Warren has had enough of phony promises and a government that no longer serves its people―she won’t sit down, she won’t be silenced, and she will fight back.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has long been an outspoken champion of America’s middle class, and by the time the people of Massachusetts elected her in 2012, she had become one of the country’s leading progressive voices. Now, at a perilous moment for our nation, she has written a book that is at once an illuminating account of how we built the strongest middle class in history, a scathing indictment of those who have spent the past thirty-five years undermining working families, and a rousing call to action.
Warren grew up in Oklahoma, and she’s never forgotten how difficult it was for her mother and father to hold on at the ragged edge of the middle class. An educational system that offered opportunities for all made it possible for her to achieve her dream of going to college, becoming a teacher, and, later, attending law school. But now, for many, these kinds of opportunities are gone, and a government that once looked out for working families is instead captive to the rich and powerful. Seventy-five years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal ushered in an age of widespread prosperity; in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan reversed course and sold the country on the disastrous fiction called trickle-down economics. Now, with the election of Donald Trump―a con artist who promised to drain the swamp of special interests and then surrounded himself with billionaires and lobbyists―the middle class is being pushed ever closer to collapse.
Written in the candid, high-spirited voice that is Warren’s trademark, This Fight Is Our Fight tells eye-opening stories about her battles in the Senate and vividly describes the experiences of hard-working Americans who have too often been given the short end of the stick. Elizabeth Warren has had enough of phony promises and a government that no longer serves its people―she won’t sit down, she won’t be silenced, and she will fight back.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published April 18, 2017
885 people are currently reading
6207 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Warren
161 books871 followersElizabeth Warren (born 1949) is an American academic and politician, and the current senior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and a Democrat. She is the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School -- where she taught contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law -- and devoted much of the past three decades to studying the economics of middle class families. In the wake of the 2008-9 financial crisis, she became the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to investigate the U.S. banking bailout (formally known as the Troubled Assets Relief Program). In that role, she has provided a critical check on the U.S. Department of the Treasury and has been a leading advocate for accountability and transparency. Since 2007, she had advocated for the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which was established by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law by President Obama in July 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 716 reviews
June 3, 2017
Going to re-read and completely digest this book, and memorize some parts then I will write a review. This country, especially now needs more men and women like her. I can hope, can't I?
December 23, 2022
I bought This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class because I'm settling on a U.S. presidential candidate to volunteer for. My mom's experience volunteering for Beto O'Rourke's Texas Senate campaign showed me how rewarding that experience can be (and also got me a cool T-shirt). With California moving its primary up to March 2020, the Golden State will finally help decide who the Democratic nominee will be and I want to help the candidate who best represents my interests win. Twenty have entered the race and I've settled on my top three.
Elizabeth Warren is currently #1 on my scorecard. Her performances on Monday, April 22 at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire and the She the People forum Wednesday, April 24 in Houston were by far the strongest of those candidates who participated: energetic, inspiring, progressive, bold, with specific answers to direct questions. I'd read Warren's 2014 memoir A Fighting Chance which covered her life up to being elected by Massachusetts to the U.S. Senate, so I wasn't necessarily looking for information about her as I was a strong closing argument I can spend months making to undecided voters.
Published in 2017, this book is short, with five chapters and an epilogue comprising 61% of the Kindle version and notes constituting the rest. The book is a business card pitched at those who don't follow politics yet or who have never watched Stephen Colbert or Trevor Noah's talk shows when Warren has been a guest. Who's Warren? The Battle to Save America's Middle Class says why she's running for president and illustrates her strengths and priorities: affordable college education, income inequality, consumer protection, policing Wall Street and using government to help give every full-time worker a shot at the American middle class.
-- I'm pretty hard-core about this issue. The way I see it, no one in this country should work full-time and still live in poverty--period. But at $7.25 an hour, a mom working a forty-hour-a-week minimum-wage job cannot keep herself and her baby above the poverty-line. This is wrong--and this was something the U.S. Congress could make better if we'd just raise the minimum wage. We could fix this now.
-- Walmart isn't alone. Every year, employers like retailers and fast-food outlets pay wages that are so low that the rest of America ponies up a collective $153 billion to subsidize their workers. That's $153 billion every year. Anyone want to guess what we could do with that mountain of money? We could make every public college tuition-free and pay for preschool for every child--and still have tens of billions left over. We could almost double the amount we spend on services for veterans, such as disability, long-term care, and ending homelessness. We could double all federal research and development-- everything: medical, scientific, engineering, climate science, behavioral health, chemistry, brain mapping, drug addiction, even defense research. Or we could more than double federal spending on transportation and water infrastructure--roads, bridges, airports, mass transit, dams and levees, water treatment plants, safe new water pipes.
-- Ah, the debt. The bone-crunching, never-ending debt. Kai works every day just to tread water on her student loans. Her $90,000 adds just a tiny bump to the giant ball of outstanding student loan debt nationwide. She has joined an army of Americans who are struggling to pay back money they borrowed to get an education. The way I see it, every happy-face story about this economy should include a footnote that tags this fact: forty million people are trying to figure out how to pay off a combined $1.4 trillion in student loan debt.
-- Giant corporations now dominate much of our lives. Why does this matter? Because when a handful of giants dominate, markets don't work very well. The whole free-enterprise system is built on the idea that when markets are competitive, we'll get lower prices, better services, cool new innovations, and many other benefits as companies vie for our business. Antitrust laws help keep markets strong.
-- The failure to invest in education is trickle-down economics at its ugliest. Cut taxes for those at the top and then pay for part of the resulting gap in federal revenues by forcing kids who need student loans for college to borrow more and more? That sure sounds like a plan to make America proud: crush the dreams and opportunities of millions of young people so that rich people and big corporations can pile up even more wealth. What kind of country does something like that?
If you follow the news, you don't need a book to tell you that Elizabeth Warren is a progressive U.S. senator who's big on consumer protection and policing giant corporations. You know what she thinks about the acting president. This book is for the uninitiated and as such, is on-the-nose. There's no vivid prose or thick detail here. Its strengths are where Warren discusses the impact her father's heart attack and mother's entry into the labor force at age fifty had on their family, as well as passages about three constituents and their struggles. Photos are included. College photos of public servants before politics got them are a reminder that far from TV people, they're also real people.
Elizabeth Warren is currently #1 on my scorecard. Her performances on Monday, April 22 at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire and the She the People forum Wednesday, April 24 in Houston were by far the strongest of those candidates who participated: energetic, inspiring, progressive, bold, with specific answers to direct questions. I'd read Warren's 2014 memoir A Fighting Chance which covered her life up to being elected by Massachusetts to the U.S. Senate, so I wasn't necessarily looking for information about her as I was a strong closing argument I can spend months making to undecided voters.
Published in 2017, this book is short, with five chapters and an epilogue comprising 61% of the Kindle version and notes constituting the rest. The book is a business card pitched at those who don't follow politics yet or who have never watched Stephen Colbert or Trevor Noah's talk shows when Warren has been a guest. Who's Warren? The Battle to Save America's Middle Class says why she's running for president and illustrates her strengths and priorities: affordable college education, income inequality, consumer protection, policing Wall Street and using government to help give every full-time worker a shot at the American middle class.
-- I'm pretty hard-core about this issue. The way I see it, no one in this country should work full-time and still live in poverty--period. But at $7.25 an hour, a mom working a forty-hour-a-week minimum-wage job cannot keep herself and her baby above the poverty-line. This is wrong--and this was something the U.S. Congress could make better if we'd just raise the minimum wage. We could fix this now.
-- Walmart isn't alone. Every year, employers like retailers and fast-food outlets pay wages that are so low that the rest of America ponies up a collective $153 billion to subsidize their workers. That's $153 billion every year. Anyone want to guess what we could do with that mountain of money? We could make every public college tuition-free and pay for preschool for every child--and still have tens of billions left over. We could almost double the amount we spend on services for veterans, such as disability, long-term care, and ending homelessness. We could double all federal research and development-- everything: medical, scientific, engineering, climate science, behavioral health, chemistry, brain mapping, drug addiction, even defense research. Or we could more than double federal spending on transportation and water infrastructure--roads, bridges, airports, mass transit, dams and levees, water treatment plants, safe new water pipes.
-- Ah, the debt. The bone-crunching, never-ending debt. Kai works every day just to tread water on her student loans. Her $90,000 adds just a tiny bump to the giant ball of outstanding student loan debt nationwide. She has joined an army of Americans who are struggling to pay back money they borrowed to get an education. The way I see it, every happy-face story about this economy should include a footnote that tags this fact: forty million people are trying to figure out how to pay off a combined $1.4 trillion in student loan debt.
-- Giant corporations now dominate much of our lives. Why does this matter? Because when a handful of giants dominate, markets don't work very well. The whole free-enterprise system is built on the idea that when markets are competitive, we'll get lower prices, better services, cool new innovations, and many other benefits as companies vie for our business. Antitrust laws help keep markets strong.
-- The failure to invest in education is trickle-down economics at its ugliest. Cut taxes for those at the top and then pay for part of the resulting gap in federal revenues by forcing kids who need student loans for college to borrow more and more? That sure sounds like a plan to make America proud: crush the dreams and opportunities of millions of young people so that rich people and big corporations can pile up even more wealth. What kind of country does something like that?
If you follow the news, you don't need a book to tell you that Elizabeth Warren is a progressive U.S. senator who's big on consumer protection and policing giant corporations. You know what she thinks about the acting president. This book is for the uninitiated and as such, is on-the-nose. There's no vivid prose or thick detail here. Its strengths are where Warren discusses the impact her father's heart attack and mother's entry into the labor force at age fifty had on their family, as well as passages about three constituents and their struggles. Photos are included. College photos of public servants before politics got them are a reminder that far from TV people, they're also real people.
May 6, 2017
"Consider this MY warning: We won’t be silent. We will speak out. And we WILL persist." (Elizabeth Warren at the Senate confirmation hearings for Attorney General Jeff Sessions 2/8/2017.)
If we hope to save the middle class in this country, it appears we are going to have to do battle with the super-rich and corporations. Trump, who made campaign promises that sounded good to many people, now seems to be trying to push through healthcare, tax cuts and deregulation of Wall Street rules that will benefit the rich instead.
Elizabeth Warren is speaking out in her new book. If the Democrats are going to survive as a national party, they are going to have to come up with a more progressive policy that works for the people and restores the middle class, such as: single payer health care, a fair minimum wage, etc.
Chapter One: The Disappearing Middle Class
Try reading this chapter and not getting really angry at what is being done to the middle class! Unemployment figures are low, but are people able to support their families on the income they earn?
Did you realize that Walmart is the largest employer in this country? More than a million and a half workers. In 2015, Walmart made $14.69 billion in profits, yet pays such low, low wages that many of its employees have to rely on food stamps, rent assistance, Medicaid, etc. to stay out of poverty. In other words, Walmart benefits from more than $7 billion in subsidies from taxpayers for its employees. I have never thought of it in that way. Quite eye opening. So if Walmart paid their employees a decent living wage, that $7 billion could go for other needs.
And "Walmart isn't alone. Every year, employers like retailers and fast-food outlets pay wages that are so low that the rest of America ponies up a collective $153 billion to subsidize their workers." EVERY YEAR!
"Simply promising to 'Make America Great Again' won't do the trick. It's time to get serious about understanding what has gone wrong and working on a plan to fix it."
Chapter Two: A Safer Economy
Warren reviews our economy from the Great Depression onwards. Trump is going back to Reagan-era "trickle down" economics with the deregulation of Wall Street and banks--the same institutions that caused the recession of 2008.
Chapter Three: Making--and Breaking--the Middle Class
"From 1935 to 1980, most Americans shared in the new income produced. The bottom 90% received 70% of all income growth. The top 10% received 30% of all income growth." Of course, this was mostly white middle class males--most blacks, women and Jews were shut out of certain jobs and opportunities.
Then President Reagan and his 'trick-down economics' came along in 1980, with deregulation and tax cuts for big companies. Or 'voodoo economics,' as his vice president George H.W. Bush called it. Soon everyone realized this plan reduced government revenues and increased the national debt.
"The distribution of new income from 1980-2015: The bottom 90% receive 0% of all income growth and the top 10% receive 100% of all income growth."
Trickle-down economics and tax cuts for the rich have made a shambles of our educational system, infrastructure, medical research, etc. "It is time to bury the idea that tax cuts for the rich will pave the way to a bright future for everyone."
Chapter Four: The Rich and Powerful Tighten their Grip
"Big corporations and rich individuals have more influence in Washington than everyone else because they can offer politicians the ingredient that's essential to any battle for reelection: money."
"Political priorities are shaped by the perception of what problems need to be addressed, and money powerfully shapes perception."
Chapter Five: The Moment of Upheaval
Shortly after the election, Warren spoke to the AFL-CIO: "As the loyal opposition, we will fight harder, we will fight longer, and we will fight more passionately than ever for the rights of every human being in this country to be treated with respect and dignity. We will fight for economic opportunity, not just for some of our children, but for all of our children. We do not control the tools of government, but make no mistake, we know what we stand for. The sun will keep rising, and we will keep fighting--each day, every day, we will fight for the people of this country."
This is Trump 'draining the swamp': by appointing as
--Secretary of the Treasury: Steven Mnuchin, 'the Goldman Sachs executive who made a fortune after the financial crash by buying a bank and turning it into a foreclosure machine, seizing people's homes.'
--head of the National Economic Council: Gary Cohn, the president of Goldman Sachs.
(As Bill Mahler recently said, the only people he didn't hire from Goldman Sachs, is Goldman and Sachs! :)
--Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil--a climate change denier.
--head of the Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt--another climate change denier. As attorney general of Oklahoma, he literally shut down the state's own environmental enforcement unit.
--head of the Department of Education: Betsy DeVos, who used her fortune to help undermine public schools in Michigan.
--head of the Department of Health and Human Services: Tom Price who has proposed privatizing Medicare and Medicaid and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Not to mention Jeff Sessions as attorney general!
As the title says: "This fight is our fight." Get involved anyway you can.
If we hope to save the middle class in this country, it appears we are going to have to do battle with the super-rich and corporations. Trump, who made campaign promises that sounded good to many people, now seems to be trying to push through healthcare, tax cuts and deregulation of Wall Street rules that will benefit the rich instead.
Elizabeth Warren is speaking out in her new book. If the Democrats are going to survive as a national party, they are going to have to come up with a more progressive policy that works for the people and restores the middle class, such as: single payer health care, a fair minimum wage, etc.
Chapter One: The Disappearing Middle Class
Try reading this chapter and not getting really angry at what is being done to the middle class! Unemployment figures are low, but are people able to support their families on the income they earn?
Did you realize that Walmart is the largest employer in this country? More than a million and a half workers. In 2015, Walmart made $14.69 billion in profits, yet pays such low, low wages that many of its employees have to rely on food stamps, rent assistance, Medicaid, etc. to stay out of poverty. In other words, Walmart benefits from more than $7 billion in subsidies from taxpayers for its employees. I have never thought of it in that way. Quite eye opening. So if Walmart paid their employees a decent living wage, that $7 billion could go for other needs.
And "Walmart isn't alone. Every year, employers like retailers and fast-food outlets pay wages that are so low that the rest of America ponies up a collective $153 billion to subsidize their workers." EVERY YEAR!
"Simply promising to 'Make America Great Again' won't do the trick. It's time to get serious about understanding what has gone wrong and working on a plan to fix it."
Chapter Two: A Safer Economy
Warren reviews our economy from the Great Depression onwards. Trump is going back to Reagan-era "trickle down" economics with the deregulation of Wall Street and banks--the same institutions that caused the recession of 2008.
Chapter Three: Making--and Breaking--the Middle Class
"From 1935 to 1980, most Americans shared in the new income produced. The bottom 90% received 70% of all income growth. The top 10% received 30% of all income growth." Of course, this was mostly white middle class males--most blacks, women and Jews were shut out of certain jobs and opportunities.
Then President Reagan and his 'trick-down economics' came along in 1980, with deregulation and tax cuts for big companies. Or 'voodoo economics,' as his vice president George H.W. Bush called it. Soon everyone realized this plan reduced government revenues and increased the national debt.
"The distribution of new income from 1980-2015: The bottom 90% receive 0% of all income growth and the top 10% receive 100% of all income growth."
Trickle-down economics and tax cuts for the rich have made a shambles of our educational system, infrastructure, medical research, etc. "It is time to bury the idea that tax cuts for the rich will pave the way to a bright future for everyone."
Chapter Four: The Rich and Powerful Tighten their Grip
"Big corporations and rich individuals have more influence in Washington than everyone else because they can offer politicians the ingredient that's essential to any battle for reelection: money."
"Political priorities are shaped by the perception of what problems need to be addressed, and money powerfully shapes perception."
Chapter Five: The Moment of Upheaval
Shortly after the election, Warren spoke to the AFL-CIO: "As the loyal opposition, we will fight harder, we will fight longer, and we will fight more passionately than ever for the rights of every human being in this country to be treated with respect and dignity. We will fight for economic opportunity, not just for some of our children, but for all of our children. We do not control the tools of government, but make no mistake, we know what we stand for. The sun will keep rising, and we will keep fighting--each day, every day, we will fight for the people of this country."
This is Trump 'draining the swamp': by appointing as
--Secretary of the Treasury: Steven Mnuchin, 'the Goldman Sachs executive who made a fortune after the financial crash by buying a bank and turning it into a foreclosure machine, seizing people's homes.'
--head of the National Economic Council: Gary Cohn, the president of Goldman Sachs.
(As Bill Mahler recently said, the only people he didn't hire from Goldman Sachs, is Goldman and Sachs! :)
--Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil--a climate change denier.
--head of the Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt--another climate change denier. As attorney general of Oklahoma, he literally shut down the state's own environmental enforcement unit.
--head of the Department of Education: Betsy DeVos, who used her fortune to help undermine public schools in Michigan.
--head of the Department of Health and Human Services: Tom Price who has proposed privatizing Medicare and Medicaid and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Not to mention Jeff Sessions as attorney general!
As the title says: "This fight is our fight." Get involved anyway you can.
Want to read
February 8, 2017I'm not into nonfiction, but I will most definitely read this book. More people need to support Warren. What an inspiring soul she is.
October 15, 2019
At present, I have absolutely no idea whom I'm going to vote for in next year's election. I do, however, know who I'm not going to vote for in that election. Right now Warren seems to be leading in the polls Soni thought I'd read her book and see what she has to say. A funny thing happened though as I was listening to this audiobook. Her voice sounded exactly like my sister in laws, which made it kind of strange.
Warren herself comes across as knowledgeable, earnest, and in fighting spirit. In alternating chapters she relates her own past life and where are country has gone wrong. What she plans to fight for if she is elected President. She stands, or so she says, firmly for the middle class, against lobbyists, special interest groups, giant corporations and the favors owed to big time money donors. She feels, and I have to agree, that our government is no longer representing all the people, only those wealthy or in positions to grant favors.
It all sounds good, but I've become very cynical. So often, things promised, never materialize onece the person is in office. Seems finding an honest politician is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Like I said, I've become very cynical to those who now hold political offices. Somehow, they or we have lost our way. That said, hope springs eternal and I can only hope something or someone will bring about change, and if not, this country is still better than many others.
Warren herself comes across as knowledgeable, earnest, and in fighting spirit. In alternating chapters she relates her own past life and where are country has gone wrong. What she plans to fight for if she is elected President. She stands, or so she says, firmly for the middle class, against lobbyists, special interest groups, giant corporations and the favors owed to big time money donors. She feels, and I have to agree, that our government is no longer representing all the people, only those wealthy or in positions to grant favors.
It all sounds good, but I've become very cynical. So often, things promised, never materialize onece the person is in office. Seems finding an honest politician is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Like I said, I've become very cynical to those who now hold political offices. Somehow, they or we have lost our way. That said, hope springs eternal and I can only hope something or someone will bring about change, and if not, this country is still better than many others.
December 15, 2019
This past Saturday I went back to my hometown for my 50th high school reunion. When I lived there it was a tiny village and many of my graduating class of about 70 had known each other since first grade. A guy I’ve stayed in touch with, Doug, picked me up at the train station and proceeded to give me a tour, with such detailed understanding of the architecture, layout, relationships between families, and therefore the history of change that I felt as if I was meeting where I’d lived for the first time. “When did you learn all this?” I asked, astounded. It turned out he’d always seen this way and just kept learning from the time he was a small boy, until now when he is an architect turned city planner. He goes through life with a grid in his head about the relationship between people and landscape that I cannot begin to approach. If I ever wanted help with anything to do with building anything, I’d call him.
Elizabeth Warren demonstrates the same grid-like understanding of cultural politics and economics, and therefore how the world works and doesn’t work. Through heartbreaking stories, she clearly explains the relationships between housing, education, systemic unfairness, people, and mega corporations. I cannot begin to convey what is in this book. But after reading just two chapters (I’m reviewing this now because I’m exploding with it), I want to hire her to lead the renovation to make the United States work for everybody.
I want a leader who is smarter than I am, who through connected economic dots understands relationships I can’t begin to articulate. I want somebody with an economic grid in their head that includes everybody, the clarity to explain what she sees, and the heart to inspire all of us to help her help us begin to repair the damage.
Postscript, after finishing this book
Elizabeth Warren has encyclopedic understanding of economics and history and the connections that make things happen. She believes in capitalist markets with regulation to keep them running fairly. She believes in the ideal of democracy.
• If you are disgusted with government and politicians and no longer believe anyone is honest or trustworthy, read this book!
• If you believe in fairness and have a sense that, although you can’t name the game, the game is rigged, read this book!
• Whether you are a Democrat who is frightened, a Republican who is wary of big government and encroachment on freedoms, or an apathetic person who just wants things to work but heretofore has not participated in the process, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read this book!
I am so excited by the possibility of a President Elizabeth Warren.
12/15/19 Update
I'm reading Pulitzer-winning journalist Gene Weingarten's wonderful book One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America and I just ran into an articulation of what I was struggling to explain about Elizabeth Warren. In ice hockey parlance, according to Weingarten, she "has eyes, and it's an almost mystical quality, prized across all sports." It's "an ability to see the whole ice, to anticipate vectors and angles of incidence and angles of reflection, to know who is where and moving at what speed relative to [you]. (302)" Weingarten goes on to refer to former basketball player and senator Bill Bradley's book A Sense of Where You Are to explain this particular sensitivity: "Bradley was never the best pure shooter or the fastest runner or the most tentacled defender, but he rose above most others because he knew who he was and where he was. (303)"
Elizabeth Warren's understanding of the grid of our country and how one thing affects everything else is this quality: she has eyes.
Relief! I have a name for this now. (Weingarten's book is a pleasure; I'll review it soon.)
Elizabeth Warren demonstrates the same grid-like understanding of cultural politics and economics, and therefore how the world works and doesn’t work. Through heartbreaking stories, she clearly explains the relationships between housing, education, systemic unfairness, people, and mega corporations. I cannot begin to convey what is in this book. But after reading just two chapters (I’m reviewing this now because I’m exploding with it), I want to hire her to lead the renovation to make the United States work for everybody.
I want a leader who is smarter than I am, who through connected economic dots understands relationships I can’t begin to articulate. I want somebody with an economic grid in their head that includes everybody, the clarity to explain what she sees, and the heart to inspire all of us to help her help us begin to repair the damage.
Postscript, after finishing this book
Elizabeth Warren has encyclopedic understanding of economics and history and the connections that make things happen. She believes in capitalist markets with regulation to keep them running fairly. She believes in the ideal of democracy.
• If you are disgusted with government and politicians and no longer believe anyone is honest or trustworthy, read this book!
• If you believe in fairness and have a sense that, although you can’t name the game, the game is rigged, read this book!
• Whether you are a Democrat who is frightened, a Republican who is wary of big government and encroachment on freedoms, or an apathetic person who just wants things to work but heretofore has not participated in the process, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read this book!
I am so excited by the possibility of a President Elizabeth Warren.
12/15/19 Update
I'm reading Pulitzer-winning journalist Gene Weingarten's wonderful book One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America and I just ran into an articulation of what I was struggling to explain about Elizabeth Warren. In ice hockey parlance, according to Weingarten, she "has eyes, and it's an almost mystical quality, prized across all sports." It's "an ability to see the whole ice, to anticipate vectors and angles of incidence and angles of reflection, to know who is where and moving at what speed relative to [you]. (302)" Weingarten goes on to refer to former basketball player and senator Bill Bradley's book A Sense of Where You Are to explain this particular sensitivity: "Bradley was never the best pure shooter or the fastest runner or the most tentacled defender, but he rose above most others because he knew who he was and where he was. (303)"
Elizabeth Warren's understanding of the grid of our country and how one thing affects everything else is this quality: she has eyes.
Relief! I have a name for this now. (Weingarten's book is a pleasure; I'll review it soon.)
December 31, 2019
I'm reading some of the books written by people hoping for a nomination in the Presidential race. I have no idea who I'll vote for in the primary yet so I'm not trying to favor any particular person, but just give some interesting information from the books.
Elizabeth Warren, a current Senator from Massachusetts and a former Harvard Law professor, is concerned about policies that are hurting the middle class. She tells about the experiences of her working class family in Oklahoma. After her father suffered a heart attack, her mother took a job answering phones at Sears that kept them afloat financially while he recovered. Today, someone working a minimum wage job would probably lose their home.
Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage in 2017 was about 24% lower than it was in 1965. Although the stock market is up, it is mostly the top 10% that have benefited from income growth in the last 35 years. Expenses are higher, including housing expenses and college tuition. Students are graduating from college with enormous debts. Trickle down economics, started in the Reagan administration, has only benefited the wealthy. There are also too many tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy.
Warren is concerned about the corporate lobbyists who invest heavily to influence politicians with large campaign contributions, especially since the "Citizens United" ruling from the Supreme Court. The smart, feisty Senator, a watchdog on the Senate Banking Committee, was devastated when part of the Dodd-Frank Act was gutted in 2014. The new Republican provision was actually written by Citibank lobbyist lawyers because the Dodd-Frank Act cut into the bank's profits--and that was the problem that caused the recession of 2008. Warren worries that lobbyists, corporate CEOs (many in Cabinet positions), and Wall Street bankers are influencing the government so much that the United States could become an oligarchy. She encourages citizens to elect people to government that will look out for the ordinary American. Labor unions, farmers, environmentalists, and nonprofits also need a voice.
Warren discusses corporations, especially energy corporations, that have been recently allowed to roll back environmental rules and pollute the water and air. She is also disgusted by President Trump's remarks and tweets that demean women, minorities, and others.
Warren's book was fascinating with lots of examples of how the country is changing. This is a book that would benefit people of both political parties to read with an open mind since Warren knows so much about banking and economics. The more we know about the problems facing the United States, the better we can evaluate the Presidential hopefuls and their plans for the future. Since this book was published in 2017, it does not go into some of Warren's plans that have evolved over the past two years. 4.5 stars.
Elizabeth Warren, a current Senator from Massachusetts and a former Harvard Law professor, is concerned about policies that are hurting the middle class. She tells about the experiences of her working class family in Oklahoma. After her father suffered a heart attack, her mother took a job answering phones at Sears that kept them afloat financially while he recovered. Today, someone working a minimum wage job would probably lose their home.
Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage in 2017 was about 24% lower than it was in 1965. Although the stock market is up, it is mostly the top 10% that have benefited from income growth in the last 35 years. Expenses are higher, including housing expenses and college tuition. Students are graduating from college with enormous debts. Trickle down economics, started in the Reagan administration, has only benefited the wealthy. There are also too many tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy.
Warren is concerned about the corporate lobbyists who invest heavily to influence politicians with large campaign contributions, especially since the "Citizens United" ruling from the Supreme Court. The smart, feisty Senator, a watchdog on the Senate Banking Committee, was devastated when part of the Dodd-Frank Act was gutted in 2014. The new Republican provision was actually written by Citibank lobbyist lawyers because the Dodd-Frank Act cut into the bank's profits--and that was the problem that caused the recession of 2008. Warren worries that lobbyists, corporate CEOs (many in Cabinet positions), and Wall Street bankers are influencing the government so much that the United States could become an oligarchy. She encourages citizens to elect people to government that will look out for the ordinary American. Labor unions, farmers, environmentalists, and nonprofits also need a voice.
Warren discusses corporations, especially energy corporations, that have been recently allowed to roll back environmental rules and pollute the water and air. She is also disgusted by President Trump's remarks and tweets that demean women, minorities, and others.
Warren's book was fascinating with lots of examples of how the country is changing. This is a book that would benefit people of both political parties to read with an open mind since Warren knows so much about banking and economics. The more we know about the problems facing the United States, the better we can evaluate the Presidential hopefuls and their plans for the future. Since this book was published in 2017, it does not go into some of Warren's plans that have evolved over the past two years. 4.5 stars.
May 11, 2017
As a law professor and a Senator, Elizabeth Warren has proven to be a fighter for the middle class. Her new book is a tough mined book but is only a partial blueprint for progressive political revival. It is more of a wake-up call to action. She acknowledges the Democratic Party failed to step up and fight in the past. The book is blunt and an impassioned plea to action.
She names the names of government officials she claims serve industry rather than the American people. Warren states that big business and the extremely wealthy have ruled for the past 35 years, and it is time to change their destruction of the middle class. She states that government invested in the middle class from 1935 to 1980 after that the government reduced its spending on education, infrastructure and basic research. She discusses the recent fight over raising the minimum wage and the reduction of worker safety regulations. Warren lays out the step by step decline of the middle class over the past 30 years but also outlines action to improve the situation.
Unless you are a billionaire, I suggest the reader put on hold their personal viewpoints and prejudices and read the book with an open mind.
I read this as on audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is almost eleven hours long. Elizabeth Warren does an excellent job narrating the book.
She names the names of government officials she claims serve industry rather than the American people. Warren states that big business and the extremely wealthy have ruled for the past 35 years, and it is time to change their destruction of the middle class. She states that government invested in the middle class from 1935 to 1980 after that the government reduced its spending on education, infrastructure and basic research. She discusses the recent fight over raising the minimum wage and the reduction of worker safety regulations. Warren lays out the step by step decline of the middle class over the past 30 years but also outlines action to improve the situation.
Unless you are a billionaire, I suggest the reader put on hold their personal viewpoints and prejudices and read the book with an open mind.
I read this as on audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is almost eleven hours long. Elizabeth Warren does an excellent job narrating the book.
July 23, 2020
4.5 stars
It’s difficult to read this book and not be overcome with rage at what politicians and billionaires have done to the citizens in America. If not for the corrupt scamming the middle class and below, financially many people in our country would be better off. It’s infuriating how much we have been fucked over, time and time again. I’m glad that Warren fights for us, but in reading this I felt almost deflated. It feels like David and Goliath, but I can’t see David winning anytime soon with the giant he is up against.
It’s difficult to read this book and not be overcome with rage at what politicians and billionaires have done to the citizens in America. If not for the corrupt scamming the middle class and below, financially many people in our country would be better off. It’s infuriating how much we have been fucked over, time and time again. I’m glad that Warren fights for us, but in reading this I felt almost deflated. It feels like David and Goliath, but I can’t see David winning anytime soon with the giant he is up against.
April 20, 2017
I would give this book 10 stars if that were an option.
November 20, 2017
After reading Elizabeth Warren's first book "A Fighting Chance", I was anxious to read her second one "This Fight is Our Fight" It didn't disappoint although some of the biographical information was also in her first book. This book was a sequel to the first bringing us up to date on all the inside machinations that have been going on to rig the American economy in favor of the 1%. It also tells us what efforts are being made to fight the Trump/Republican agenda. For anyone who wants to protect the few safeguards that working and middle class people have left this book is a manifesto. It certainly inspired me to continue advocating for what's left of our frayed social safety net.
May 11, 2017
I really wish we could do different sets of stars for books like Warren's:
• Content (what is the book about?): 5 stars - saving the middle class of America
• Coherency of ideas (did she explain her thoughts well?): 5 stars - detailing the tilt of how laws started to favor the wealthy and how we can tilt it back
• Writing style (were the content and coherency conveyed in a manner that wasn't irritating?): 3 stars
This book is not entirely about Senator Warren's years in public office and what she has done, though her feistiness and motivated attitude impressed me a lot, and I hope she has a long life in public service. It's more about the history of the middle class in America starting from FDR's years and how corporate lobbying has tilted democracy away from helping the everyman and in favor of the rich elite. She is a very opinionated woman and if you like the idea of deregulation and trickle-down economics, you will hate the content of this book.
To be completely honest, reading this, I couldn't help but feel powerless, like we as a people are staring down at a mountain of work ahead of us. It will take a lot of pieces, a lot of people, and a lot of pushing to change the course of how lobbying works in our democratic process, and it will likely take years to unravel. I don't know how much faith I have in people that it will happen. But as Elizabeth says, we have to fight, because not fighting means we're going to lose anyway.
The writing style is easy to digest, written simply and sometimes kind of over-the-top sarcastic-cutely. Insertions of "ha, ha" or "Oops, I meant this" were scattered around. She re-uses the same terms over and over again, like "cops on the beat." I know she chose this writing style to break up the history lesson so it sounded more conversational and less like a textbook (and it works well; the book is very readable) but it was almost patronizing at times.
But it's a very good primer to see how Senator Warren thinks, and how I hope more public officials start to act in the next few years. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
• Content (what is the book about?): 5 stars - saving the middle class of America
• Coherency of ideas (did she explain her thoughts well?): 5 stars - detailing the tilt of how laws started to favor the wealthy and how we can tilt it back
• Writing style (were the content and coherency conveyed in a manner that wasn't irritating?): 3 stars
This book is not entirely about Senator Warren's years in public office and what she has done, though her feistiness and motivated attitude impressed me a lot, and I hope she has a long life in public service. It's more about the history of the middle class in America starting from FDR's years and how corporate lobbying has tilted democracy away from helping the everyman and in favor of the rich elite. She is a very opinionated woman and if you like the idea of deregulation and trickle-down economics, you will hate the content of this book.
To be completely honest, reading this, I couldn't help but feel powerless, like we as a people are staring down at a mountain of work ahead of us. It will take a lot of pieces, a lot of people, and a lot of pushing to change the course of how lobbying works in our democratic process, and it will likely take years to unravel. I don't know how much faith I have in people that it will happen. But as Elizabeth says, we have to fight, because not fighting means we're going to lose anyway.
The writing style is easy to digest, written simply and sometimes kind of over-the-top sarcastic-cutely. Insertions of "ha, ha" or "Oops, I meant this" were scattered around. She re-uses the same terms over and over again, like "cops on the beat." I know she chose this writing style to break up the history lesson so it sounded more conversational and less like a textbook (and it works well; the book is very readable) but it was almost patronizing at times.
But it's a very good primer to see how Senator Warren thinks, and how I hope more public officials start to act in the next few years. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
April 28, 2018
If you care about America, you need to read Senator Warren's "This Fight is Our Fight". It is extremely insightful and eye-opening as to what is really going on in Washington with Big Money. We are on the the verge of no-turning back, of becoming a true oligarchy, and if we want to save our democracy we must put up a fight NOW. Senator Warren is passionate, intelligent, extremely knowledgeable, courageous, caring, and a true leader. This is an important book for every American to read, no matter your political leaning.
February 5, 2019
When Warren sticks to her talking points she makes an impassioned case for real and practical change. But when she tries to be relatable and folksy, talking about having a beer with her husband and watching reality TV, it is more embarassing than endearing. She quickly pivots after too long an introduction, though, and relays a clear, lucid—though not at all succinct—history of the rise of government regulation under FDR (and the economic prosperity it spurred) then the dismantling thereof under Ronald Reagan (and the ramifications today).
3.5 stars out of 5, and any loss of stars is strictly for the book's presentation, not its thesis and certainly not its author. I like Warren, I really do. I like that she pushes back against the "haves" and stands up for the "have-nots." I like her policies and her voting record. I like her for putting the screws to corporations. But I don't much like her narrative voice or the snarky character she adopts in this book. It works at times, don't get me wrong. When it comes from an honest place it's much more sympathetic and natural. But too often it feels forced, and she spends a disproportionate amount of time explaining the problem versus outlining her proposed solutions. She is doing so with the intent of drumming up sympathy and support, no doubt, but I think she's preaching to the choir here.
3.5 stars out of 5, and any loss of stars is strictly for the book's presentation, not its thesis and certainly not its author. I like Warren, I really do. I like that she pushes back against the "haves" and stands up for the "have-nots." I like her policies and her voting record. I like her for putting the screws to corporations. But I don't much like her narrative voice or the snarky character she adopts in this book. It works at times, don't get me wrong. When it comes from an honest place it's much more sympathetic and natural. But too often it feels forced, and she spends a disproportionate amount of time explaining the problem versus outlining her proposed solutions. She is doing so with the intent of drumming up sympathy and support, no doubt, but I think she's preaching to the choir here.
July 29, 2017
Sen. Warren explains in plain English why things are so much worse now for ordinary Americans than they were a few decades ago when she was young. And she outlines what can be done about it: namely the things we used to do that worked very well to make the American Dream a real thing for millions of people in the middle class. (Spoiler: the answer is NOT government by for and of the billionaires.)
For people wasting time on books that supposedly explain the 2016 election, I would recommend this instead. This shows that many Americans have good reasons to be angry at the system and to have lost faith in government. Solutions going forward need to deal with that, and not just bash Trumpists.
For people wasting time on books that supposedly explain the 2016 election, I would recommend this instead. This shows that many Americans have good reasons to be angry at the system and to have lost faith in government. Solutions going forward need to deal with that, and not just bash Trumpists.
April 26, 2017
I love Elizabeth Warren. I love her story, her commitment, her passion and her politics. I hope she is our next President. This analysis of how trickle down economics has devastated the American Middle Class and about how she thinks the election of Trump will make things much worse, made me only want her to be President more. Before you troll me because you don't share my politics, read the book and listen to the stories of shattered lives it tells. Many of the people I grew up with in the formerly industrial Ohio River Valley are those people. It breaks my heart, but she gives me hope.
May 10, 2017
As I read this book, the same thought kept running through my head over and over. I kept thinking, she is absolutely right! We were raised around the same time, in the same country, we came from the same socioeconomic class, and that is exactly the way things were. We were basically only limited from reaching our potential by our drive and determination, and nothing else. In my own parent's family the stability of a good union job, good public schools, and affordable state colleges, led to my siblings becoming Doctors and Lawyers. Even though I was not nearly as well educated as my siblings, I too have had more opportunity than I probably deserved.
I can also tell you the chain of events that she describes, in as far as how we got from there to here, has also been my observation. She is right to send out a desperate plea for people to pay attention to the "Puppet Masters" that own our government today. Their interest is not your interest, no matter how much you want to believe otherwise.
My greatest hope for America is this; At some point the people will have had enough of the status quo, and that we will get back to the ideas that created the greatest opportunities, for the greatest number of people. Only this time, let's make America work for ALL the people. If this were to happen, we would surly reach heights than we had never dreamt of before. Like Elizabeth said; This is not theoretical stuff, we have already done this before!
I am so thankful that Senator Warren is willing to fight the good fight. She has the ears of millions, and she is saying things that need to be heard. I can testify to this.
I can also tell you the chain of events that she describes, in as far as how we got from there to here, has also been my observation. She is right to send out a desperate plea for people to pay attention to the "Puppet Masters" that own our government today. Their interest is not your interest, no matter how much you want to believe otherwise.
My greatest hope for America is this; At some point the people will have had enough of the status quo, and that we will get back to the ideas that created the greatest opportunities, for the greatest number of people. Only this time, let's make America work for ALL the people. If this were to happen, we would surly reach heights than we had never dreamt of before. Like Elizabeth said; This is not theoretical stuff, we have already done this before!
I am so thankful that Senator Warren is willing to fight the good fight. She has the ears of millions, and she is saying things that need to be heard. I can testify to this.
September 7, 2020
I love this book because it does a perfect job of explaining why I'm a liberal on the economics side of the equation. It's more of a policy book than a memoir and you'll get a sense of exactly where she stands on everything except foreign policy because, let's face it, neither party has a cohesive foreign policy right now.
It's clear that Warren has toughened up a lot over the years, especially since joining the Senate in 2013. She's not interested in taking any bullshit anymore. I wasn't initially that excited about a Warren presidency as I felt she missed her opportunity in 2016, but I've changed my mind completely after reading this and her other memoir. (I also read her much earlier personal finance book.)
Also, be assured that this is not another Trump book. He's mentioned because it's a bit unavoidable, but it's not about Trump; it's about making the economic system a fair system for everyone.
It's clear that Warren has toughened up a lot over the years, especially since joining the Senate in 2013. She's not interested in taking any bullshit anymore. I wasn't initially that excited about a Warren presidency as I felt she missed her opportunity in 2016, but I've changed my mind completely after reading this and her other memoir. (I also read her much earlier personal finance book.)
Also, be assured that this is not another Trump book. He's mentioned because it's a bit unavoidable, but it's not about Trump; it's about making the economic system a fair system for everyone.
October 15, 2019
Thoughts soon.
May 3, 2018
I enjoy the opportunity to read books from all persuasions. Senator Warren’s book provided a good overview of the twisted worldview of socialists.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, though so-called progressives like Senator Warren don’t seem to get it.
Throughout the book she blames economic problems in bad actors in the private sector when she misses the primary mover of the problem: government. While she believes government can solve problems, and she no doubt has the best of intentions, choosing the government as the solution over the market just makes the situation worse.
While I enjoyed her stories and the opportunity to learn more about the socialist mindset, there was little that I agreed with her on and find her stories ultimately not credible. I give this book two stars.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, though so-called progressives like Senator Warren don’t seem to get it.
Throughout the book she blames economic problems in bad actors in the private sector when she misses the primary mover of the problem: government. While she believes government can solve problems, and she no doubt has the best of intentions, choosing the government as the solution over the market just makes the situation worse.
While I enjoyed her stories and the opportunity to learn more about the socialist mindset, there was little that I agreed with her on and find her stories ultimately not credible. I give this book two stars.
July 18, 2017
I got halfway through this when I just realized I couldn't anymore. I like Elizabeth Warren. She has a good reading voice. She has very strong convictions. She's very angry about the status quo and it shows. And she'll get you angry about it too.
But I'm already mad about the lack of America's investment in infrastructure and research, banking practices, student loan debt, the minimum wage, and that was only in the first half of the book. There were just too many personal stories of tragedy, people being swindled by for-profit schooling, seniors suffering with Alzheimer's, a person with a college education being left behind by a poor job market, too few full time jobs available, a personal set-back from medical bills and WHAM, she's a regular patron of the local food pantry and barely able to hang on to her mobile home.
Everyone is one step away from disaster. I know. Things can be bleak. But I just can't listen to another 4 more discs before we arrive at Ms. Warren's solution for turning things around. I'm already too mad and sad. I need something that won't make me teary-eyed as I drive to work each morning.
But I'm already mad about the lack of America's investment in infrastructure and research, banking practices, student loan debt, the minimum wage, and that was only in the first half of the book. There were just too many personal stories of tragedy, people being swindled by for-profit schooling, seniors suffering with Alzheimer's, a person with a college education being left behind by a poor job market, too few full time jobs available, a personal set-back from medical bills and WHAM, she's a regular patron of the local food pantry and barely able to hang on to her mobile home.
Everyone is one step away from disaster. I know. Things can be bleak. But I just can't listen to another 4 more discs before we arrive at Ms. Warren's solution for turning things around. I'm already too mad and sad. I need something that won't make me teary-eyed as I drive to work each morning.
May 27, 2017
As campaign books go, this was actually mostly enjoyable and Senator Warren and her writing team are to be given credit for that. There are some hugely broad strokes taken with economic history and having presented climate change as the greatest threat to our society at the moment, she confesses to not having many solutions. However, the urgency in the language and the depth of feeling for several issues, mainly the struggle of America's middle class, certainly comes across as genuine and heartfelt. As you can expect, this is unlikely to sway anyone of the opposing view and serves mainly to fire up the base that folks like Senator Warren and Bernie Sanders have created. I mentioned in the opening sentence that this is a campaign book because having now completed it, it's my opinion that Senator Warren will definitely run for President in 2020. Those looking for a preview of her campaign should check this out, read Bernie's book, "Our Revolution," and also review her Twitter spats with the Cheetoh in Chief because I imagine that's where most of the "debating" will be done.
June 11, 2017
"We stood up in different places and we spoke out in different ways, but we made it clear that we believe in basic human dignity."
Five stars for Elizabeth Warren and her outstanding passion to insist that our government work not just for some Americans, but for ALL Americans.
This is a difficult book to read. Warren begins by recounting how her mother's minimum wage job at Sears saved her family from losing their home when she was a teenager, but that the same couldn't be said today. In fact, people today are much worse off than they were in the 1970s when it comes to affording basic needs.
Warren jumps around from the 1970s, to the Great Depression, to Reagan's support of trickle-down economics, and how all of that has led to the terrible situation we now find ourselves in. The U.S. is hurtling toward becoming an oligarchy and we can't afford to turn a blind eye to what's going on, or hope for the best. Warren's book is, at it's heart, a rallying cry to take back our democracy—because if we don't do it soon, there's going to be nothing left for the middle class.
Overall, the writing is a little clunky, and Warren can get too preachy at times, but I appreciate her efforts to make a stand. She's a true inspiration.
Five stars for Elizabeth Warren and her outstanding passion to insist that our government work not just for some Americans, but for ALL Americans.
This is a difficult book to read. Warren begins by recounting how her mother's minimum wage job at Sears saved her family from losing their home when she was a teenager, but that the same couldn't be said today. In fact, people today are much worse off than they were in the 1970s when it comes to affording basic needs.
Warren jumps around from the 1970s, to the Great Depression, to Reagan's support of trickle-down economics, and how all of that has led to the terrible situation we now find ourselves in. The U.S. is hurtling toward becoming an oligarchy and we can't afford to turn a blind eye to what's going on, or hope for the best. Warren's book is, at it's heart, a rallying cry to take back our democracy—because if we don't do it soon, there's going to be nothing left for the middle class.
Overall, the writing is a little clunky, and Warren can get too preachy at times, but I appreciate her efforts to make a stand. She's a true inspiration.
June 18, 2017
I was sent this book as a thank you for a donation I made, and figured I might as well give it a go. I'm glad I did.
Warren does a really nice job laying out the history of policies that affect the middle class in the United States and explaining the bills and initiatives she supports in a way that makes sense. The book is not just a campaign speech (although it certainly is that) but also a history and civics lesson. I definitely learned from reading it and appreciated the connections she drew between historical events and modern day ones. You can tell she wrote the book herself; it's peppered with folksy language that comes across as authentically hers.
Although I tend to agree with many of Warren's political positions, I think there's value in reading the book even if you don't. By definition, most of us are middle class, so it's worth considering these ideas that Warren believes will elevate that group.
Warren does a really nice job laying out the history of policies that affect the middle class in the United States and explaining the bills and initiatives she supports in a way that makes sense. The book is not just a campaign speech (although it certainly is that) but also a history and civics lesson. I definitely learned from reading it and appreciated the connections she drew between historical events and modern day ones. You can tell she wrote the book herself; it's peppered with folksy language that comes across as authentically hers.
Although I tend to agree with many of Warren's political positions, I think there's value in reading the book even if you don't. By definition, most of us are middle class, so it's worth considering these ideas that Warren believes will elevate that group.
December 1, 2017
This is a tough book to review. I mean, I agree with most everything she said. But she mostly pointed out issues that were extremely obvious and offered no real solutions. However, solutions aren't really her forte. She is best as a watchdog. She's great at sounding the alarm. But it's all for stuff I have been woke on for months.
I'm glad she's in the Senate. I think that's the perfect place for her. She's great at making the sausage. I hope she never runs for president though. If you thought they hated Hillary, you ain't seen nothing yet. She's a bit...shall we say...much.
That being said, I wish there were 99 more Senators just like her. This country would be a much better place.
I'm glad she's in the Senate. I think that's the perfect place for her. She's great at making the sausage. I hope she never runs for president though. If you thought they hated Hillary, you ain't seen nothing yet. She's a bit...shall we say...much.
That being said, I wish there were 99 more Senators just like her. This country would be a much better place.
June 2, 2017
I don't think this book was intended for me or anyone else who follows the news and policy issues at all. Its basically a collection of folksy anecdotes and "look at how awful Republicans are" (which I generally agree with), but without any convincing arguments. This reads more like a book aimed at marginal Trump supporters who don't really pay attention to the news. I'm not sure they're going to read an Elizabeth Warren book so I'm skeptical as to how effective this would be.
March 15, 2019
I would follow Elizabeth Warren into battle. This book is just her talking about the economic issues that piss her off and why Trump is a punk bitch, and I relate to that deeply.
April 25, 2017
A year older than I am, Elizabeth Warren's experience of life is similar to mine, just as her family's experience with the Great Depression through WWII mirrors that of my folk. She starts with the stories of American citizens who have lost their hold on the American dream. But this is not just anecdotes. How did we get to the point where our vibrant middle class was so angry that they voted for someone incompetent?
A portion of the book looks at American economics for the 250 years our existence. I grew up knowing that FDR had saved us. In clear, precise terms, Warren explains what FDR did, why it worked, and what has gone wrong.
Elizabeth Warren writes as she speaks, clearly and persuasively. I recommend this book to everyone.
A portion of the book looks at American economics for the 250 years our existence. I grew up knowing that FDR had saved us. In clear, precise terms, Warren explains what FDR did, why it worked, and what has gone wrong.
Elizabeth Warren writes as she speaks, clearly and persuasively. I recommend this book to everyone.
September 22, 2018
Elizabeth Warren: I admire you oh so much. You are a fighter, a true pit bull, and a champion of the little guy. You speak the populist rhetoric of FDR, you are vested with true compassion, and I believe you are competent and energized enough to work long overdue change to the way this country works.
I want you to be President more than I've wanted anything in politics ever.
Please, please, please.
Amen.
I want you to be President more than I've wanted anything in politics ever.
Please, please, please.
Amen.
August 11, 2017
Wonderful, insightful book. Traces the beginning of success of middle class beginning with FDR. Then she describes the demise of the middle class beginning with trickle-down economics. Resistance and change must be made to save the 90% who are not highly rich.
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