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Still Standing: Surviving Cancer, Riots, a Global Pandemic, and the Toxic Politics that Divide America
Still Standing reveals how an unlikely governor is sparking a whole new kind of politics—and introduces the exciting possibilities that lie ahead. As the rookie Republican governor of deep-blue Maryland, Larry Hogan had already beaten some daunting odds. A common-sense businessman with a down-to-earth style, he had won a long-shot election the Washington Post called "a stunning upset." He'd worked with cops and neighborhood leaders to quell Baltimore's worst rioting in 47 years. He'd stared down entrenched political bosses to save his state from fiscal catastrophe, winning praise from Democrats, Republicans and independents. But none of that prepared him for the life-threatening challenge he would have to face a highly aggressive form of late-stage cancer. Could America's most popular governor beat the odds again? The people of Maryland, with their "Hogan Strong" wristbands, were certainly pulling for him, sending him back to the governor's office in a landslide. As Governor Hogan began his second term cancer-free, his next challenge went far beyond bringing our divided country together for a better future. And in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic changed that future forever, Hogan was once again called to rely upon his bold, open-minded approach to problem-solving to lead and serve in a time of unprecedented turmoil. In his own words and unique, plain-spoken style, Larry Hogan tells the feel-good story of a fresh American leader being touted as the "anti-Trump Republican." A lifelong uniter at a time of sharp divisions. A politician with practical solutions that take the best from all sides. An open-hearted man who has learned important lessons from his own struggles in life. As we face a future full of questions, Hogan offers some surprising answers. Still Standing is a timely reminder that perseverance in the face of unexpected obstacles is at the heart of the American spirit.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2020
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172 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
July 31, 2020
I have lived in Maryland all my life. Larry Hogan's father knocked on my apartment door when he first ran for congress; he was the first political candidate I had met in person, and he came to MY HOUSE to ask for my vote. I have never forgotten it. I am a fan of our governor and have been looking forward to this book.
This first part of the book, mostly history, was wonderful, bringing back so many memories! The first-person viewpoint sounds exactly like Larry Hogan speaks, and I imagine the audio version, which he narrates, would reinforce this feeling. Long about the time when Hogan was elected governor, though, the whole tone of the book changed, and it turned into a self-aggrandizing campaign speech. As I said, I am a fan of Hogan's. I still admire what he has done, and if someone else had written this book ABOUT him, I would likely have applauded, but coming from his own mouth, it left a somewhat off-putting impression.
This first part of the book, mostly history, was wonderful, bringing back so many memories! The first-person viewpoint sounds exactly like Larry Hogan speaks, and I imagine the audio version, which he narrates, would reinforce this feeling. Long about the time when Hogan was elected governor, though, the whole tone of the book changed, and it turned into a self-aggrandizing campaign speech. As I said, I am a fan of Hogan's. I still admire what he has done, and if someone else had written this book ABOUT him, I would likely have applauded, but coming from his own mouth, it left a somewhat off-putting impression.
August 10, 2020
For the past couple of years, I’ve been delving into nonfiction and memoirs, specifically those of recent politicians. As a Hogan staffer (almost 4 years with the administration!), this was an exceptionally fun read for me.
November 25, 2020
I couldn’t wait to be finished with this book. Much like Hillbilly Elegy, it would have benefited from the elimination of easily 50 pages of tedious content. I almost feel sorry for Hogan, pressured to write a book to further propel him into the public eye, even though he hasn’t done all that much. He spends such little time talking about policy other than the opposition to the rain tax, that I often forgot I was reading a book that was supposed to be grounded in a political success story. What he does spend a lot of time on is how he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and all he had was a congressman father, a private school education and eventually a humble 50 staff land brokerage and real estate company. He has zero cognizance of his privilege and it is both simultaneously laughable and maddening. He talks about Dundalk as though he pulls up a stool at the Poplar Inn on Friday nights and drinks Coors Light with all the haggard blue collar schlubs, when in actuality he’s hanging out with Chris Christie in box seats at Camden Yards.
When he finishes playing down his net worth, he gets into how he runs a campaign, which is seemingly a glossed over facade of buzz words such as “moderate” and “purple”. When he’s not dodging questions about other issues than his laser focus tunnel vision (again, all it comes down to is the rain tax), he comes across as a condescending bully. When he ran against Ben Jealous, there were ads created not attacking Jealous’ policies but attacking him personally, specifically his “gaffes” on misspeaking. However, Jealous addressed this issue and stated that it was a result of having a stutter and supplanting words with another sometimes unrelated word to avoid the stutter. If Hogan had anyone around him who had been a teacher or involved in development in any way, he would have known this, but instead when he was confronted with these facts after the ad aired he decided to double down and make another one with more of Jealous’ “gaffes”. Now it would be unreasonable to thing that all of these were due to his stutter and in fact I’m sure that Jealous misspoke several times over the course of the campaign, but using someone’s disability against them seems like, for all Hogan’s talk about being against Trump, an extremely Trumpian thing to do.
Speaking of Trump, for a person who spends so much time mentioning he doesn’t like talking about Trump, he spends a good chunk of time talking about Trump. Hogan, also like Trump, is still currently running his business and has made several million dollars while governor in his private enterprise (he fails to draw this correlation himself). Seems like a conflict of interest to me but he spends no time at all even discussing it, because again, this man has no lens for self criticism, only self praise for how bipartisan he has been. He’s also a hero if you didn’t know. He bought all those tests from South Korea, which may or may not have been defective, the verdict is still out on that as of this writing, and may have been able to be procured cheaper domestically. Some news outlets are deeming it a failed publicity stunt that coincided with the release of the book. Personally I don’t want to envision a politician as being so callous, but then again look who our president is.
Hogan also discusses the riots from his perspective as an uninformed and passively concerned middle aged white man, which is to say he came to the city and walked the streets out of harms way, speaking with a few black folks and they hatched a plan to solve systemic racism right there on the spot. He hasn’t revisited that plan as of yet and only comes to the city to go to Ravens games and hang out with state troopers, but he’ll fix those pesky race relations soon enough. With his mandatory curfew and calling in the national guard, it’s easy to see that he’s just a “law and order” zealot who will forcibly squash dissent if given the opportunity and save dialogue for “when things calm down”, but that dialogue never happens, which in part led to the unrest in the first place.
In summation, if you are looking to find out who Larry Hogan is, in his own words, this is a revealing tome. But much like myself, you may not like much of what you find. You’ll be reminded that even though he stuck to his guns and did not vote for Trump, that in the 2016 presidential election he wrote in his father and in 2020 he wrote in the long deceased Ronald Reagan. Neither of those voting decisions signals “purple” in my book, and is just one of the cop out maneuvers that Hogan swears by so that he can comically claim to be a readable centrist. My hope is that post governorship, Hogan has the same political trajectory as another local generic phony, Martin O’Malley, in that he’ll run for higher office, poll nationally at two percent or less and ultimately fade into the ether.
When he finishes playing down his net worth, he gets into how he runs a campaign, which is seemingly a glossed over facade of buzz words such as “moderate” and “purple”. When he’s not dodging questions about other issues than his laser focus tunnel vision (again, all it comes down to is the rain tax), he comes across as a condescending bully. When he ran against Ben Jealous, there were ads created not attacking Jealous’ policies but attacking him personally, specifically his “gaffes” on misspeaking. However, Jealous addressed this issue and stated that it was a result of having a stutter and supplanting words with another sometimes unrelated word to avoid the stutter. If Hogan had anyone around him who had been a teacher or involved in development in any way, he would have known this, but instead when he was confronted with these facts after the ad aired he decided to double down and make another one with more of Jealous’ “gaffes”. Now it would be unreasonable to thing that all of these were due to his stutter and in fact I’m sure that Jealous misspoke several times over the course of the campaign, but using someone’s disability against them seems like, for all Hogan’s talk about being against Trump, an extremely Trumpian thing to do.
Speaking of Trump, for a person who spends so much time mentioning he doesn’t like talking about Trump, he spends a good chunk of time talking about Trump. Hogan, also like Trump, is still currently running his business and has made several million dollars while governor in his private enterprise (he fails to draw this correlation himself). Seems like a conflict of interest to me but he spends no time at all even discussing it, because again, this man has no lens for self criticism, only self praise for how bipartisan he has been. He’s also a hero if you didn’t know. He bought all those tests from South Korea, which may or may not have been defective, the verdict is still out on that as of this writing, and may have been able to be procured cheaper domestically. Some news outlets are deeming it a failed publicity stunt that coincided with the release of the book. Personally I don’t want to envision a politician as being so callous, but then again look who our president is.
Hogan also discusses the riots from his perspective as an uninformed and passively concerned middle aged white man, which is to say he came to the city and walked the streets out of harms way, speaking with a few black folks and they hatched a plan to solve systemic racism right there on the spot. He hasn’t revisited that plan as of yet and only comes to the city to go to Ravens games and hang out with state troopers, but he’ll fix those pesky race relations soon enough. With his mandatory curfew and calling in the national guard, it’s easy to see that he’s just a “law and order” zealot who will forcibly squash dissent if given the opportunity and save dialogue for “when things calm down”, but that dialogue never happens, which in part led to the unrest in the first place.
In summation, if you are looking to find out who Larry Hogan is, in his own words, this is a revealing tome. But much like myself, you may not like much of what you find. You’ll be reminded that even though he stuck to his guns and did not vote for Trump, that in the 2016 presidential election he wrote in his father and in 2020 he wrote in the long deceased Ronald Reagan. Neither of those voting decisions signals “purple” in my book, and is just one of the cop out maneuvers that Hogan swears by so that he can comically claim to be a readable centrist. My hope is that post governorship, Hogan has the same political trajectory as another local generic phony, Martin O’Malley, in that he’ll run for higher office, poll nationally at two percent or less and ultimately fade into the ether.
August 27, 2020
The point of going into politics is to help people and make better changes in the people's lives. Hogan has kept that focus and listened to both parties in coming to final decisions. If this were the true goal of all political leaders then the world would be a better place. But somewhere along the way, leaders have forgotten their cause and become focused on arguing and not debating. This pandemic has shown the best and worst in humans.
August 13, 2020
I would vote for Governor Larry Hogan if he ran for President in 2024. His life story is an inspiration and he believes in bipartisanship. This is the kind of person who could lead America.
November 6, 2020
As a Marylander, I’ve been a fan of Governor Hogan pretty much since he’s been in office. I don’t agree with every decision he has made, but I have been overwhelmingly impressed with his bipartisanship. Yes, the book at times comes across somewhat as self aggrandizement, but I’m not sure how you could write a book like this and totally avoid that. In all honesty I believe he was just telling it how it was from his perspective. Writing this as we’re deep in a pandemic and waiting for the results of our election while having just heard “he who shall not be named” spout off lie after lie and skewering our democracy, we could use more true leaders like Larry Hogan. He has my vote!
October 5, 2020
4 Solid Stars...could have been 4.5 Stars but the last bit of the book seemed rush (considering it deals with our response to COVID-19).
I like Larry Hogan. I met him briefly in person at a close friend's funeral; he was simply making an appearance on behalf of his role as Governor of Maryland. I wish I could vote him in for another term as governor. He seems to make decisions with common sense and to consider what would generally be beneficial to our state as a whole. I wish more politicians thought this way so we could get more stuff done.
Recommend to those who live in Maryland and those whose philosophy tends to cross lines between parties.
I like Larry Hogan. I met him briefly in person at a close friend's funeral; he was simply making an appearance on behalf of his role as Governor of Maryland. I wish I could vote him in for another term as governor. He seems to make decisions with common sense and to consider what would generally be beneficial to our state as a whole. I wish more politicians thought this way so we could get more stuff done.
Recommend to those who live in Maryland and those whose philosophy tends to cross lines between parties.
September 4, 2020
At a time when hypocrisy, unhinged emotions, and divisive bullying appear to be winning the day, Larry Hogan serves as a beacon of hope for supporters of transparent leadership, critical thought, and common human decency.
September 7, 2020
The writing is rather simple, but the story is so compelling. Both the man himself and the man as Governor is inspirational.
February 12, 2021
I really wish more politicians were like Hogan. So thankful for all he’s done for us here in Maryland!
August 21, 2020
This is a totally biased review. I'm from Maryland and I really like our governor. In this time of such extreme partisanship, I really appreciate Hogan's moderate approach and willingness to compromise. When he talked (I listened to the audio version) about his cancer treatment, it really resonated with me as I'm currently in chemo.
The second half of the book really does come off as self aggrandisement, as my friend Angie put in her review. I'm willing to put up with it if it means he's going to run for president in 2024.
The second half of the book really does come off as self aggrandisement, as my friend Angie put in her review. I'm willing to put up with it if it means he's going to run for president in 2024.
April 12, 2021
I am a political conservative. I appreciate what Governor Hogan has accomplished in a deeply Blue state. I don't want to minimize that. I also found the book very self-congratulatory. Hogan makes every decision correctly and always triumphs over every obstacle. The book just seems a little contrived.
February 26, 2021
This is why I rarely read books by politicians. I couldn’t get passed his ego and his reason for writing it. However, I did enjoy most of the book.
November 23, 2020
Being a republican in a democratic state is hard. Being a republican in the polarized USA is even harder. Gov. Hogan has gone above and beyond for the people of Maryland. He has been tested time and time again and he rises to the challenge and sets an example for other leaders. I loved the beginning of the book to get to know him more. I knew from watching his interviews and conferences that he had some sass in him, but he is full of sass! I cracked a few smiles and chucked at some parts with his matter-of-fact words and scarcastic comments. He really is down to earth and relatable and I love that he's not bound by party lines (which so many people think you need to be). He's not afraid to say what he feels no matter how people react. I'm glad there's another republican out there who thinks like me, especially in the world we live in today. Hogan has done great things for the state of Maryland. I was so proud to vote for him in the 2018 election. My biggest wish is to meet him one day (pandemic notwithstanding). As a born and raised Marylander, I too come from one of the many families ready to leave the state before he took office. He's made the last 6 years in MD better than I could have imagined, and with the pandemic, I feel safer here than if I lived elsewhere. Although he (sadly) can't run for Governor of MD again, I hope he will stick around and be a positive figure in the political world.
Thank you, Gov. Hogan, for everything you do for Marylanders.
Thank you, Gov. Hogan, for everything you do for Marylanders.
August 29, 2020
I have lived in Maryland my entire life and seen many politicians come and go. I have to say that Gov. Hogan gets extremely high marks from me. Instead of caring only about his own Republican political party, it is obvious that he cares about everyone, Democrat or Republican. This was reflected when he won the gubernatorial election not once, but twice, something that had only been done one other time in Maryland's history. After becoming our governor, he had to deal with personal and statewide issues that had to be extremely challenging. He did so amazingly well and I cannot imagine how tough that had to be. We have also been lucky to have Gov. Hogan during the coronavirus ordeal, as Maryland has done so much better than other states because he didn't rush into reopening and had a plan in place. I would vote for him again for governor or for President of the United States.
September 14, 2020
Pretty good read. Having moved from the West, I could never understand why my kids loved Maryland. After reading this, maybe it's ok to be passionately devoted to Maryland.
I like his powerful handling of Baltimore riots: display overwhelming force and capture the very few agitators. I like that he gets many people together to find solutions, not playing to win for one political party.
In thinking about it, Hogan and Henican don't list *any* missteps or mistakes by Gov. Hogan. He has to have made some mistakes as governor, even if it is only in hindsight. So what are examples of him learning? Although I believe this to be reliable, I think it's for marketing. Now the question: why did he write it now? Maybe he wrote it for a possible presidential bid in 2020. Maybe he released it for a presidential run in 2024.
I like his powerful handling of Baltimore riots: display overwhelming force and capture the very few agitators. I like that he gets many people together to find solutions, not playing to win for one political party.
In thinking about it, Hogan and Henican don't list *any* missteps or mistakes by Gov. Hogan. He has to have made some mistakes as governor, even if it is only in hindsight. So what are examples of him learning? Although I believe this to be reliable, I think it's for marketing. Now the question: why did he write it now? Maybe he wrote it for a possible presidential bid in 2020. Maybe he released it for a presidential run in 2024.
October 7, 2020
This was a pretty good look at someone who is clearly not going to be disappearing from public service after the end of his term as Governor in a couple of years. It reads the way he talks, so his involvement is not incidental. Obviously, everyone will have their own opinion about a political leader, but for me, I saw things in there that made me lose some respect for him, some things that were exaggerations or distorted, some things that made me gain respect for him, some things that showed some humility. He's a mixed bag, for sure! But what I ultimately came away with is that his desire to be in government is NOT a power or ego trip; he genuinely wants to make the world a better place. And that is a wonderful thing in these days of partisan politics that actually alienates most people!
January 18, 2021
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's autobiography, covering early childhood and his participation in his father's political career through his battle with cancer and the early months of dealing with COVID-19. Highly readable: I was reading this book into the early hours of the morning. A fine example of how government can work when elected officials quit all the posturing and rhetoric and cooperate with each other to do their jobs. As a former successful small business man, Gov. Hogan utilizes the skill of "reaching across the aisle" in his dealings with government officials.
October 20, 2021
Really enjoyed reading this book. It was easy and interesting to read. Gave me some good perspectives on what politicians should be like. Although I may not agree with all of Mr. Hogan's political views, it is refreshing to know there are politicians out there who care about the people of this country. People who will work across the aisle to do what is best. People who will stand up and speak up for what is right, who will make the difficult decisions and govern with the purpose of doing what is best for the people of this great country.
November 3, 2021
hopeful!
For those of us who are seeking fat Mattick solutions, civil discussion, transparency and government and progress forward, Larry Hogan‘s book gives us hope that smart politicians who do their homework and are quick on their feet can prevail over the divisive, mindlessly partisan rhetoric that has infected our nation as badly as any cancer. It should be a big wake up call that if citizens hold their politicians to high standards of character, integrity and relevant experience, we really can renew our nation.
For those of us who are seeking fat Mattick solutions, civil discussion, transparency and government and progress forward, Larry Hogan‘s book gives us hope that smart politicians who do their homework and are quick on their feet can prevail over the divisive, mindlessly partisan rhetoric that has infected our nation as badly as any cancer. It should be a big wake up call that if citizens hold their politicians to high standards of character, integrity and relevant experience, we really can renew our nation.
December 29, 2020
I give many stars to the beginning. It was so interesting to hear about Governor Larry Hogan's childhood and young adulthood. I enjoyed this section very much. I think it's difficult to write with perspective about more recent events, and that shows through this work. There is not enough time for self-reflection. And while there were many interesting things about the later part of this book, I felt that it was more about messaging rather than the actual story. But I did really like learning about how the Governor got Annie and Chessie.
January 10, 2021
This is an entertaining read and well written. I like that it's broken into four parts and takes us through Hogan's childhood, election, Freddy Gray response, cancer and COVID response. I laughed a lot but I take it with a grain of salt. I called two Black friends originally from Maryland for their perspective on the Baltimore riot and Hogan in general. I respect Hogan but he's obviously going to talk about himself in the best pov.
August 14, 2020
As a life long Marylander and support of Larry Hogan, I loved this book! I admire him even more than before and really hopes he runs for President in the future. He's the perfect example of a real bi-partisan politician. His approach to any of the tough situations he's faced remains steadfast--he always thinks of the people he serves first.
November 14, 2020
He's a living legend for Maryland
Firstly I have to say I am a democrat, and I live in Maryland, I did not vote for Mr Hogan, but after reading this book I wish I did. It is an outstanding testimony of how political division does not work, and how one man and his spectacular bipartisan team healed many problems in our state. I highly recommend this book.
Firstly I have to say I am a democrat, and I live in Maryland, I did not vote for Mr Hogan, but after reading this book I wish I did. It is an outstanding testimony of how political division does not work, and how one man and his spectacular bipartisan team healed many problems in our state. I highly recommend this book.
August 16, 2020
Those tired of the politics of personal destruction, tired of the politics of meanness, tired of the politics of anger, tired of the politics pitting one group against this group and just worn out from the lack of leadership will find hope in Still Standing.
October 12, 2020
An inspirational story about our Republican governor in heavily democratic Maryland. The writing was kind of newspaper reporter-y, but the topics were great. I liked reading Hogan's backstory about what has been going on in his tenure as governor.
December 27, 2020
As a lifelong Marylander, I did enjoy this book and learning more about Governor Hogan's life, but I will admit that it was more of a walk down memory lane than an overly complex read since this has been my life for the past several years.
January 16, 2021
If you don't know who Hogan is, read this book. Not kidding. If he ever runs for President, I will be casting my vote for him. He has been trying to get Maryland back to how it needs to be. He pulls no punches and has been trying his best to make sure we are Maryland Strong.
April 8, 2021
As a Marylander and living through the events Governor Hogan writes about in this book, I just had to see how he saw things. It gave me a behind the scenes look at the decisions he faced and how he handled them. Which, personally, I thought he did a damn good job.
September 25, 2021
I am proud to have Larry Hogan as my governor. I may not agree with him about everything, but he certainly is a man who stands up for what he believes in. He is a man of principle, integrity, and action. I certainly enjoy getting to read about this man and get to know him more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews