Time Present, Time Past: A Memoir - Softcover

Bradley, Bill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0679768157 ISBN 13: 9780679768159

Publisher: Vintage, 1997

Synopsis

During his terms in the U.S. Senate, Bill Bradley won a national reputation for thoughtfulness, decency, and a willingness to take controversial positions on issues ranging from tax reform to the rights of Native Americans. All these qualities inform this best-selling memoir, in which Bradley assesses his political career and the experiences that shaped his convictions, and looks beyond them to consider the state of the American union on the eve of the 21st century. Time Present, Time Past offers an intimate portrait of the day-to-day working of the Senate: how legislation gets passed and sometimes thwarted; how money is raised and at what cost. But Bradley also writes about deeper questions: What does it means to be an American in an ago of dwindling opportunities and increasing inequality? How much can we expect from our public servants? What do we owe our fellow citizens? The result is a genuinely revelatory book, informed by intelligence, compassion, and unprecedented candor.
"Strikingly reflects the realities of modern politics, what it looks like, feels like, from the inside."--New York Times Book Review

About this title

About the Author

Bill Bradley has been a three-time basketball All-American at Princeton, an Olympic gold medalist, a Rhodes scholar, and a professional player for ten years with the New York Knicks.  Elected to the Senate from New Jersey in 1978, 1984, and 1990, he has authored extensive legislation, including the Tax Reform Act of 1986.  Bradley has written two previous books, Life on the Run and The Fair Tax. He is married and has one daughter.

From Booklist

In this impressive memoir, Bradley, the senator from New Jersey and former basketball star, pulls off quite a coup. He uses his memories of life on and off the court, and on and off the Senate floor, as a starting point for discussions of race, immigration, campaign financing, and political integrity. Often when this kind of thing is attempted, the author's stroll down memory lane captures the readers' attention; then the analysis of the larger issues tires them out. Through skillful writing, a wealth of experiences to draw on, and a genuine and abiding interest in the well-being of this country, Bradley manages to avoid these pitfalls. Whether discussing his boyhood in Crystal City, Missouri, where the bigger world both beckoned and intimidated, or tackling the information explosion and the question of how it will impact the social and economic lives of Americans, Bradley is highly readable, thought provoking, and refreshingly honest. He pulls no punches when it comes to discussing his own shortcomings or those of his colleagues. Not that this book is in any way mean-spirited. Even Bradley's political foes should be disappointed by his afterword, in which he reiterates his recent announcement that he will not run again for the Senate. There aren't too many politicians that elevate the level of political debate. Bradley is one of them. Ilene Cooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0679768157
• ISBN 13: 9780679768159
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480