Rating: 4/5 missed opportunities for political revolution
Author:
Bernie Sanders
Amazon Link: referral program on hold :(
After finishing Our Revolution I was compelled to pick up Sanders most recent book, Where We Go from Here, to see what he had to say about the new administration and his desire to run for president again in 2020. As I was reading this book, Sander’s campaign was slowly conceding that the chances for his selection as the Democratic candidate were extremely slim. I wanted to hear Sander’s case for the presidency and give his campaign one last moment of attention before we inevitably move on. Overall, the book was interesting to read, but was more or less what I had expected in that it doesn’t necessarily cover any new philosophical ground and is essentially a collection of public addresses given from 2016 to his presidential campaign announcement in 2018.
It should be no surprise that not much has changed since the 2016 election, Sanders is nothing if not consistent in his message and motivations. I half-expected to read a furious rebuttal to the Trump administration, as the progressive narrative generally and vigorously opposes most recent conservative policies. Sanders avoids this pitfall and manages to abstain from overly focusing his most recent work on Trump and his policies, instead he reinforces his support for the various policy platforms that he described in 2016 and delivers a chronological review of his recent campaign efforts. The positive integration approach is refreshing, effective, and demonstrates Sanders central values of political civility.
Sanders latest book is not significantly different in tone or content than what he presented in Our Revolution. The book serves a different purpose, this time utilizing a recounting of campaign events to drive the central narrative rather than his personal history. I don't find the difference in narrative approach to be compelling for the average reader and I feel the book still suffers the same flaws as his previous text. Fans of Sanders will find the book engaging, but those who aren't motivated to investigate his recent activity will struggle to find motivation for pushing through the material. The book is capable, but the dry, methodical narrative approach does detract from the overall effectiveness of the literature as a tool for his campaign. I would recommend the book to anybody with political interests and progressive leanings. As the Democratic primary draws to a close, it helps to connect the dots of Sanders political trajectory and illustrates the tragedy of missed opportunity if Sanders is not ultimately chosen as the Democratic candidate.