Book Review: Our Revolution

[bedsitter23]

Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In by Bernie Sanders

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The flaw of "campaign" books is that they are generally preaching to the converted, and just as likely,despite how bright the star (Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Ralph Nader), they aren't worth anything four years later since the environs are so different.

I don't really have a problem with that. I suspect every politician, from the ones that I mentioned to the blander pols like Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty probably have put together books that make the reader feel good.

So Sanders book follows, though one suspects he figured that Hillary would be in the White House at this point. In a weird way, the ideas in his book will likely set the stage for whoever takes the Democratic nomination in 2020. Sanders did indeed move his party in unexpected ways.

Sanders book serves as two halves- one is a memoir of the campaign, the second a manifesto.

Both serve their topics well, though if you are not a Sanders fan, the returns may be limited.

Hearing the Sanders platform, it seems like it would be one that would capture the nation. Removed from the real world, it seems a logical path for which to campaign to the White House. That Bernie is a 70+ year old Jew from Vermont who has spent decades proudly proclaiming himself a ‘socialist’ may have been more than he could make up for.

True enough though, whoever picks up the torch (if not him), whether Biden, Booker or Warren or someone else, will probably be even further to the left than the views in this book.

Sanders covers a lot of issues, and even for the issues where I hear him hardest criticized, he has provided good answers. That said, a book does not really allow for a debate.

This will likely be a good enough book for supporters. If you fall short of diehard status, it is s pretty dense 400+ page book which betrays the notion that these books should be short and breezy.

Reading the book renewed the things I liked about Bernie, but the ideas never are able to remove themselves from the man. It is the rare book that will last past his sell by date, and will likely be the New Democratic playbook.

Politics aside, it is a bit dense for the reader. Sanders gets a bit too much in the weeds at times. In the days where everyone communicates in messages of 140 characters, it’s good that he does explain his views and plans, but for a casual reader, the book is a slog at times.



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