Time Present, Time Past; A Memoir
New York: Vintage Books [A Divison of Random House], 1997. 1st Vintage Edition [stated]. First Printing [stated]. Trade paperback. The format is approximately 5.25 inches by 8 inches. xvi, 450, [10] pages. Wraps. Index. Cover has slight wear and soiling. This edition contains a new Afterword. William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination for president in the 2000 election, which he lost to Vice President Al Gore. Bradley was an all-county and all-state basketball player in high school. He won a gold medal as a member of the 1964 Olympic basketball team and was the NCAA Player of the Year in 1965, when Princeton finished third in the NCAA Tournament. After graduating, he attended Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship where he was a member of Worcester College, delaying a decision for two years on whether or not to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). While at Oxford, Bradley played one season of professional basketball in Europe and eventually decided to join the New York Knicks in the 1967–68 season, after serving six months in the Air Force Reserve. He spent his entire ten-year professional basketball career playing for the Knicks, winning NBA titles in 1970 and 1973. Retiring in 1977, he ran for a seat in the United States Senate the following year, from his adopted home state of New Jersey. He was re-elected in 1984 and 1990, left the Senate in 1997. Bradley is the author of seven non-fiction books, most recently We Can All Do Better, and hosts a weekly radio show, American Voices, on Sirius Satellite Radio. 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. Derived from a Kirkus review: Highlights of the New Jersey Democratic senator and former professional athlete's life, thoughts, and accomplishments. This memoir is a complex interweaving of memories, experiences, legislative accomplishments, and ruminations, leading to another transformation in Bradley's life: his decision not to run for re-election in 1996. This unusual memoir includes statements of policy on such matters as race, economic justice, the environment, campaign financing, tax reform, labor-management relations, and the role of government. Bradley justifies the inclusion of such disparate material by pulling everything into the context of his life: describing, for example, how his experiences playing with black basketball players shaped his commitment to racial equality and how his political principles stem from the sense of ethics and fair play with which he was raised. Bradley goes into detail in describing legislation he has sponsored and gives space to intense controversies in his career, such as his support for Reagan administration policies in Nicaragua. There are many more reasons to be impressed than critical of this memoir (every word of which Bradley apparently wrote himself). Bradley reveals how a politician operates and that's makes this book interesting. What makes it memorable is the way it reveals how political office can be a constant learning experience for a thoughtful politician. However limited that category of officeholders may be, this memoir proves that it includes Bill Bradley. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Basketball, New Jersey, Bill Clinton, African-Americans, Taxes, U.S. Economy, Education, Democratic Party, Campaign Finance, Immigrants, Native Americans, Politics, Elections, Race Relations, Senator, Violence
ISBN: 0679768157
[Book #43126]
Price: $25.00