Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

This is an inspiring Story of the life of Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. He gives you an inside view of the Senate. I couldn't put it down. A must read.

This is a must read. Joe Biden is an extraordinary man and a great public servant . I have admired him for many years. he has a real moral compass. I recommend this book

It is a very honest and entertaining autobiography. I am glad that I read it.

My sister got me a signed copy of this book at Biden's recent book signing in Rehoboth Beach. I worked on Biden's '78 Senate race, while I was a sophomore at the University of Delaware. And yes, I am a proud NATIVE DELAWAREAN (not many people can say that!), also raised, like Joe, in New Castle County, of working class parents who believed in Joe's same "Get Up" and just do it code. Yes, the book is full of stuff from an Andy Hardy movie; yes, it's feel-good and all-American, with the faint wafting of the stars and stripes in the background, just as in the cover photo. But this is how Joe Biden really is! I worked with him and his sister Val pretty closely in the early senate campaigns, and since then I've known Tommy Vallely and some others close to Joe. And he is really like this! Passionate, committed, slightly arrogant and full of himself, "toothsome", mighty attractive, and focused. If he were from California or Texas he'd have a shot at the Presidency, even with the Kinnock slip-up. As he's from a tiny state, his chances are already greatly reduced. Whatever happens in '08, Joe Biden still makes me proud to be a Delawarean.

Joe Biden has been making a lot of sense lately. I have been impressed by David Brooks' high opinion of his intellect and integrity. There is much about this book that I really liked. However, I looked in vain for any discussion of the Clarence Thomas hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, certainly a significant chapter in Biden's service as chair of the committee. Someone will point it out, I'm sure, if I missed it. Since the book has no index, I can't be completely sure that this epic event didn't even get one sentence. Besides the lack of index, I was distracted by the fact that quotes were given without citations or footnotes of any kind. Without such references, there is no way to verify quotes or paraphrases or to place an item into a larger context or more precise time frame. It seems a curious omission for an attorney to make and I'm surprised no one else has noted it. In the end, for these reasons, the book left me ultimately disappointed.