Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics

Senator Joe Biden of Delaware has led a very interesting life. Dealing with a speech problem as a child he vividly remembers those who helped him with the problem in school and eventually overcoming the problem by facing up to it by handling his publiic speaking requirements like other students. Tragedy lurked shortly after his election to the Senate in 1972 with the death of his wife Neila and young daughter. Remarriage and interacting with his Senate colleagues on the issues confronting America brought renewed interest into his life. President Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court and Biden's efforts to get the nomination blocked is covered in detail. Biden suffered from headaches that were so bad they nauseated him and turned out to be two brain aneurysms that were to prove life threatening. One of Biden's big issues were the genocide taking place in the former Yugoslavia with Slobodan Milosevic meeting with Biden and trying to pull the wool over his eyes by claiming he was not at fault for the suffering taking place. Biden refused to be moved by Milosevic's entreaties. The other big issue Biden wanted to deal with was what he referred to as America's "dirty little secret," the violence against women where American males believed it was okay for a husband to hit his wife. The last part of the book deals with Biden's frustration with President George Bush's inability to work with people who disagree with him and the path America has taken in the last seven years. This is a frustration shared by millions of others in this country who see the future of America threatened for future generations. It remains to be seen what price America will pay for the blunders of the present administration. Whatever part Senator Joe Biden plays in the next administration he will be an asset in helping to redirect America's future.

Joe Biden in "Promises to Keep" opens his life, his heart and his intellect to all who care to engage.

No one should expect objectivity from a long time supporter like me but I found his writing to be so like him, the real deal. He relates his highs and lows with equal candor and insight, leaving no reader in doubt about his view of some of the most significant personal and political events in his life.

If you have lost faith in our system of government this read of Joe Biden will restore it. If you have enduring faith in our system of government
this read of Joe Bien will be a visit with someone just like you.

Joe Biden was born in 1942 in Scranton Pa. His father was a car salesman and his mother a housewife. Biden comes from a large Roman Catholic family. His world was one of school athletics, church and talking
politics and girls with the guys. Joe graduated from the University of Deleware and Syracuse University's Law School. His grades were mediocre but he had a burning drive to succeed in politics.
Biden married early to a fine lady who was the daughter of a wealthy Repbulican. He became a member of the town council and in a surprising upset defeated a longterm incumbent Republican to became the youngest man in the United States Senate. Biden was only 29 in 1972 when he took his seat in the US Senate Chamber where he still serves with distinction.
Biden has had a difficult private life. His first wife Neilia and their young baby daughter Cora were killed in a horrific traffic accident soon after his election to the Senate. In 1988 Biden suffered from a serious brain aneuryism which almost cost him his life. A second marriage to wife Jill and the birth of a daughter kept Biden from the pit of suicidal despair. He has a strong faith in God and believes in the promise of America as a beacon of democracy and hope for the huddled masses throughout the world.
On the political scene he ran for the presidency in 1988 but had to withdraw from primaries due to the scandal of his plagarizing a speech made by British Labor Leader Neal Kinnock. He was accused of cheating on a law school exam (he was not cheating but the damage in the press had already been done!). Biden is now in a very uphill race to seize the nomination for the Democratic flagbearer in the 2008 race.
Biden has served as the powerful chairman of the Justice Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States Senate. Mr. Biden has won plaudits and suffered from thrown bricks for his advocacy for protection for women of rape/sex crimes and for his opposition to Reagan nominee the controversial Robert Bork to sit on the US Supreme Court. Biden and liberal forces kept Bork off the court.
Biden is a leading critic of George W. Bush's rush to war in Iraq. He has scathing remarks to make about the neocons led by Donald Rumsfeld, Vice-President Dick Cheney and policy wonks in the Defense Department.
Biden did good work in getting aid for the Bosnians in their war against the evil dictator Malosovich. His acumen in foreign policy led John Kerry to consider him for Secretary of State if he had been elected in the 2004 race against incumbent George W. Bush. Biden was a harsh critic of the Reagan Iran-Contra mess and is a brilliant Middle Eastern expert.
It was fascinating to hear Biden tell us his impressions of legends in the Senate such as John Stennis, Ted Kennedy, Ted Stevens and others. These powerful leaders are also human beings with all the problems "all flesh is heir to."
The book's second half deals more with policy issues than personalities but Biden has done a good job in this his first book. Anyone who is politically engaged would gain from a reading of Biden's memoir. What's ahead for the Senior Senator from Delaware? Only time and the voters of America will decide!

Read this book and you will know that Joe Biden should be our next president.

I'm 9 years younger than Joe Biden and have been involved in politics since the 1960 presidential election when I was 9 years old. So, when I heard that Joe Biden was running for the Senate at age 29, as the Democratic nominee, I was envious as hell and have followed his career ever since.

I remember when his wife and child were killed in the car wreck, although I didn't realize it was before he was sworn in, when he was one of the earliest supporters of Jimmy Carter because I lived in Georgia and was supporting Carter as well, and when he was sent to Russia to talk to Kosygen and Breshnev about SALT II. It was reported at the time that this was done because Carter didn't have a good relationship with the Russians.

I knew about his civil rights work, but I didn't know he quit a prestigious law firm because he didn't want to defend a corporation against an injured worker. I also didn't know how strong his family is. To this day, he goes home to Delaware every night after work at the Senate. His wife is a school teacher. He is obviously a religious man who keeps his religion out of his work.

I especially enjoyed reading about how he get's himself in trouble by taking fine points on each side of an issue because I do it too, and it has gotten me in trouble all my life as well.

His perseverance in overcoming his stutter was amazing to me because I had no idea he ever had a stutter - you certainly wouldn't know it now.

I've read most of the recent political autobiographies and memoirs. Other reviews have talked about this book being a page turner - it is. And, others have cut it down as being arrogant and egotistical. I found it to be engaging, clearly written, and heartfelt. For those who think the book to be a political pander, take a look at Joe Biden's rankings at Project Vote Smart, or one of the other issue ranking organizations. You will see that Biden's voting record is completely consistent with the personal and political values presented in the book.

Don't decide who you will support for president until you have read this one.

I tore through it in two days, and it is not short. Unlike most other political memoir books I've read, it is a page turner from start to finish. I have to admit, I have always liked Biden and have volunteered for his campaign, so I'm a bit biased. But this book reminded me why I always liked him and made me like him even more.

He is honest, direct, reflective, and insightful. The images are vivid and the stories are touching. He admits to and tells the stories behind past mistakes, and you can understand and empathize with his imperfections. I knew the story of Neilia's death before I read the book, but as I read the chapter called "Neilia," which tells how they met and fell in love, I found myself rooting against the inevitability that she would die. Joe Biden is known for saying what he feels, and he also writes what he feels, and he brings you in with him.

One sentence in particular sums up the book and Joe Biden the person. On page 118, he writes, "My whole life--for good and ill--I had been driven by my passions, as if I needed to take the risk on all the big things in life to feel alive." You can call Joe Biden a lot of things, but you cannot say that he lacks passion. And every voter owes it to himself or herself to read Joe Biden's book (and the books of all the other candidates, for that matter) before deciding whom to support. In my case, it was 2 days well spent.