Bernie splits this book into two sections, with the first focusing on his political career, his decision to run in 2016, and the ensuing campaign for President. The second portion of the book focuses on the issues that he believes affect us most greatly as Americans. He dedicates chapters to such concerns as the disappearance of the middle class, our 'rigged' economy, healthcare, climate change, social justice, racial inequities, immigration, public schools, higher education, Wall Street, corporate media, and protecting society's most vulnerable.

It's an ambitious agenda, and what I appreciate most is that Bernie seems to believe in governance from a place of compassion and a desire to honor the inherent dignity of all Americans. Then, because governance rarely leads with these ideals, he also backs his beliefs up with how his policies and ideas make good fiscal sense, or simple common sense for the welfare of America's future. He speaks of his colleagues and leaders with respect, always willing to disagree, but never deride.

It helps that I agree with the Senator on about 80% of these issues. Certainly, if I were listening to a Ted Cruz audiobook, I'd have a harder time connecting, so I come in with my own political biases, as will you.

The two setbacks of this audiobook for me are not ones that should dissuade you from listening: (1) The book is narrated by Senator Sanders in the first section, then actor Mark Ruffalo takes over for the second section, with Bernie reading the final chapter. I really enjoyed hearing Bernie tell his story, and would've been happy to continue hearing him speak on the issues. I really like Mark Ruffalo, so don't get me wrong, but I felt a bit disconnected from the narrative when listening to him reading Bernie's thoughts. He certainly commits to the material (and it helps that he is a Bernie supporter who agrees with him as well - you can hear the passion). But at times, I was distracted by Mark. Nonetheless, good job - just missed Bernie's endearing voice in that second half of the book. But, hey, he's got a state to help govern.

Secondly, and more importantly, this book is a bitter pill to swallow in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Certainly, Bernie wrote it when Secretary Clinton has cinched the nomination, but he obviously wrote from a belief that many of the issues he holds dear would be making progress under her leadership as President. He's not a fan of her Wall Street insider approach, but he respects her and seemed to believe that progress on many issues would be inevitable with her as President. I don't think he saw the fatal bullet coming any more than a lot of us did. With President Trump dismantling so much of the Obama Administration's work that put America in a respected role with the rest of the world, and at the forefront of leadership on issues like Climate Change, it's a bit like listening to a eulogy of ideals. It takes a lot of fortitude to get through the book, as each aspiration presented has been rolled back, beaten down, or mocked by the current administration. I found it easiest to take the book in small bites (at least the second half) so that I could dust myself off a bit before jumping back in. But I know Bernie would say to not let discouragement win, but rather, dust off and jump into the activist role to create the change we need, now more than ever. In fact, the book might just require a 2017 epilogue with that very notion to put a coda on it.

If you admire Bernie Sanders and what he's tried to accomplish, I highly recommend this book. If you think he's too idealistic or too socialistic, I invite you to explore his beliefs to see if they are really as "far out" as you believe. Personally, I'm a believer in the notion that America's ideals are rooted in our compassion, not our greed, and that a rising tide should, indeed, lift all boats.


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There is a lot of information in this book that I think people on both sides of the equation will be able to look at and consider.
From Berine Sanders begining in Brooklyn to where he is now, post election, we are taken along and informed on the big issues that we face as a nation. Many of these issues stem from local level situations that have solutions. It's just a matter of finding the right people in power to impact those solutions.
Giving reason, explination and inspiration to his readers its a great message for any Democrat or Republican to consider. ( )

This memoir/political treatise starts with a short background of Sanders’ life and then a more detailed account of the 2016 election campaign. It’s still pretty remarkable how in a short time a little known Senator from a small state was able to bring together so many people and win 23 primary elections, get millions of votes in other primaries, and win nearly half of the elected delegates. Although the 2016 election ended in the triumph of evil, there’s a lot of inspiration of reading this story of what can be done when bringing together a movement based on equality, progressive values, and social democracy. The second part of the book diagnoses the political ills of America and what can be done to heal them. It’s preaching to the choir for me, but a handy guide that I hope will be relied on in the coming years. ( )

This hybrid opinion-memoir is clear and well written. There is a chapter on each of Sander's main issues, and, just before the credits, a conclusion.

Bernie paints a picture in which the stakes for our country are very high, and that improving our standard of living, quality of life, as well as our leadership and respect in the world, will be a difficult and likely very a slow process, if we even succeed.

Bernie goes to the source of the problems we are having, rather than addressing the short-term Band-Aid actions so often followed. Very good reading but unsettling as was Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", or Gore's "Inconvenient Truth". But best to be informed as Gore and Carson did alert us to real issues that did need addressing. Bernie's issues also need addressing and the sooner the better. ( )

This is an amazing book and should be on every American’s reading list. I am an avid election follower so I watched and read everything I could during the recent presidential election. I had previously read the book “Double Down: Game Change 2012” by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, so it was no surprise to me that the Democrats, including President Obama, were invested in making Hillary Clinton their nominee. I always felt that this was a mistake. My feelings about this proved to be true as evidenced by the election results. I had felt that Bernie Sanders would have made a more compelling candidate and the only one who could have appealed to the core Trump supporters as well as so many other groups in our society. However, while mistakes were made, there is much to learn from this man, and most of it is laid out in his book. He provides an interesting history of his life and his political history right up to his loss of the Democratic nomination. While this was very interesting, the most compelling part of this book are his discussions on his agenda for America: his views on the economy, health care for all, affordable higher education, climate change reforms, reforms of the criminal justice system, immigration reform and the issues corporate media outlets pose to our democracy. Much of what he says makes so much sense and could easily be achieved if we can only defeat special interest groups and the top 1% of our population who control the majority of the country’s wealth. I remain a Bernie Sanders fan and hope there is another candidate out there who can take up these issues in a similar fashion for all of our sake. ( )