Ira Shapiro

The Last Great Senate (eBook, ePUB)

Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

The Last Great Senate tells the story of the final four years of the progressive Senate of the 1960s and 1970s which compiled a record of accomplishment unmatched in our country's history. It is a narrative history of the statesman who, working with an outsider president, Jimmy Carter, helped steer America through the crisis years of the late 1970s, transcending partisanship and overcoming procedural roadblocks that have all but crippled the Senate over the past quarter- century. The Last Great Senate recalls a critical juncture in American politics, offering a new view of the kind of leadership that will be required to restore the nation's upper house to greatness. The book brings to life the renowned senators of the time---Ted Kennedy, Howard Baker, Henry "Scoop" Jackson, Ed Muskie, Jacob Javits, Robert Byrd and others---while capturing the Senate as an ensemble cast in a way that no previous book has. Mr. Shapiro recounts a series of legislative battles, including the historic fight over the Panama Canal treaty and the rescues of New York City and Chrysler, that are remarkable case studies of the legislative process in action. His preface to this second edition provides a compelling summary of the Senate's struggles since 1980, including the first six months of the Trump presidency. The author's love of the Senate and his deep belief in its special role in our political system make the book an antidote to cynicism, leaving readers with some hope that the Senate can reverse its long decline to become again what Walter F. Mondale called "the nation's mediator."

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 515
• Erscheinungstermin: 28. Dezember 2017
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781538109793
• Artikelnr.: 51394259

Autorenporträt

Ira Shapiro's forty-five year Washington career has focused on American politics and international trade. Mr. Shapiro served twelve years in senior staff positions in the U.S. Senate, working for a series of distinguished senators: Jacob Javits, Gaylord Nelson, Abraham Ribicoff, Thomas Eagleton, Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller. He served in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative during the Clinton administration, first as General Counsel and then chief negotiator with Japan and Canada, with the rank of ambassador. From 2012 to 2017, he was the chairman of the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS) and received a Commendation from the Foreign Minister of Japan. He is the author of two previous critically-acclaimed books about the Senate: The Last Great Senate: Courage and Statesmanship in Times of Crisis (2012) and Broken: Can the Senate Save Itself and the Country? (2018). His articles have appeared in The New York Times, U.S. Today, cnn.com, The Hill, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Newsmax, and several local newspapers around the country. Ira currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland.

Inhaltsangabe

Prologue
1977
Chapter 1: The Grind
Chapter 2: The Natural
Chapter 3: Great Expectations, Different Agendas
Chapter 4: Hawk and Dove
Chapter 5: The Appearance of Impropriety
Chapter 6: The Liberal Filibuster
1978
Chapter 7: A Year of Living Dangerously
Chapter 8: The Panama Canal Fight
Chapter 9: Venturing into the Middle East
Chapter 10: An Epic Business-Labor Clash
Chapter 11: Saving New York
Chapter 12: Closing Days
1979
Chapter 13: Before the Storm
Chapter 14: Energy Battles After the Iranian Revolution
Chapter 15: Fighting the Economic Tide
Chapter 16: SALT II: Death by a Thousand Cuts
1980
Chapter 17: A Tough Political Climate
Chapter 18: America's Last Frontier
Chapter 19: Fighting to Survive
Chapter 20: The Lame-Duck Session
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources
Interviews
Notes
Bibliography
Index