A Fighting Chance

A Fighting Chance

by ElizabethWarren (Author), Elizabeth Warren (Author)

Synopsis

An unlikely political star tells us how Washington really works - and really doesn't. As a child in small-town Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren yearned to go to college and become a teacher. Early motherhood seemed to put that dream out of reach, but fifteen years later she was a distinguished law professor with a deep understanding of why people go bankrupt. Then came the phone call that changed her life: could she come to Washington to help Congress rewrite the bankruptcy laws? So began an unsentimental education in the bare-knuckled ways of Washington. She fought for better bankruptcy laws for ten years, and lost. She tried to hold the federal government accountable during the financial crisis, but became a target of the big banks. She tried to protect consumers from predatory bankers, but was thwarted. Finally, at 62, she decided to run for the Senate, and won. In this passionate, funny, rabble-rousing book, Warren shows why she fights tooth and nail for the middle class - and why she has become a hero to all those who believe that America's government can and must do better.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Edition: UK edition
Publisher: Scribe UK
Published: 18 Jun 2015

ISBN 10: 1925228088
ISBN 13: 9781925228083
Book Overview: An unlikely political star tells us how Washington really works - and really doesn't.

Media Reviews
'A potent mix of memoir and policy... The title of this book reminds us that this is about Warren's fight. She is still the fiery advocate who called for a bureau to protect consumers or, as a second choice, 'no agency at all and plenty of blood and teeth left on the floor.' The New York Times Book Review '[Warren's] storytelling is well-paced and engaging ... She mixes policy points with rich behind-the-scenes anecdotes. The Boston Globe 'Intelligent and informative ... [Warren is] good, plainspoken company who makes you feel smarter for having spent such easy time with her ... Her new book, which is a loving look at her family as well as her country, will only broaden her base.' Entertainment Weekly 'A revealing account of Warren's rise to prominence ... [Warren's] arguments demand to be taken seriously ... As a politician and activist, Warren's great strength is that she retains the outsider's perspective, and the outsider's sense of moral outrage, which runs throughout A Fighting Chance ... She's an indomitable battler for the underdog, and she doesn't take no for an answer.' The New York Review of Books 'The Wall Street watchdog and U.S. senator has produced a readable and sometimes infuriating explanation of the biggest financial crisis of our time.' People '[Warren] has a compelling story to tell ... She is also entertaining about professional politics.' The Economist 'Passionate ... Her vision [for the country], laid out elegantly and effectively in A Fighting Chance, involves investments by we the people through our government, in schools, roads and research labs, and in a social safety net for the least among us , investments that are, at once, in our own self-interest and in the national interest.' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 'Revealing ... Warren's book describes the troubling patterns and practices of high-level Washington.' -- Gretchen Morgenson The New York Times 'Warren has written a good book ... Frank and quite strong.' The Nation 'Warren's moment has arrived ... To understand why Sen. Elizabeth Warren is the fastest-rising new star in the Democratic Party ... read her new book ... A Fighting Chance tells true and important tales about the great scandal of our age, the corruptions that engulf Washington today, and the battles of good people to reform them ... [Warren] stands for the integrity and spirit that Americans hunger for in public life, which could someday bring her from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other.' The Hill '[A] call to arms ... Reading the rousing finale of A Fighting Chance ... you can hear the sound of the crowd roaring with approval.' Mother Jones '[Warren] displays a down-home charm and an effortless rapport with everyday people ... The book is more memoir than manifesto; Warren emerges as a committed advocate with real world sensibility, who tasted tough economic times at an early age and did not forget its bitterness.' Publishers Weekly 'A passionate memoir of one woman's personal story and the larger story of corruption in financial circles and the need for reform that balances the interests of the American middle class against those of the corporate sector ... [Warren] offers a behind-the-scenes look at the political dealmaking and head-butting machinations in efforts to restore the nation's financial system.' Booklist
Author Bio
Elizabeth Warren is the senior senator from Massachusetts. A former Harvard Law School professor and an expert on economic issues, she is the author of nine books, including All Your Worth: the ultimate lifetime money plan and The Two-Income Trap: why middle-class parents are going broke, both written with her daughter, Amelia Tyagi. She is widely credited with developing the idea for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and she helped set up the new agency as an assistant to President Obama. She also served as chair of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel and as the senior advisor to the National Bankruptcy Review Commission. The mother of two and grandmother of three, she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband, Bruce Mann.