Product Description
In 1999, John McCain wrote one of the most acclaimed and bestselling memoirs of the decade, Faith of My Fathers. That book ended in 1972, with McCain’s release from imprisonment in Vietnam. This is the rest of his story, about his great American journey from the U.S. Navy to his electrifying run for the presidency, interwoven with heartfelt portraits of the mavericks who have inspired him through the years—Ted Williams, Theodore Roosevelt, visionary aviation proponent Billy Mitchell, Marlon Brando in Viva Zapata!, and, most indelibly, Robert Jordan. It was Jordan, Hemingway’s protagonist in For Whom the Bell Tolls, who showed McCain the ideals of heroism and sacrifice, stoicism and redemption, and why certain causes, despite the costs, are . . .

Worth the Fighting For

After five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, naval aviator John McCain returned home a changed man. Regaining his health and flight-eligibility status, he resumed his military career, commanding carrier pilots and serving as the navy’s liaison to what is sometimes ironically called the world’s most exclusive club, the United States Senate. Accompanying Senators John Tower and Henry “Scoop” Jackson on international trips, McCain began his political education in the company of two masters, leaders whose standards he would strive to maintain upon his election to the U.S. Congress. There, he learned valuable lessons in cooperation from a good-humored congressman from the other party, Morris Udall. In 1986, McCain was elected to the U.S. Senate, inheriting the seat of another role model, Barry Goldwater.
During his time in public office, McCain has seen acts of principle and acts of craven self-interest. He describes both ex-tremes in these pages, with his characteristic straight talk and humor. He writes honestly of the lowest point in his career, the Keating Five savings and loan debacle, as well as his triumphant moments—his return to Vietnam and his efforts to normalize relations between the U.S. and Vietnamese governments; his fight for campaign finance reform; and his galvanizing bid for the presidency in 2000.
Writes McCain: “A rebel without a cause is just a punk. Whatever you’re called—rebel, unorthodox, nonconformist, radical—it’s all self-indulgence without a good cause to give your life meaning.” This is the story of McCain’s causes, the people who made him do it, and the meaning he found. Worth the Fighting For reminds us of what’s best in America, and in ourselves.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 22 reviews)

John McCain: hero, father, self-professed diety,

John McCain's memoir "Worth Fighting For" is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a great American. Whether it's gardening in the nude at his Arizona ranch, or threatening Arlen Specter with bodily harm, McCain isn't afraid to back down or change his hard-set ways. What I found especially interesting is McCain's often heated arguments with God, over things as important as the SALT treaty, or as trivial as some missing sprinkles on his pudding. Fact is, John McCain doesn't take any b---s--- from anyone, not even the Almighty! Though at first McCain's cursing of the Almighty seemed offensive, I later realized it's just one of the many pieces that make up this fascinating man. Though I don't agree with McCain's claim that he himself is "as good as, if not better than" God, I still feel that he's a true American hero.
October 22, 2008

The Real John MCain?

I found the book missing in some critical information about Mr. McCain such as:
John McCain has pledged that, if he and Ms. Palin are elected, he would end the revolving-door practice of administration officials leaving office for lucrative lobbying jobs Obama has also pledged to stop the revolving door if elected. He has also declined to take donations from lobbyists; McCain has not.

Still, during McCain's nearly 25 years in Congress, the revolving door has remained open.
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As his aides have moved downtown from Capitol Hill, they've drawn from their experience on the senator's personal staff or on his key committees: Armed Services, Commerce and Indian Affairs

Here's some examples:

* Mark Buse went from being staff director of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation when McCain chaired it to becoming a lobbyist at two firms, ML Strategies and Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo. His clients included many companies with issues before the committee, including Northwest Airlines, AT&T Wireless, Cablevision and Exxon Mobil Corp. This year, Buse returned to work for McCain as chief of staff of his Senate office.

* John D. Desser was a staffer in McCain's Senate office and was a health policy aide in his 2000 presidential campaign.
After that, he lobbied for the health insurance, chemical, coal and pharmaceutical industries. From there, he was deputy assistant secretary for health policy at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Bush administration and has since gone back to the private sector as vice president of public policy and government affairs for eHealth, an online health insurance company.

* After serving as counsel for McCain's Senate Commerce committee, Sloan W. Rappoport moved on to the Bush administration and then to K Street. Rappoport is now a vice president of the Downey McGrath Group, where he lobbies for legalization of Internet poker and for a group promoting offshore oil drilling.

* John W. Timmons served as legislative counsel for McCain, working on commerce, energy and environmental issues. Since then, Timmons has founded his own lobbying firm that represents clients under Commerce committee jurisdiction, including AT&T, the Air Transport Association, the Association of American Railroads and TW Telecom, formerly Time Warner Telecom.

* Pablo Chavez, a former chief counsel to McCain, is now an advocate for Google, where his experience on the Commerce Committee doubtless comes in handy. Last year, he fought off objections to the acquisition of Internet marketing giant DoubleClick and is now working on the contentious issue of Net neutrality with hardware providers such as AT&T and the regional Bell companies

* David Crane, a former McCain Commerce committee aide, notes in his lobbying firm biography that, as an aide, he "developed and implemented legislative and communications strategies and tactics to secure passage of Senator McCain's legislative agenda." He has worked in three K Street firms, representing clients on financial services, homeland security and trade issues. He now runs the firm Quadripoint Strategies.

* Former McCain chief of staff and Commerce committee counsel Christopher Koch is now the McCain campaign's policy coordinator. In between holding those positions, he was a lobbyist. Before joining the campaign, Koch was president and chief executive officer of the World Shipping Council, a lobbying trade group that represents about 40 foreign and domestic ocean transport companies. In the first Bush administration, he was chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission. And in the second Bush administration, as chairman of the Department of Homeland Security's National Maritime Security Advisory Committee, he helped craft port security policy.

* Ann Sauer worked for the Senate Armed Services Committee and later became vice president of Washington operations for Lockheed Martin. The world's largest defense company has spent more than $8 million this year on lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
* After working as a Senate aide for McCain, Michael Jimenez set up shop as a lobbyist. His clients include Pinnacle West, and he advocates for the Arizona-based utility on nuclear and energy issues, according to Senate records.

* Former McCain legislative assistant Sonya Sotak now works for drug giant Eli Lilly. According to Senate filings, she's lobbying on issues relating to health care reform, drug pricing in Europe and an initiative to require drug companies to disclose their payments to doctors.

* Robert Fisher, a former telecommunications adviser to McCain, went on to lobby for Clear Channel Worldwide and Verizon.

Other former McCain staffers who went on to private sector advocacy include Steve Primrose, now a principal at Triadvocates, where he works on drug enforcement, environment and technology issues; Katy McGregor, who left Capitol Hill to work as a tax lobbyist for the National Restaurant Association and is now a senior director at the corporate speechwriting firm the White House Writers Group, working on communications strategies for companies in the telecommunications and financial services sector; and Victoria Clarke, formerly a congressional spokeswoman for McCain and later a spokeswoman for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. She's now a senior adviser for communications and government affairs at telecom giant Comcast.

Three of the McCain-staffers-turned-lobbyists - Rappoport, Timmons and Fisher - have bundled thousands of dollars in campaign donations for McCain's presidential bid, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Rappoport alone has gathered $250,000 to $500,000, the center said.

September 11, 2008

Dissapointing

Unfortunately this book which I hoped to be a biographical "chapter 2" to his personal journey after his Viet Nam stint, as covered so well in "Faith of My Fathers," this book offers only a sloppy mish-mash of this and that, which causes it to never commit to be any specific type of book. It tries to be part "Profiles in Courage" (which later McCain books "Courage Matters," and "Hard Call" commit to), part "Leaders" (by Nixon), and part autobiography, but sits as an uncommitted, uneven, unsatisfactory read. On paper this might have been a good idea - to tell one's story by also talking about that person's heroes, but in this work all these different types of works get in the way of each other. There is a chapter that goes on ad nauseum about the Keating scandal to be followed up on a piece of fluff over Ted Williams the baseball player.
This is also probably not the bio that his supporters want us to read during this 2008 election as almost each and every "hero" of his...including his contemporaries...are all dead, which highlights the age issue. I have yet to find a classic bio on this man, but I understand they are out there; unfortunately this book sadly misses its mark.

August 20, 2008

Worth The Fighting For by John McCain

This is a great book by a great man. John McCain's humor, style, and love of life are inspiring in this read. His honor, patriotism, and his words of those who have inspired him, make him one of the most inspiring public figures of his generation. He has a loving awe of what is best in America, and in ourselves.
June 13, 2008

Great historical, political, autobiographical and insightful read

When the 2008 GOP primary began, I was not a fan of McCain. I didn't dislike him. I just had a different preference. I'd always wanted to read Faith of My Fathers and read that one first. It took the reader from McCain's grandfather, to his father, and finally to McCain himself and his experience in Vietnam, where it concluded with his homecoming.

This book picks up with John McCain's return home. He is atypically candid for a politician and presidential candidate. He admits faults where necessary. He takes responsibility when demanded. He defers credit where due. He takes the reader into his personal struggles, in particular the Keating 5 affair. He touches on his failed first marriage -- and takes full responsibility. The reader has the privilege of being a "fly on the wall" as McCain learns from his mentors and teachers. I can't imagine an author being much more transparent. The reader does not come away with a messianic vision of John McCain. Rather, one develops an understanding of whom he is and what influenced him. There is also much history to be learned as he explains how historical figures have influenced him in his career. I was a bit surprised by the profanity used in the book, but it's a part of who he is -- part sailor, part rebel, part patriot, part leader, part humble student, part aspiring executive, part competitor -- and full time, 100% himself.

If you have an interest in politics and/or history, and want a better understanding of who this potential President of the United States is and may be as president then this is THE book. Straight from his own mouth -- warts and all -- leaving it to the reader to make their own educated decision regarding McCain's worthiness for the most powerful job in the world. You may not finish the book as a supporter -- and you may go from pro to con -- but you will have a greater respect for the man.

Highly recommended.
May 21, 2008

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Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir
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Hard Call: The Art of Great Decisions
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