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A Fighting Chance
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Memoir & Autobiography (2014)An unlikely political star tells the inspiring story of the two-decade journey that taught her how Washington really works—and really doesn't—in A Fighting Chance
As a child in small-town Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren yearned to go to college and then become an elementary school teacher—an ambitious goal, given her family's modest means. Early marriage and motherhood seemed to put even 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 DC to help advise Congress on rewriting the bankruptcy laws?
Thus began an impolite education into the bare-knuckled, often dysfunctional 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 came up with the idea for a new agency designed to protect consumers from predatory bankers and was denied the opportunity to run it. Finally, at age 62, she decided to run for elective office and won the most competitive—and watched—Senate race in the country.
In this passionate, funny, rabble-rousing book, Warren shows why she has chosen to fight 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 for working families.
As a child in small-town Oklahoma, Elizabeth Warren yearned to go to college and then become an elementary school teacher—an ambitious goal, given her family's modest means. Early marriage and motherhood seemed to put even 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 DC to help advise Congress on rewriting the bankruptcy laws?
Thus began an impolite education into the bare-knuckled, often dysfunctional 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 came up with the idea for a new agency designed to protect consumers from predatory bankers and was denied the opportunity to run it. Finally, at age 62, she decided to run for elective office and won the most competitive—and watched—Senate race in the country.
In this passionate, funny, rabble-rousing book, Warren shows why she has chosen to fight 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 for working families.
365 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2014
640 people are currently reading
15861 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Warren
153 books867 followersElizabeth Warren (born 1949) is an American academic and politician, and the current senior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and a Democrat. She is the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School -- where she taught contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law -- and devoted much of the past three decades to studying the economics of middle class families. In the wake of the 2008-9 financial crisis, she became the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel created to investigate the U.S. banking bailout (formally known as the Troubled Assets Relief Program). In that role, she has provided a critical check on the U.S. Department of the Treasury and has been a leading advocate for accountability and transparency. Since 2007, she had advocated for the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which was established by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law by President Obama in July 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,806 reviews
April 24, 2014
I am an extremely skeptical realist. I went into this biography with a grain of salt and realized that it was already seasoned perfectly. Senator Warren is the ideal choice for leadership in American government. I believe that having a leader who reluctantly dove into the murky waters of politics (and perhaps a bit naively) but was tough and smart enough to stay afloat, and then build a boat and start pulling others on board is the exact person I would want to represent me. I would vote for Warren any day. You should as well, or at least read the book and make your own informed opinion. Blindly following partisan lines is exactly what a sheep would do. Warren is the wolf who may have dressed as a sheep once on Halloween, but leaves the costumes at home when shes at work. Thank you for your work and keep it up!
May 8, 2014
Batman, Spiderman and Superman all rolled in to one.
An indefatigable advocate for the ordinary American citizen, Senator Elizabeth Warren is the poster child for the incorruptible government official. Now, as the Senior Senator from Massachusetts and as the Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Warren is in the right place to effect positive change for the Nation. This is very good news.
The bad news is that Senator Warren is one of only a handful of legislators in the US Congress willing to advocate on behalf of ordinary American citizens and she's now in her sixties. The vast majority of our legislators have largely sold themselves out to financial, industrial and political firms and institutions in return for campaign finance contributions. This is a catastrophic situation for America - we have been reduced to a plutocracy ruled by oligarchs.
As Senator Warren points out in her book, challenging the banking industry and the lobbyists that represent them is a very difficult and unending task, particularly since much of the regulatory framework that kept them in check has been dismantled (beginning in the early 1980's during the Reagan Administration). Warren has fought with them for years to try to protect American consumers but every time she wins a battle the industry regroups and comes back for another fight. They have no shortage of financial resources and determination to drive the legislative process to pass laws and institute a regulatory framework that works in their interest - they are like that mythical beast of Anglo-Saxon lore that grows back two heads every time you slay it.
Every intelligent, objective and fair-minded citizen should read Professor Warren's book. She is one of our Nation's foremost experts on the law as it relates to bankruptcy, business, economics and finance and her motivation is justice and equity. You will also understand why Thomas Jefferson had warned the Nation about bankers in 1812 when he said, "Beware of bankers for they are more dangerous than a standing army."
An indefatigable advocate for the ordinary American citizen, Senator Elizabeth Warren is the poster child for the incorruptible government official. Now, as the Senior Senator from Massachusetts and as the Chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Warren is in the right place to effect positive change for the Nation. This is very good news.
The bad news is that Senator Warren is one of only a handful of legislators in the US Congress willing to advocate on behalf of ordinary American citizens and she's now in her sixties. The vast majority of our legislators have largely sold themselves out to financial, industrial and political firms and institutions in return for campaign finance contributions. This is a catastrophic situation for America - we have been reduced to a plutocracy ruled by oligarchs.
As Senator Warren points out in her book, challenging the banking industry and the lobbyists that represent them is a very difficult and unending task, particularly since much of the regulatory framework that kept them in check has been dismantled (beginning in the early 1980's during the Reagan Administration). Warren has fought with them for years to try to protect American consumers but every time she wins a battle the industry regroups and comes back for another fight. They have no shortage of financial resources and determination to drive the legislative process to pass laws and institute a regulatory framework that works in their interest - they are like that mythical beast of Anglo-Saxon lore that grows back two heads every time you slay it.
Every intelligent, objective and fair-minded citizen should read Professor Warren's book. She is one of our Nation's foremost experts on the law as it relates to bankruptcy, business, economics and finance and her motivation is justice and equity. You will also understand why Thomas Jefferson had warned the Nation about bankers in 1812 when he said, "Beware of bankers for they are more dangerous than a standing army."
May 1, 2014
I started listening to this book at nine o'clock this morning. I've already cried three times and wonder how on earth I haven't found the time to go to law school. Right now I'm going to empty the contents of my wallet into an envelope and mail it to Senator Warren. I'm sure that whatever she is doing today, it's the right thing.
February 21, 2017
A Fighting Chance is the fourth book by Elizabeth Warren, her first since the former Harvard law professor became a regular guest on The Daily Show, a darling of progressives, a first-term U.S. senator (D-MA) and a possible candidate for president (as of May 2015 she's stated repeatedly that she is not interested in running).
I apologize to those who dream of Goodreads remaining a safe zone from the contentious subjects of politics, religion or sex, unless being discussed in relation to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. But I've been a great admirer of Warren's since she created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and used her tenure in the Senate to advocate for the middle class against the major banks.
Warren is not the first politician to utilize a book deal to tell their story, promote their ideas in long form and get their message out, possibly in a run-up for higher office. But having already authored three books on bankruptcy (two with her daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi), Warren has admitted she enjoys writing and other than help from research assistants, wrote this book herself.
A Fighting Chance is a memoir, balancing Warren's personal life with her increasingly visible work in Washington, beginning in 1995 with a bipartisan commission launched by President Clinton to review the nation's bankruptcy laws. Any of you ready for a nap by what I've described will likely be more interested in Mr. Darcy's affairs than this book. Those crushed that Warren is not running for president should be ecstatic by this book.
Fascinating facts about Elizabeth Warren (or, things I didn't learn on C-SPAN or The Daily Show):
She was born and raised in Oklahoma with three older brothers.
Her father dreamed of aviation but was too old to serve as a fighter pilot in World War II. Hoping for a job as a commercial pilot after the war, he missed out there too. (Warren's mother believed the airlines wanted younger men in the cockpit). He sold carpeting at department stores until a heart attack greatly reduced his hours. Warren's mother entered the work force at age 50 answering phones at Sears. The year was 1962 and Warren was 13.
Despite resistance from her mother, Warren dreamed of going to college. She'd excelled at debate club and found two schools offering scholarships, Northwestern and George Washington. She sent off for the applications without telling her family and after her father told her mother to let their daughter try, Warren was accepted to both schools. She chose George Washington on a full scholarship and federal loan.
Two years into college, a boy who Warren had met in high school on the advanced debate team named Jim Warren proposed marriage to her. He'd graduated college, landed a good job with IBM and after eight weeks of debate, she accepted, dropping out of school and moving to Houston.
Finishing her undergrad at the University of Houston, Warren found work as a speech therapist for special needs children at a local public school. She gave birth to a daughter, Amelia, in 1970. Now a housewife in suburban New Jersey, Warren got the itch for grad school. After considering speech pathology, she chose law, thinking Amelia would be proud to have a mom who was a lawyer.
Telling my mother about my plans to go to law school was worse than telling her about college. She was sure something was wrong with me. I should stay home. I should have more children. I should count on Jim to support me. She cautioned me against becoming "one of those crazy women's libbers" and warned me they weren't happy and never could be. I loved my mother. I wanted her to smile, to believe I was doing the right thing. But that wasn't going to happen. So I ducked my head and kept on going.
In three years, Warren graduated from Rutgers Law School. Pregnant with her second child, a son named Alexander, Warren was unable to find a job. She made a brief run at setting up her own law practice at home when in early 1977, a Rutgers professor asked her if she could fill in teaching a class on legal writing. She started the next night.
The Warrens returned to Houston in a year and she was able to land a job at UH Law School. Warren recalls there being only one other full-time female faculty member on the staff. She headed for the "money" courses: contract law, then business and finance, figuring if she could master the technical areas first, nobody would question whether she belonged there.
Warren's marriage unraveled and her father, mother and aunt all moved to Houston to help her with the kids while Warren earned a living. During a summer course for law professors, she met Bruce Mann, a PhD in history whose specialty was law during the American Revolution. The two soon married. While Warren was teaching at the University of Texas at Austin Law School in the early 1980s, a new bankruptcy law went into effect. The law was so big, nobody had written the textbook yet. So, Warren and two fellow professors began collecting data. Assuming most debtors were deadbeats who blamed others for their own bad decisions, what Warren saw at a bankruptcy court in San Antonio and in the personal testimonies she read changed her outlook.
When writing about their lives, people blamed themselves for taking out a mortgage they didn't understand. They blamed themselves for their failure to realize their jobs weren't secure. They blamed themselves for their misplaced trust in no-good husbands and cheating wives. It was blindingly obvious to me that most people saw bankruptcy as a profound personal failure, a sign that they were losers through and through.
Believing education would make a difference, Warren started making speeches. Her family moved to Philadelphia, where Warren taught at Penn State. By the early 1990s, she began to see a pattern: Banks were targeting families already in distress, selling them products with high fees and astronomical interest rates, then lobbying to reform the bankruptcy laws so if their customers were pushed into a corner, relief would be much more difficult. Feeling she had no way to fight this, Warren's husband Bruce urged her to accept a job offer. Harvard Law School was calling. The year was 1994 and Warren was 45.
Settling in Massachusetts, Warren's life changed. She received a call from Mike Synar, a high school debating peer who was now a congressman for Oklahoma. President Clinton had placed him in charge of a nine-member bipartisan commission to review the nation's bankruptcy laws. Synar wanted Warren on the commission. Public hearings were held to gather information and Warren noticed that while bank lobbyists were all over the place, very few families in bankruptcy were. They were barely part of the debate.
By a 5-4 vote, the commission voted to keep the bankruptcy law intact with only a few modifications. When the banking industry pushed back, Warren was drawn deeper into a political fight to preserve the law. She met with Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and cajoled him into leading the charge in the Senate against a banking industry bill that sought to toughen the bankruptcy laws. Narrow victories and crushing defeats ensued until November 2008, when Warren received a call from the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to come to Washington and provide some oversight of the Treasury Department as they prepared to bail the major banks out of the financial crisis.
Warren's role was to make the process transparent and let those at home know what was going on. The financial crisis was such a major event that talk shows began searching for guests who could distill complicated data into simple ideas and quickly. Warren began making the rounds on television. She was invited to appear on The Daily Show but knowing how guests could be hammered by Jon Stewart, she threw up in the dressing room. Her interview was a disaster, but when Warren got up to leave at commercial break, Stewart stopped her. "You wanted to deliver an important message here and you didn't get to it." When the break was over and Warren was still at the desk, she unloaded.
This crisis didn't have to happen. America had a boom-and-bust cycle from the 1790s to the 1930s, with a financial panic every ten to fifteen years. But we figured out how to fix it. Coming out of the Great Depression, the country put tough rules in place that gave us fifty years without a financial crisis. But in the 1980s, we started pulling the threads out of the regulatory fabric, and we found ourselves back in the boom-and-bust cycle. When this crisis is over, there will be a once-in-a-generation chance to rewrite the rules. What we put in place will determine whether our country continues down the path of a boom-and-bust economy or whether we reestablish an economy with more stability that gives ordinary folks a chance at prosperity.
Neil deGrasse Tyson has said that when he was a boy obsessed with astrophysics, he was curious about Congressmen and what careers they had before going to Washington. His research came back Law, Law, Business, Law, Law, Law, and he wondered where in government all the teachers or engineers were. Warren's story would make her seem like another pugilist, and indeed, her love for robust debate has been a major part of her life, but she struck me as a teacher first and foremost. Each time Washington called, she had to leave a classroom and her students behind. That is the essence of her character and what makes her unique.
Warren's writing style is passionate and direct. At 287 pages, not including acknowledgments and the index, I finished the book in two afternoons. It doesn't go into detail about the financial crisis or her election campaign against Scott Brown in 2012, but the anecdotes that are here are terrific. Warren's realization that Brown was the candidate voters most wanted to have a beer with didn't phase her and in the end, didn't matter. The firemen union endorsed her because as one union leader said, "Fuck it, we gotta raise our families. And you are the best shot we've got."
Warren divides her memoir neatly between her family and her career, and shows how one came to affect the other and vice-versa. Almost any politician can make claims that they started from a humble background, but Warren's path -- from a time fifty years ago when girls were discouraged from attending college, to bankruptcy law, to education and all the way to personal meetings in the Oval Office with Barack Obama -- and what she learned are impossible not to be inspired by.
Warren also watched Star Trek: The Next Generation with her son when she was still a law professor and for this reason alone, the book gets five stars.
I apologize to those who dream of Goodreads remaining a safe zone from the contentious subjects of politics, religion or sex, unless being discussed in relation to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. But I've been a great admirer of Warren's since she created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and used her tenure in the Senate to advocate for the middle class against the major banks.
Warren is not the first politician to utilize a book deal to tell their story, promote their ideas in long form and get their message out, possibly in a run-up for higher office. But having already authored three books on bankruptcy (two with her daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi), Warren has admitted she enjoys writing and other than help from research assistants, wrote this book herself.
A Fighting Chance is a memoir, balancing Warren's personal life with her increasingly visible work in Washington, beginning in 1995 with a bipartisan commission launched by President Clinton to review the nation's bankruptcy laws. Any of you ready for a nap by what I've described will likely be more interested in Mr. Darcy's affairs than this book. Those crushed that Warren is not running for president should be ecstatic by this book.
Fascinating facts about Elizabeth Warren (or, things I didn't learn on C-SPAN or The Daily Show):
She was born and raised in Oklahoma with three older brothers.
Her father dreamed of aviation but was too old to serve as a fighter pilot in World War II. Hoping for a job as a commercial pilot after the war, he missed out there too. (Warren's mother believed the airlines wanted younger men in the cockpit). He sold carpeting at department stores until a heart attack greatly reduced his hours. Warren's mother entered the work force at age 50 answering phones at Sears. The year was 1962 and Warren was 13.
Despite resistance from her mother, Warren dreamed of going to college. She'd excelled at debate club and found two schools offering scholarships, Northwestern and George Washington. She sent off for the applications without telling her family and after her father told her mother to let their daughter try, Warren was accepted to both schools. She chose George Washington on a full scholarship and federal loan.
Two years into college, a boy who Warren had met in high school on the advanced debate team named Jim Warren proposed marriage to her. He'd graduated college, landed a good job with IBM and after eight weeks of debate, she accepted, dropping out of school and moving to Houston.
Finishing her undergrad at the University of Houston, Warren found work as a speech therapist for special needs children at a local public school. She gave birth to a daughter, Amelia, in 1970. Now a housewife in suburban New Jersey, Warren got the itch for grad school. After considering speech pathology, she chose law, thinking Amelia would be proud to have a mom who was a lawyer.
Telling my mother about my plans to go to law school was worse than telling her about college. She was sure something was wrong with me. I should stay home. I should have more children. I should count on Jim to support me. She cautioned me against becoming "one of those crazy women's libbers" and warned me they weren't happy and never could be. I loved my mother. I wanted her to smile, to believe I was doing the right thing. But that wasn't going to happen. So I ducked my head and kept on going.
In three years, Warren graduated from Rutgers Law School. Pregnant with her second child, a son named Alexander, Warren was unable to find a job. She made a brief run at setting up her own law practice at home when in early 1977, a Rutgers professor asked her if she could fill in teaching a class on legal writing. She started the next night.
The Warrens returned to Houston in a year and she was able to land a job at UH Law School. Warren recalls there being only one other full-time female faculty member on the staff. She headed for the "money" courses: contract law, then business and finance, figuring if she could master the technical areas first, nobody would question whether she belonged there.
Warren's marriage unraveled and her father, mother and aunt all moved to Houston to help her with the kids while Warren earned a living. During a summer course for law professors, she met Bruce Mann, a PhD in history whose specialty was law during the American Revolution. The two soon married. While Warren was teaching at the University of Texas at Austin Law School in the early 1980s, a new bankruptcy law went into effect. The law was so big, nobody had written the textbook yet. So, Warren and two fellow professors began collecting data. Assuming most debtors were deadbeats who blamed others for their own bad decisions, what Warren saw at a bankruptcy court in San Antonio and in the personal testimonies she read changed her outlook.
When writing about their lives, people blamed themselves for taking out a mortgage they didn't understand. They blamed themselves for their failure to realize their jobs weren't secure. They blamed themselves for their misplaced trust in no-good husbands and cheating wives. It was blindingly obvious to me that most people saw bankruptcy as a profound personal failure, a sign that they were losers through and through.
Believing education would make a difference, Warren started making speeches. Her family moved to Philadelphia, where Warren taught at Penn State. By the early 1990s, she began to see a pattern: Banks were targeting families already in distress, selling them products with high fees and astronomical interest rates, then lobbying to reform the bankruptcy laws so if their customers were pushed into a corner, relief would be much more difficult. Feeling she had no way to fight this, Warren's husband Bruce urged her to accept a job offer. Harvard Law School was calling. The year was 1994 and Warren was 45.
Settling in Massachusetts, Warren's life changed. She received a call from Mike Synar, a high school debating peer who was now a congressman for Oklahoma. President Clinton had placed him in charge of a nine-member bipartisan commission to review the nation's bankruptcy laws. Synar wanted Warren on the commission. Public hearings were held to gather information and Warren noticed that while bank lobbyists were all over the place, very few families in bankruptcy were. They were barely part of the debate.
By a 5-4 vote, the commission voted to keep the bankruptcy law intact with only a few modifications. When the banking industry pushed back, Warren was drawn deeper into a political fight to preserve the law. She met with Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and cajoled him into leading the charge in the Senate against a banking industry bill that sought to toughen the bankruptcy laws. Narrow victories and crushing defeats ensued until November 2008, when Warren received a call from the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to come to Washington and provide some oversight of the Treasury Department as they prepared to bail the major banks out of the financial crisis.
Warren's role was to make the process transparent and let those at home know what was going on. The financial crisis was such a major event that talk shows began searching for guests who could distill complicated data into simple ideas and quickly. Warren began making the rounds on television. She was invited to appear on The Daily Show but knowing how guests could be hammered by Jon Stewart, she threw up in the dressing room. Her interview was a disaster, but when Warren got up to leave at commercial break, Stewart stopped her. "You wanted to deliver an important message here and you didn't get to it." When the break was over and Warren was still at the desk, she unloaded.
This crisis didn't have to happen. America had a boom-and-bust cycle from the 1790s to the 1930s, with a financial panic every ten to fifteen years. But we figured out how to fix it. Coming out of the Great Depression, the country put tough rules in place that gave us fifty years without a financial crisis. But in the 1980s, we started pulling the threads out of the regulatory fabric, and we found ourselves back in the boom-and-bust cycle. When this crisis is over, there will be a once-in-a-generation chance to rewrite the rules. What we put in place will determine whether our country continues down the path of a boom-and-bust economy or whether we reestablish an economy with more stability that gives ordinary folks a chance at prosperity.
Neil deGrasse Tyson has said that when he was a boy obsessed with astrophysics, he was curious about Congressmen and what careers they had before going to Washington. His research came back Law, Law, Business, Law, Law, Law, and he wondered where in government all the teachers or engineers were. Warren's story would make her seem like another pugilist, and indeed, her love for robust debate has been a major part of her life, but she struck me as a teacher first and foremost. Each time Washington called, she had to leave a classroom and her students behind. That is the essence of her character and what makes her unique.
Warren's writing style is passionate and direct. At 287 pages, not including acknowledgments and the index, I finished the book in two afternoons. It doesn't go into detail about the financial crisis or her election campaign against Scott Brown in 2012, but the anecdotes that are here are terrific. Warren's realization that Brown was the candidate voters most wanted to have a beer with didn't phase her and in the end, didn't matter. The firemen union endorsed her because as one union leader said, "Fuck it, we gotta raise our families. And you are the best shot we've got."
Warren divides her memoir neatly between her family and her career, and shows how one came to affect the other and vice-versa. Almost any politician can make claims that they started from a humble background, but Warren's path -- from a time fifty years ago when girls were discouraged from attending college, to bankruptcy law, to education and all the way to personal meetings in the Oval Office with Barack Obama -- and what she learned are impossible not to be inspired by.
Warren also watched Star Trek: The Next Generation with her son when she was still a law professor and for this reason alone, the book gets five stars.
April 27, 2014
that the daughter of an oklahoma telephone operator and a maintenance man would go on to become the first female senator of the commonwealth of massachusetts is, in and of itself, a compelling story. a fighting chance, however, beyond the inspiring tale of elizabeth warren's journey to the u.s. senate chamber, is also the narrative of a financial and political system rigged to favor the already wealthy and powerful at the expense of poor and middle-class families.
senator warren's memoir combines the personal and the political in a candid, touching, and, at times, playful account of her life. beginning with her working-class upbringing in the midwest, warren recalls the long, often arduous road to elected office (which she sought ever-reluctantly). while chronicling her time as a bankruptcy expert, university law professor, chair of the congressional oversight panel (COP) for the troubled assest relief program (TARP), progenitor of the consumer financial protection bureau, and special assistant to the president, warren also shares the intimate joys and tribulations of family life that occurred concurrent to her professional ascendancy. throughout a fighting chance, it becomes evident that, for warren, the personal is the political, and conversely so, as well.
warren's commitment to advocating and fighting for american families and children has been evident throughout her career. as one of the nation's foremost bankruptcy experts, warren's work quickly drew the attention of leaders in washington (and not too soon thereafter, the ire of bankers). frequently in her memoir, warren offers stupefying statistics that lay bear the implications of bankruptcy on both families and the nation as a whole:
while a fighting chance concludes with warren's well-publicized senatorial campaign against scott brown (and its landmark "people's pledge"), she makes clear that her election is but the continuation of a fight she had begun decades ago - and aims to continue from her position of greater influence.
it's easy to see why senator warren's populist appeal speaks to and inspires so many (and frightens so many others), and her memoir makes clear that her principles apply equally to family and nation. warren's tenacity, passion, and intelligence are obvious assets, but her humanity and humility seem so distinguishing when compared to her 534 peers. a fighting chance is a fine political memoir (and an accomplished personal one, as well), but most remarkable are the two traits that seem to define the senior senator's approach to everything (whether government or grandchildren): integrity and fidelity.
senator warren's memoir combines the personal and the political in a candid, touching, and, at times, playful account of her life. beginning with her working-class upbringing in the midwest, warren recalls the long, often arduous road to elected office (which she sought ever-reluctantly). while chronicling her time as a bankruptcy expert, university law professor, chair of the congressional oversight panel (COP) for the troubled assest relief program (TARP), progenitor of the consumer financial protection bureau, and special assistant to the president, warren also shares the intimate joys and tribulations of family life that occurred concurrent to her professional ascendancy. throughout a fighting chance, it becomes evident that, for warren, the personal is the political, and conversely so, as well.
warren's commitment to advocating and fighting for american families and children has been evident throughout her career. as one of the nation's foremost bankruptcy experts, warren's work quickly drew the attention of leaders in washington (and not too soon thereafter, the ire of bankers). frequently in her memoir, warren offers stupefying statistics that lay bear the implications of bankruptcy on both families and the nation as a whole:
by 2001 (before the 2008 financial meltdown)...warren unabashedly calls out banking deregulation, predatory lending, the unchecked access and pernicious effects of banking lobbyists, and a misunderstanding and demonization of the risk factors for bankruptcy as contributors to the financial crisis. her adjudication of a "rigged" politico-economic system is corroborated by evidence both empirical and anecdotal (after a quarter-century spent researching and studying it).
*more children would live through their parents' bankruptcy than their parents' divorce.
*more women would file for bankruptcy than would graduate from college.
*more people would file for bankruptcy than would be diagnosed with cancer.
*some fifteen million families filed for bankruptcy in a single decade.
while a fighting chance concludes with warren's well-publicized senatorial campaign against scott brown (and its landmark "people's pledge"), she makes clear that her election is but the continuation of a fight she had begun decades ago - and aims to continue from her position of greater influence.
some say the rich and powerful now control washington and always will. i say this battle isn't over yet. true, the playing field isn't level and the system is rigged. but we're putting up a heck of a fight, and we intend to keep on fighting.elizabeth warren is perhaps a rarity amongst elected officials, as she's never aspired to, nor made a career of, being a politician. her devotion to creating a level-playing field for all americans is borne of her own family's experiences, a career researching bankruptcy and teaching law, and a moral sense of responsibility. while so many politicians are motivated by corporate donations, lobbyist influences, and re-election hopes, senator warren is galvanized by (re)creating the opportunities that were once more widely available to all americans. regardless of political persuasion or ideological disposition, if this nation had more congresspeople and senators of similar conviction and character, we'd increasingly see discourse unencumbered by partisan rhetoric, as well as legislation that truly accomplishes the will of the people (rather than corporate interests).
this victory wasn't mine. that's not some kind of fake modesty talk - no, that statement is deep-down truth. this victory belonged to all the families who have been chipped away at, squeezed, and hammered. this time, they fought together and won. and now they were sending me to washington to fight for them and for every hardworking family who just wants a fighting chance to live the american dream.
it's easy to see why senator warren's populist appeal speaks to and inspires so many (and frightens so many others), and her memoir makes clear that her principles apply equally to family and nation. warren's tenacity, passion, and intelligence are obvious assets, but her humanity and humility seem so distinguishing when compared to her 534 peers. a fighting chance is a fine political memoir (and an accomplished personal one, as well), but most remarkable are the two traits that seem to define the senior senator's approach to everything (whether government or grandchildren): integrity and fidelity.
equality. opportunity. the pursuit of happiness. an america that builds something better for the next kid and the kid after that and the kid after that.
no one is asking for a handout. all we want is a country where everyone pays a fair share, a country where we build opportunities for all of us; a country where everyone plays by the same rules and everyone is held accountable. and we have begun to fight for it.
October 17, 2019
5 stars!
“When you have no real power, go public -- really public. The public is where the real power is.”
As we approach 2020, I’ve been doing my best to study up on the Democratic nominees (because no, I will not be voting for Trump). I decided to listen to the audiobook version of this book, and I am really glad I decided to do that. I’ve never been one for economics, math, anything under that umbrella. And yet I found this book to be completely fascinating.
In this book, Warren gives a past history of her work as a lawyer and how teaching bankruptcy led her to work to write government reform to help middle class families.
“Today the game is rigged—rigged to work for those who have money and power. Big corporations hire armies of lobbyists to get billion-dollar loopholes into the tax system and persuade their friends in Congress to support laws that keep the playing field tilted in their favor. Meanwhile, hardworking families are told that they’ll just have to live with smaller dreams for their children.”
My favorite part of this book is how Warren details what happened to middle class families and explained what the government and big banks did that led to the financial crisis of 2007-2008. I’ve seen movies on it, had it explained to me by teachers, but never really got what really happened until I listened to this. To be fair, it’s not something I actively sought out to learn about either, but it was nice to have it detailed in a meaningful and transparent way.
I liked Warren before I read this book, but I love her now. She looks at pain and suffering and then makes an active effort to do something about it. No matter how hard it is, she remembers those stories told to her and she takes action.
“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did.
Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless! Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”
Just want to quickly say if you come here to troll me I will be deleting and blocking, as is my right.
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“When you have no real power, go public -- really public. The public is where the real power is.”
As we approach 2020, I’ve been doing my best to study up on the Democratic nominees (because no, I will not be voting for Trump). I decided to listen to the audiobook version of this book, and I am really glad I decided to do that. I’ve never been one for economics, math, anything under that umbrella. And yet I found this book to be completely fascinating.
In this book, Warren gives a past history of her work as a lawyer and how teaching bankruptcy led her to work to write government reform to help middle class families.
“Today the game is rigged—rigged to work for those who have money and power. Big corporations hire armies of lobbyists to get billion-dollar loopholes into the tax system and persuade their friends in Congress to support laws that keep the playing field tilted in their favor. Meanwhile, hardworking families are told that they’ll just have to live with smaller dreams for their children.”
My favorite part of this book is how Warren details what happened to middle class families and explained what the government and big banks did that led to the financial crisis of 2007-2008. I’ve seen movies on it, had it explained to me by teachers, but never really got what really happened until I listened to this. To be fair, it’s not something I actively sought out to learn about either, but it was nice to have it detailed in a meaningful and transparent way.
I liked Warren before I read this book, but I love her now. She looks at pain and suffering and then makes an active effort to do something about it. No matter how hard it is, she remembers those stories told to her and she takes action.
“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear: You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory, and hire someone to protect against this, because of the work the rest of us did.
Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea? God bless! Keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.”
Just want to quickly say if you come here to troll me I will be deleting and blocking, as is my right.
Follow me on ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Instagram ♥ Twitter ♥
November 26, 2014
Full disclosure: I’m an Elizabeth Warren fan girl. That’s why I went against my own guideline of not reading political memoirs to pick up A Fighting Chance.
So, um, let me just say I was super disappointed when I started A Fighting Chance. It was … flat. Uninspiring. Senator Warren painted this bizarre picture of a girl who just happened to fall into teaching at Harvard and getting a senate seat.
Look, Senator Warren, I think you’re great. Many people I know who disagree with you politically tend to think you’re a good voice to have in the Senate. But this whole “golly gee, I’m just some innocent girl who stumbled into all of this?” No. You had ambition. I’m not saying it’s Hillary Clinton-sized ambition (let’s face it, even Hillary Clinton has trouble keeping up with her ambition), but a girl from small-town Oklahoma doesn’t get to where she is with nothing more than luck and checking a box labeled “Native American.” Own your ambition, Senator Warren. You want to help inspire the next generation of girls? Don’t pass off this fantasy that all it takes to get ahead is a smile, a little bit of hard work, and luck. Sure, you need all those things (and frankly, the world needs more ambitious people who are also nice), but encourage these girls to be bold, to dream big and work big and take control of their lives! And start doing that by telling your own story in a big, ambitious way.
Luckily, after the rough start, A Fighting Chance becomes a pretty good argument for Elizabeth Warren’s brand of populism (which should be way less controversial than it is). Even with her “aw shucks” routine, Senator Warren is a role model for not just little girls but women, men, Americans, you name it. Her anger and her positions are rooted in fact and experience, and if this is all just some big sideshow to allow her to climb to center stage (one criticism frequently leveled against her), the woman makes Daniel Day Lewis look like an amateur actor from a Christopher Guest film. She makes some incredibly persuasive arguments, and I finished thinking that the American middle class would be better off with a legislative branch full of bright, passionate Elizabeth Warrens. I’m glad I broke my own rule to read A Fighting Chance. Recommended.
So, um, let me just say I was super disappointed when I started A Fighting Chance. It was … flat. Uninspiring. Senator Warren painted this bizarre picture of a girl who just happened to fall into teaching at Harvard and getting a senate seat.
Look, Senator Warren, I think you’re great. Many people I know who disagree with you politically tend to think you’re a good voice to have in the Senate. But this whole “golly gee, I’m just some innocent girl who stumbled into all of this?” No. You had ambition. I’m not saying it’s Hillary Clinton-sized ambition (let’s face it, even Hillary Clinton has trouble keeping up with her ambition), but a girl from small-town Oklahoma doesn’t get to where she is with nothing more than luck and checking a box labeled “Native American.” Own your ambition, Senator Warren. You want to help inspire the next generation of girls? Don’t pass off this fantasy that all it takes to get ahead is a smile, a little bit of hard work, and luck. Sure, you need all those things (and frankly, the world needs more ambitious people who are also nice), but encourage these girls to be bold, to dream big and work big and take control of their lives! And start doing that by telling your own story in a big, ambitious way.
Luckily, after the rough start, A Fighting Chance becomes a pretty good argument for Elizabeth Warren’s brand of populism (which should be way less controversial than it is). Even with her “aw shucks” routine, Senator Warren is a role model for not just little girls but women, men, Americans, you name it. Her anger and her positions are rooted in fact and experience, and if this is all just some big sideshow to allow her to climb to center stage (one criticism frequently leveled against her), the woman makes Daniel Day Lewis look like an amateur actor from a Christopher Guest film. She makes some incredibly persuasive arguments, and I finished thinking that the American middle class would be better off with a legislative branch full of bright, passionate Elizabeth Warrens. I’m glad I broke my own rule to read A Fighting Chance. Recommended.
April 27, 2014
I haven't liked a politician this much since Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. I was only eleven, but somehow I knew he was on my side. I also know that Elizabeth Warren is on my side. Now I am old enough to understand the details. Senator Warren's new book clearly explains why and how she is on the side of 99% of the American People and what she is trying to do to help.
Read
February 9, 2018DNF around 50%
I don't think this is a horrible book, but I was in way over my head. I don't know anything about the economy crashes of the early 2000s and I don't have a mortgage or even a credit card, so all of this, I think, is for an audience that isn't me. I love Elizabeth Warren, but I think I'll be waiting for a different book of hers that appeals to me in another way because this one was a snooze.
I don't think this is a horrible book, but I was in way over my head. I don't know anything about the economy crashes of the early 2000s and I don't have a mortgage or even a credit card, so all of this, I think, is for an audience that isn't me. I love Elizabeth Warren, but I think I'll be waiting for a different book of hers that appeals to me in another way because this one was a snooze.
April 27, 2014
The system is rigged. That's part of Warren's message, intertwined with personal history and her journey from mother to law professor to author to policy wonk to Senator. Such a compelling, and easy flowing read, I roared through it in a single day--gathering the energy and emotion. The second time I will spend more time cross referencing the consumer and big bank issues. The best book I've read in 2014.
July 4, 2019
Elizabeth Warren is a fighter, whether in her personal life or for middle class Americans. From the very beginning of her law career, she’s been researching and making a difference for regular folks like you and me.
As the author of many books, Warren has plenty of writing chops. But this one, A Fighting Chance, is her personal story rather than an academic tome. She intertwines her life with buckets of information about the way U.S. economics is stacked against the 99%. Listening to her tell the story on the audiobook, I heard how deeply she cares about this topic. It’s really her life’s work. And now she’s taken it to Washington, and maybe the White House.
Warren comes from modest means. Going to college over the objections of her mother, she paid $50 for each semester’s classes. She acknowledges how critical this step was to her life, which later included two marriages, two kids, grandkids, a law degree, and law school professorships. There’s also obvious affection in her stories of the dogs in her life.
But the bulk of A Fighting Chance is her work in support of fairer bankruptcy laws, oversight of the Great Recession’s bank bailout, and the founding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She ends the book with her Massachusetts Senate campaign and the resulting win.
My conclusions
One of my good friends and a fellow politically active grandma has been on the Warren train for ages. She keeps nudging me to learn more. And I’m glad I did. The YouTube rabbit hole of talks and interviews is a great resource. But I’m glad I started here with Warren’s passionate and polished words.
I first heard about Elizabeth Warren when she appeared on The Late Show with Jon Stewart. I thought to myself, “This woman knows how to explain these complex economic concepts.” And she was even a little bit funny. That’s essentially the tone this book sets as well.
She lays out the details of complicated economic ideas. But, fundamentally it all comes down to “the system is rigged in favor of big corporations and millionaires.” However, Warren hammers her point home without becoming tedious.
If you’re looking for insight into Elizabeth Warren’s pre-politics background, you’ll find it here. I recommend the audiobook, but if you want her pictures and extensive footnotes, print is the way to go.
Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com, where you'll find many reviews including my political reads.
As the author of many books, Warren has plenty of writing chops. But this one, A Fighting Chance, is her personal story rather than an academic tome. She intertwines her life with buckets of information about the way U.S. economics is stacked against the 99%. Listening to her tell the story on the audiobook, I heard how deeply she cares about this topic. It’s really her life’s work. And now she’s taken it to Washington, and maybe the White House.
Warren comes from modest means. Going to college over the objections of her mother, she paid $50 for each semester’s classes. She acknowledges how critical this step was to her life, which later included two marriages, two kids, grandkids, a law degree, and law school professorships. There’s also obvious affection in her stories of the dogs in her life.
But the bulk of A Fighting Chance is her work in support of fairer bankruptcy laws, oversight of the Great Recession’s bank bailout, and the founding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She ends the book with her Massachusetts Senate campaign and the resulting win.
My conclusions
One of my good friends and a fellow politically active grandma has been on the Warren train for ages. She keeps nudging me to learn more. And I’m glad I did. The YouTube rabbit hole of talks and interviews is a great resource. But I’m glad I started here with Warren’s passionate and polished words.
I first heard about Elizabeth Warren when she appeared on The Late Show with Jon Stewart. I thought to myself, “This woman knows how to explain these complex economic concepts.” And she was even a little bit funny. That’s essentially the tone this book sets as well.
She lays out the details of complicated economic ideas. But, fundamentally it all comes down to “the system is rigged in favor of big corporations and millionaires.” However, Warren hammers her point home without becoming tedious.
If you’re looking for insight into Elizabeth Warren’s pre-politics background, you’ll find it here. I recommend the audiobook, but if you want her pictures and extensive footnotes, print is the way to go.
Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com, where you'll find many reviews including my political reads.
Read
June 3, 2014A lone voice
I haven't read unadulterated truth for a very long time. Everyone speaks in spin. No one is ashamed to get caught in a lie. I'm 70 years old. I've followed politics and politicians for 60 years. Frankly, I had given up, until about 10 years ago I heard about this professorial looking lady who was exposing corporate financial officers as the thieves they have become. Later I heard this same Elizabeth Warren woman was exposing unfair labor practices, student loan ripoffs, bankruptcy extortion, voters rights, and pretty much acting like I believed a committed public figure should. I am so pleased I read this book. It renewed my faith in our system and has set a benchmark for public service that no fat contributor can erase with a self-serving check. If you believe that democracy should afford a fighting chance to every citizen, you will be inspired. If you believe corporations are people, money is equivalent to a vote, and you are somehow entitled to bend the rules in your favor, study this person, she and the millions she inspires are your undoing. Good riddance.
I haven't read unadulterated truth for a very long time. Everyone speaks in spin. No one is ashamed to get caught in a lie. I'm 70 years old. I've followed politics and politicians for 60 years. Frankly, I had given up, until about 10 years ago I heard about this professorial looking lady who was exposing corporate financial officers as the thieves they have become. Later I heard this same Elizabeth Warren woman was exposing unfair labor practices, student loan ripoffs, bankruptcy extortion, voters rights, and pretty much acting like I believed a committed public figure should. I am so pleased I read this book. It renewed my faith in our system and has set a benchmark for public service that no fat contributor can erase with a self-serving check. If you believe that democracy should afford a fighting chance to every citizen, you will be inspired. If you believe corporations are people, money is equivalent to a vote, and you are somehow entitled to bend the rules in your favor, study this person, she and the millions she inspires are your undoing. Good riddance.
April 6, 2017
Finally — a leading Democrat who understands that elections are won or lost on the basis of personal values. The same person whose gifted leadership led to the creation of the new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that’s beginning to level the playing field between the public and the Wall Street banks.
Here is Elizabeth Warren getting down to the roots of the country’s current predicament: “I will be grateful to my mother and daddy until the day I die. They worked hard — really hard — to help my brothers and me along. But we also succeeded, at least in part, because we were lucky enough to grow up in an America that invested in kids like us and helped build a future where we could flourish.
“Here’s the hard truth: America isn’t building that kind of future any longer. Today the game is rigged — rigged to work for those who have money and power.”
In A Fighting Chance, Elizabeth Warren’s revealing political memoir, the recently elected Senator from Massachusetts displays both her deep understanding of the economic and social plight of the American middle class, and her passion for doing something about it. This combination of understanding and passion, which is unusual in our country’s political class, is particularly unexpected in a long-time professor at Harvard Law School. But Elizabeth Warren is no typical professor.
Born and raised in a small Oklahoma town to low-income parents hardened by the Dust Bowl and the Depression, and descended from both early settlers and Native American forebears in what was then Indian Country, Senator Warren has injected into her life ever since a ferocious commitment to economic and social justice. From an early age, as a champion high school debater, she showed a special talent for pursuing everything in life with dogged determination and a refusal to give up no matter how bleak the prospects. These qualities, together with her powerful intellect, helped her rise from a teaching post at a commuter college law school to the pinnacle of her field, first at Penn and then at Harvard. The same gifts no doubt contributed in a major way to her solid victory in a U.S. Senate race she wasn’t widely expected to win.
A Fighting Chance tells Elizabeth Warren’s story, both public and private, warts and all. You’ll follow her into an early marriage at nineteen, the birth of her children, the struggle for acceptance for the brilliant teacher she was, and then the separation from her first husband. Sen. Warren doesn’t mince words as she tells this story, and she comes across as far more critical of herself than of anyone around her. This same self-critical approach imbues the story of her later life: her ultimately unsuccessful ten-year-fight against the Big Banks to strengthen the bankruptcy laws, her appointment to head a toothless federal commission to monitor the government’s enormous bank bailout, her stewardship of the campaign to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and later of the effort to build it from scratch — against massive opposition from Wall Street at every step along the way.
Here’s Sen. Warren again, as she spoke during her 2012 campaign for the U.S. Senate:
“Look around. Oil companies guzzle down billions in subsidies. Billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. Wall Street CEOs — the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs — still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them.”
In a rational world, the Democratic Party would be looking to Elizabeth Warren to head the national ticket in 2016 rather than Hillary Clinton, who wouldn’t be caught dead speaking such truth.
Here is Elizabeth Warren getting down to the roots of the country’s current predicament: “I will be grateful to my mother and daddy until the day I die. They worked hard — really hard — to help my brothers and me along. But we also succeeded, at least in part, because we were lucky enough to grow up in an America that invested in kids like us and helped build a future where we could flourish.
“Here’s the hard truth: America isn’t building that kind of future any longer. Today the game is rigged — rigged to work for those who have money and power.”
In A Fighting Chance, Elizabeth Warren’s revealing political memoir, the recently elected Senator from Massachusetts displays both her deep understanding of the economic and social plight of the American middle class, and her passion for doing something about it. This combination of understanding and passion, which is unusual in our country’s political class, is particularly unexpected in a long-time professor at Harvard Law School. But Elizabeth Warren is no typical professor.
Born and raised in a small Oklahoma town to low-income parents hardened by the Dust Bowl and the Depression, and descended from both early settlers and Native American forebears in what was then Indian Country, Senator Warren has injected into her life ever since a ferocious commitment to economic and social justice. From an early age, as a champion high school debater, she showed a special talent for pursuing everything in life with dogged determination and a refusal to give up no matter how bleak the prospects. These qualities, together with her powerful intellect, helped her rise from a teaching post at a commuter college law school to the pinnacle of her field, first at Penn and then at Harvard. The same gifts no doubt contributed in a major way to her solid victory in a U.S. Senate race she wasn’t widely expected to win.
A Fighting Chance tells Elizabeth Warren’s story, both public and private, warts and all. You’ll follow her into an early marriage at nineteen, the birth of her children, the struggle for acceptance for the brilliant teacher she was, and then the separation from her first husband. Sen. Warren doesn’t mince words as she tells this story, and she comes across as far more critical of herself than of anyone around her. This same self-critical approach imbues the story of her later life: her ultimately unsuccessful ten-year-fight against the Big Banks to strengthen the bankruptcy laws, her appointment to head a toothless federal commission to monitor the government’s enormous bank bailout, her stewardship of the campaign to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and later of the effort to build it from scratch — against massive opposition from Wall Street at every step along the way.
Here’s Sen. Warren again, as she spoke during her 2012 campaign for the U.S. Senate:
“Look around. Oil companies guzzle down billions in subsidies. Billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. Wall Street CEOs — the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs — still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them.”
In a rational world, the Democratic Party would be looking to Elizabeth Warren to head the national ticket in 2016 rather than Hillary Clinton, who wouldn’t be caught dead speaking such truth.
July 4, 2019
I liked her discussions to help me understand personal finances and debts.
January 19, 2020
Rating: 4 stars
Reading Time: 8 hours and 29 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Reading Time: 8 hours and 29 minutes
Format: Audiobook
I decided that I was going to be a responsible voter, and read (listen) to the audiobooks of some of the presidential candidates that I like. I started with Warren's book, because she is already my favorite, and this book did not disappoint. Listening to her story, and how she came to be where she is at today was so inspiring and made me love her even more. The only reason I'm only giving it five stars is that one of the chapters dives into her work in finance and banking, and while you can tell that Warren really loves the topic, I did not. I have a pretty good understanding of the financial crash, and the role that banks played, but even I had a hard time staying engaged, as she talked about the ins and outs of different regulations, and laws that were being passed of needed to be passed. I know it was important work, but it was a little dense. Once she moved on to the senate race though, I was again hooked into the book.
December 26, 2017
I honestly didn't know much about Elizabeth Warren before starting this book. I knew that she's loved in the US and now I know why. She won my admiration... until i reached the last few pages which held me from giving this book 5 stars. I'll have to read more about the topic. However, I don't think giving more loans to students is the solution for eduction but rather lowering the expenses because tuition fees in the US are too expensive. Still, I think she'd make a good president especially since she's trying to protect the middle class.
This book made a great audio. Favorite audiobook for sure this year and favorite non-fiction, the kind I want to read more of. I'm looking forward to knowing more about her and her visions. I really like that even though she's not young at all and came from a normal background, Senator Warren is doing all these great things for the people -normal people that is. She's definitely someone to look up to.
This book made a great audio. Favorite audiobook for sure this year and favorite non-fiction, the kind I want to read more of. I'm looking forward to knowing more about her and her visions. I really like that even though she's not young at all and came from a normal background, Senator Warren is doing all these great things for the people -normal people that is. She's definitely someone to look up to.
June 30, 2019
This was approximately 15-20% memoir, 75% policy (which I loved), and 10% about her dogs.
I really liked this book because it cleared up a lot of questions I have about her. A lot of it was about the evils of the bank lobbying industry and the "snake oil salesmen" in the banking industry.
It stops right after she becomes a Senator for Massachusetts, so I'm interested in reading her second memoir as well.
I really liked this book because it cleared up a lot of questions I have about her. A lot of it was about the evils of the bank lobbying industry and the "snake oil salesmen" in the banking industry.
It stops right after she becomes a Senator for Massachusetts, so I'm interested in reading her second memoir as well.
May 15, 2014
I found Senator Elizabeth Warren’s new memoir, A FIGHTING CHANCE, so truthful it hurt. It hurt to be told the truth: The system is rigged for those who are wealthy and well-connected, a truth that doesn’t surprise, that isn’t exactly new, but is told in an eye-opening and refreshing, and at points, damn inspiring way.
The Senator from Massachusetts tells a few stories of her life growing up scraping the bottom of the middle class barrel in Oklahoma before moving on to college with a scholarship and law school. She shares how she was drawn into bankruptcy law and eventually to Washington D.C. and the worse banking and housing crisis since the Great Depression. She talks cold turkey about politics and being a newcomer to D.C. and having the idea to form the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and her great disappoint at not being appointed its first director because she was “too radioactive.”
She describes being a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and about meeting Americans across the country and asking the question: Who is the American government working for?
Ultimately, she answers, “People feel like the system is rigged against them. And here’s the painful part: They’re right. The system is rigged. Look around. Oil companies guzzle down billions in subsidies. Billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. Wall Street CEOS—the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs –still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them.” She wants to celebrate success. But she, like so many of us, doesn’t want the game to be rigged.
I had the great opportunity to see the Senator speak in D.C. and I wanted to shout out at the end, “Run, Elizabeth, Run,” and by that I mean for President. She would have my vote.
---------
And if you haven’t read BEFORE MY EYES, my new young adult novel, isn’ it time for a serious young adult novel that PW and Kirkus Review calls, “gripping” about teens at the end of a long, hot summer, one hearing a voice and having a gun.
Before My Eyes
The Senator from Massachusetts tells a few stories of her life growing up scraping the bottom of the middle class barrel in Oklahoma before moving on to college with a scholarship and law school. She shares how she was drawn into bankruptcy law and eventually to Washington D.C. and the worse banking and housing crisis since the Great Depression. She talks cold turkey about politics and being a newcomer to D.C. and having the idea to form the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and her great disappoint at not being appointed its first director because she was “too radioactive.”
She describes being a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and about meeting Americans across the country and asking the question: Who is the American government working for?
Ultimately, she answers, “People feel like the system is rigged against them. And here’s the painful part: They’re right. The system is rigged. Look around. Oil companies guzzle down billions in subsidies. Billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. Wall Street CEOS—the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs –still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them.” She wants to celebrate success. But she, like so many of us, doesn’t want the game to be rigged.
I had the great opportunity to see the Senator speak in D.C. and I wanted to shout out at the end, “Run, Elizabeth, Run,” and by that I mean for President. She would have my vote.
---------
And if you haven’t read BEFORE MY EYES, my new young adult novel, isn’ it time for a serious young adult novel that PW and Kirkus Review calls, “gripping” about teens at the end of a long, hot summer, one hearing a voice and having a gun.
Before My Eyes
July 25, 2015
What a fantastic book! I learned so much about the banking industry, taxes, and the bank buyout and it didn't feel like a textbook was being read to me. Elizabeth does a great job explaining what is happening with the big corporations and how the regular American citizen is getting screwed over because the banks and credit card companies are able to help write bills that help them and hurt the regular American who is struggling. It's a powerful book no matter what your political affiliation might be. We are all getting screwed by the big corporations and America needs to open their eyes up and start contacting their representatives and start speaking up or it will only get worse. I think Elizabeth is someone I would enjoy having lunch with. Or maybe I should say I wouldn't mind having a drink with her. (you will get this sentence after reading the book.)
December 1, 2015
If I could have dinner with just one famous person or historical figure, I'd choose Elizabeth Warren without a moment's hesitation.
Listened to the Audiobook version, narrated by Senator Warren herself and it was so much more powerful.
This book gave me a wild mix of emotions. It's depressing; it's uplifting. It's rage-inducing; it's sentimental. It's all of these things in the best possible way. I have to admit though, that through most of the narrative, my teeth felt clenched tight enough to shatter. The absolutely brazen behavior of this nation's financial institutions and the cozy relationship they have with politicians - to the extent that they operate in the open and don't even bother hiding their behavior (AND STILL GET AWAY WITH IT) is absolutely infuriating and makes me want to go live on an island somewhere far away from people. What kept drawing me back in was Warren's own story. By her own account, it's the story of an ordinary, plain American—nothing remarkable or special—inexorably drawn into the highest rungs of power in the American political system. It's an impossible tale. It's one that shouldn't be true, like a ridiculously fantastic Horatio Alger rags to riches story whose objective is to keep Americans placated that the American dream is alive and well when it isn't. I'm incredibly torn. Years of teaching AP Government and digesting political news as well as academic studies of our political system (like this one) make me incredibly cynical about the power and potency of the ordinary citizen in our democratic citizen. And yet here is Elizabeth Warren, in blatant defiance of everything that my intuition and the facts tell me should be true. Here is a woman who defied Goliath on multiple occasions and became increasingly more powerful and influential with each encounter, win or lose. Here's a woman who has been in the closed off citadel of Washington D.C. surrounded by armies of lobbyists for almost three full years and who has remained true to the principles she campaigned for. It's enough to make you want to weep with relief.
A Fighting Chance is a humble autobiography recounting in particular Warren's interactions with our political system as an academic, as a representative of the interests of middle class families, as an agent of the executive and de facto head of a government agency, and as a Congresswoman. She shares details of her life along the way, highlighting her ordinariness and the degree to which her story is characteristic of the American experience as a whole and with so much to talk about keeps a book that's part biography and part policy remarkably organized and readable. She does so by sticking to her theme of fighting for what's right. Whether in the context of her responsibilities to her family, her students, to her community or to whole classes of people.
It's incredibly difficult not to like (love) Elizabeth Warren. She has a genuine quality about her in both speech and print that abounds with honesty and integrity. You just get a gut feeling that she's the real deal, that she cares, that she's human, and that she's just like you. She's a patient teacher and guide through the labyrinthine world of financial (de)regulation and her enthusiasm for her work is absolutely infectious the way your favorite and greatest teachers are. You may not go in caring about financial regulation and bankruptcy law, but when you leave, you absolutely will. She's also a fantastic storyteller. She had my eyes completely watered over when she talked about losing her dogs and smiling nearly ear-to-ear when she excitedly recounted her own election victory, the successful creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, or the memorable times she spent with her grandchildren.
As an opponent of the financial sector, Warren has gained a falsely earned reputation among those on the right as being a socialist (the famous catcall for anyone who believes government has an obligation to establish rules and make sure everyone plays fairly). She clarifies her position in her book quite succinctly. She believes in capitalism. She believes in celebrating, rather than punishing success. The vast, vast majority of Democrats in general do. But capitalism and the free market don't work properly when people cheat. We don't have a capitalist system in America. We have crony capitalism. Businesses that make money bending rules and the ears of powerful people in the government while the ordinary small business owner or small corporation is forced to pay the taxes laid out in our tax code without the help of loopholes or subsidies. EVERYONE should be outraged at the way this works and support Warren because we don't have honest competition. The government shields certain industries and certain companies selectively and allows them to get away with things other companies and ordinary people could never dream to get away with. When she spoke to small business owners in Massachusetts to gain their vote, she lays it out. "You're afraid I'm going to raise your taxes. Because that's what "Democrats" do. Do you have a bank account in the Cayman islands? Do you have a lobbyist in Washington to get you subsidies at the expense of your competition? No? Then I'm not your enemy." And most Democrats aren't. They want small business owners to succeed (and succeed without limit) so long as people recognize how being part of a community contributes to all of our success and that they play by the same rules the rest of us play by. There's a false dichotomy in American politics, an oversimplified narrative that says Republicans are good for business and Democrats are bad for business. Republicans don't like the workers and Democrats do. It's not that simple at all and there's plenty of evidence to the contrary on both sides in both statements.
At the end of it all, I don't know how to feel. I'm still incredibly pessimistic about the structure of our political system...perhaps I've been burned too many times in my youth falling for the promises of reform and change from charismatic politicians. Warren is a personal hero of mine. And if she tells me that we can win the fight to end the influence of fat cats and make a system that is genuinely fair for all, I still find that I'm inclined to believe her.
Thank you for being real and being you.
Listened to the Audiobook version, narrated by Senator Warren herself and it was so much more powerful.
This book gave me a wild mix of emotions. It's depressing; it's uplifting. It's rage-inducing; it's sentimental. It's all of these things in the best possible way. I have to admit though, that through most of the narrative, my teeth felt clenched tight enough to shatter. The absolutely brazen behavior of this nation's financial institutions and the cozy relationship they have with politicians - to the extent that they operate in the open and don't even bother hiding their behavior (AND STILL GET AWAY WITH IT) is absolutely infuriating and makes me want to go live on an island somewhere far away from people. What kept drawing me back in was Warren's own story. By her own account, it's the story of an ordinary, plain American—nothing remarkable or special—inexorably drawn into the highest rungs of power in the American political system. It's an impossible tale. It's one that shouldn't be true, like a ridiculously fantastic Horatio Alger rags to riches story whose objective is to keep Americans placated that the American dream is alive and well when it isn't. I'm incredibly torn. Years of teaching AP Government and digesting political news as well as academic studies of our political system (like this one) make me incredibly cynical about the power and potency of the ordinary citizen in our democratic citizen. And yet here is Elizabeth Warren, in blatant defiance of everything that my intuition and the facts tell me should be true. Here is a woman who defied Goliath on multiple occasions and became increasingly more powerful and influential with each encounter, win or lose. Here's a woman who has been in the closed off citadel of Washington D.C. surrounded by armies of lobbyists for almost three full years and who has remained true to the principles she campaigned for. It's enough to make you want to weep with relief.
A Fighting Chance is a humble autobiography recounting in particular Warren's interactions with our political system as an academic, as a representative of the interests of middle class families, as an agent of the executive and de facto head of a government agency, and as a Congresswoman. She shares details of her life along the way, highlighting her ordinariness and the degree to which her story is characteristic of the American experience as a whole and with so much to talk about keeps a book that's part biography and part policy remarkably organized and readable. She does so by sticking to her theme of fighting for what's right. Whether in the context of her responsibilities to her family, her students, to her community or to whole classes of people.
It's incredibly difficult not to like (love) Elizabeth Warren. She has a genuine quality about her in both speech and print that abounds with honesty and integrity. You just get a gut feeling that she's the real deal, that she cares, that she's human, and that she's just like you. She's a patient teacher and guide through the labyrinthine world of financial (de)regulation and her enthusiasm for her work is absolutely infectious the way your favorite and greatest teachers are. You may not go in caring about financial regulation and bankruptcy law, but when you leave, you absolutely will. She's also a fantastic storyteller. She had my eyes completely watered over when she talked about losing her dogs and smiling nearly ear-to-ear when she excitedly recounted her own election victory, the successful creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Board, or the memorable times she spent with her grandchildren.
As an opponent of the financial sector, Warren has gained a falsely earned reputation among those on the right as being a socialist (the famous catcall for anyone who believes government has an obligation to establish rules and make sure everyone plays fairly). She clarifies her position in her book quite succinctly. She believes in capitalism. She believes in celebrating, rather than punishing success. The vast, vast majority of Democrats in general do. But capitalism and the free market don't work properly when people cheat. We don't have a capitalist system in America. We have crony capitalism. Businesses that make money bending rules and the ears of powerful people in the government while the ordinary small business owner or small corporation is forced to pay the taxes laid out in our tax code without the help of loopholes or subsidies. EVERYONE should be outraged at the way this works and support Warren because we don't have honest competition. The government shields certain industries and certain companies selectively and allows them to get away with things other companies and ordinary people could never dream to get away with. When she spoke to small business owners in Massachusetts to gain their vote, she lays it out. "You're afraid I'm going to raise your taxes. Because that's what "Democrats" do. Do you have a bank account in the Cayman islands? Do you have a lobbyist in Washington to get you subsidies at the expense of your competition? No? Then I'm not your enemy." And most Democrats aren't. They want small business owners to succeed (and succeed without limit) so long as people recognize how being part of a community contributes to all of our success and that they play by the same rules the rest of us play by. There's a false dichotomy in American politics, an oversimplified narrative that says Republicans are good for business and Democrats are bad for business. Republicans don't like the workers and Democrats do. It's not that simple at all and there's plenty of evidence to the contrary on both sides in both statements.
At the end of it all, I don't know how to feel. I'm still incredibly pessimistic about the structure of our political system...perhaps I've been burned too many times in my youth falling for the promises of reform and change from charismatic politicians. Warren is a personal hero of mine. And if she tells me that we can win the fight to end the influence of fat cats and make a system that is genuinely fair for all, I still find that I'm inclined to believe her.
Thank you for being real and being you.
November 9, 2023
//2020 Update:
--I was too soft on this "Capitalist to my bones" former Republican, as Warren has proved in both the 2016 and now 2020 elections to be much more willing to fall in line with the corporate Democrat establishment in their failing bids with the "lesser-of-two-evils" strategy than to strengthen the progressive opposition (i.e. Bernie/Tulsi in the elections. There is much to be done outside electoral politics especially considering how rigged the process is with the DNC/lobbying/corporate media) when all is said and done.
--In the era of War on Terror/endless wars, post-2008 Wall Street Bailouts, climate crisis, austerity on social spending, jobs crisis, and finally a resistance that is challenging the Red Scare stigma on "socialism", Warren's capitalism-with-a-friendly-face tactics just will not cut it.
--Internet Progressives have some useful content if you need to navigate the political theater and where Warren fits in:
1) SecularTalk's Kyle Kulinski:
https://youtu.be/ZZbJQx5fpcw
https://youtu.be/WgWV9yKv0i4
2) Progressive pundit/comedian Jimmy Dore:
https://youtu.be/3LeFbqK2Pf8
https://youtu.be/ER6Sbr_IIAo
https://youtu.be/jFNlLNuB_Wc
//2014 Review:
Trying to be a Progressive in the belly of the two-headed capitalist war machine is truly an unenviable task. It's difficult to turn our backs on the few who try, but please recognize these are not "leaders". You cannot lead social progress when your hands are tied and your speech silenced by Wall Street and the Military Industrial Complex.
While Warren has been vocal against Wall Street, it is constantly contextualized as a domestic, "Middle Class" problem. "Middle Class" is a safe way for Liberals to feign acknowledgement of class conflict. I can only speculate how much is unsaid about Wall Street's global policy, her support for Hillary Clinton, her involvement in TARP, Dodd-Frank, etc...
--I was too soft on this "Capitalist to my bones" former Republican, as Warren has proved in both the 2016 and now 2020 elections to be much more willing to fall in line with the corporate Democrat establishment in their failing bids with the "lesser-of-two-evils" strategy than to strengthen the progressive opposition (i.e. Bernie/Tulsi in the elections. There is much to be done outside electoral politics especially considering how rigged the process is with the DNC/lobbying/corporate media) when all is said and done.
--In the era of War on Terror/endless wars, post-2008 Wall Street Bailouts, climate crisis, austerity on social spending, jobs crisis, and finally a resistance that is challenging the Red Scare stigma on "socialism", Warren's capitalism-with-a-friendly-face tactics just will not cut it.
--Internet Progressives have some useful content if you need to navigate the political theater and where Warren fits in:
1) SecularTalk's Kyle Kulinski:
https://youtu.be/ZZbJQx5fpcw
https://youtu.be/WgWV9yKv0i4
2) Progressive pundit/comedian Jimmy Dore:
https://youtu.be/3LeFbqK2Pf8
https://youtu.be/ER6Sbr_IIAo
https://youtu.be/jFNlLNuB_Wc
//2014 Review:
Trying to be a Progressive in the belly of the two-headed capitalist war machine is truly an unenviable task. It's difficult to turn our backs on the few who try, but please recognize these are not "leaders". You cannot lead social progress when your hands are tied and your speech silenced by Wall Street and the Military Industrial Complex.
While Warren has been vocal against Wall Street, it is constantly contextualized as a domestic, "Middle Class" problem. "Middle Class" is a safe way for Liberals to feign acknowledgement of class conflict. I can only speculate how much is unsaid about Wall Street's global policy, her support for Hillary Clinton, her involvement in TARP, Dodd-Frank, etc...
April 27, 2014
A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren
“A Fighting Chance” is an interesting personal story of the life of now Senator Elizabeth Warren. This book tells her public story of her admirable quest to give the working families a fighting chance. Former Harvard Law Professor, accomplished author and now senior Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren shares her inspirational life story from a girl growing up in a small town in Oklahoma to competing in a major Senate race. This moving 334-page book includes the following six chapters: 1. Choosing Battles, 2. The Bankruptcy Wars, 3. Bailing Out the Wrong People, 4. What $1 Million a Day Can Buy, 5. An Agency for the People, and 6. The Battle for the Senate.
Positives:
1. Engaging, well-written memoir. Her personality shines through in the book. She is determined, wise and she CARES.
2. Elizabeth Warren’s life story is a fascinating one. She has a sense of humor too, which makes the book even more enjoyable to read. Her humor tends be self-deprecating and gives the book warmth. She is also very respectful and does not throw anybody under the bus.
3. Readers will get an inside look at her life and gain a better understanding of what fuels this amazing woman. “But I did have one talent. I could fight –not with my fists, but with my words. I was the anchor on the debate team.”
4. Motherhood and education. Warren brings you into her family.
5. A very interesting look into her quest to understand bankruptcy. “As I dug deeper into my study of bankruptcy and the new law, I kept bumping into the same question over and over: Why were people going bankrupt?” “Over time we, we learned that nearly 90 percent were declaring bankruptcy for one of thee reasons: a job loss, a medical problem, or a family breakup.”
6. How the banking industry changed over time and why. “To pump up their returns even more, the banks tried a new tactic: What if they could persuade the government to limit bankruptcy protections?”
7. Her quest to be fair to families. “The Founding Fathers had called for bankruptcy protection in the Constitution itself, and surely even the banking lobby wouldn’t pick a fight with them. But they did propose changes – stacks and stacks of changes.”
8. An excellent behind the scenes discussion on the proposed bankruptcy legislation. It covers victories and defeats and the long process of legislation. Readers will gain an understanding of the process.
9. Some astounding facts. “By 2001, the number of families in financial collapse was shocking: More children would live through their parents’ bankruptcy than their parents’ divorce.”
10. A look at the financial crisis of 2008. Warren’s involvement in a Congressional Oversight Panel (COP).
11. The real story behind the meltdown. Great insights. “Many lenders made a mad dash for quick profits, abandoning their time-honored practice of carefully investigating job histories and pay stubs before approving a mortgage. Down payments shrank. Penalties and fee shot through the roof. Mortgage lending became so profitable that salesmen went door-to-door, often targeting African American and Latino neighborhoods for their highest-cost, most deceptive products.” A bonus quote, “The real cause of the crash was not some inevitable cycle; this crash was the direct consequence of years of deliberate deregulation and the resulting dangerous actions of the big banks.”
12. The story behind the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) the $700 billion bank bailout. Warren explains how Wall Street greed in essence was behind this whole mess. “The traders soon figured that if they could make a little money bundling and trading a few mortgages, then why not make a mountain of money selling a mountain of mortgages?”
13. The concept of Too Big Too Fail (TBTF) well described. “Grow your bank as big as you possibly can, as fast as you possibly can. Even if it means taking on big risks. Even if it means overpaying to acquire smaller companies. Even if it means entering shaky or unprofitable markets. Do it anyway, so you can grow, grow, grow. And then – here’s the important part – borrow from everyone else to finance growth.”
14. The importance of the government to provide meaningful oversight to protect the public interest. “In the article, I compared the safety of toasters with the safety of financial products. I proposed the creation of a new government agency, one whose sole mission would be to look out for consumers, and to serve as the cop on the beat who would make sure that financial companies follow some commonsense rules.”
15. Some great examples of banks clearly taking advantage of the public. “Somewhere in the fine print, the rate on his car loan was marked ‘preliminary.’ No one was obligated to spell out what that meant, and what it meant was: ‘Preliminary means that after you buy the car we can increase your monthly rate by $105, just because we want to.’”
16. An interesting look at how lobbyists operate in Washington. Their role in attempting to derail the CFPB or limit their ability to execute their mission.
17. The politics involving the selection of the director of the new agency (CFPB). Some of it is troubling. “So there it was: Senator Shelby and his fellow Republicans were furious, not with the mortgage servicers that broke the law and stole people’s homes, but with government regulators who were pushing for more accountability – and specifically me.”
18. Warren’s fascinating battle for the Senate. Great stuff! “One of her remarks stuck with me: We need to try. When a woman runs, she makes it easier for the next woman to run, and that’s how we’ll win.”
19. Photograph inserts.
20. Notes included.
Negatives:
1. I was hoping to learn more about her political views. Of course she shares her passion for bankruptcy laws and how to help working class families but there is very little else. An appendix or tables capturing her views would have added value.
2. Regarding predatory lending that targeted service members, name the banks involved. Shame on them!
3. Elizabeth Warren was too nice in her memoir. Sure she goes after banks with plenty of zeal but she was surprisingly complementary and for a lack of a better word too civil but that’s just this reviewer’s respectful opinion.
4. Notes included but not linked.
In summary, a terrific memoir on a driven, wise and caring woman. The book provides excellent insights into her evolution from a girl from a small-town in Oklahoma to a big-time Senator with a big presence and defender of the working class. Interesting and easy book to read I just wished it had more insights into her political views. It’s a book worth reading I recommend it!
Further suggestions: “Bailout” by Neil Barofsky, “The Divide” by Matt Taibbi, “A Call to Action” by Jimmy Carter, “Winner-Take All Politics” by Jacob S. Hacker, “Predator Nation” by Charles H. Ferguson, “Screwed the Undeclared War Against the Middle Class” by Thom Hartmann, “The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America…” by Michael W. Hudson, “Divided” and “Perfectly Legal…” by David Cay Johnston, “The Looting of America” by Les Leopold and “The Great American Stickup” by Robert Scheer.
“A Fighting Chance” is an interesting personal story of the life of now Senator Elizabeth Warren. This book tells her public story of her admirable quest to give the working families a fighting chance. Former Harvard Law Professor, accomplished author and now senior Senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren shares her inspirational life story from a girl growing up in a small town in Oklahoma to competing in a major Senate race. This moving 334-page book includes the following six chapters: 1. Choosing Battles, 2. The Bankruptcy Wars, 3. Bailing Out the Wrong People, 4. What $1 Million a Day Can Buy, 5. An Agency for the People, and 6. The Battle for the Senate.
Positives:
1. Engaging, well-written memoir. Her personality shines through in the book. She is determined, wise and she CARES.
2. Elizabeth Warren’s life story is a fascinating one. She has a sense of humor too, which makes the book even more enjoyable to read. Her humor tends be self-deprecating and gives the book warmth. She is also very respectful and does not throw anybody under the bus.
3. Readers will get an inside look at her life and gain a better understanding of what fuels this amazing woman. “But I did have one talent. I could fight –not with my fists, but with my words. I was the anchor on the debate team.”
4. Motherhood and education. Warren brings you into her family.
5. A very interesting look into her quest to understand bankruptcy. “As I dug deeper into my study of bankruptcy and the new law, I kept bumping into the same question over and over: Why were people going bankrupt?” “Over time we, we learned that nearly 90 percent were declaring bankruptcy for one of thee reasons: a job loss, a medical problem, or a family breakup.”
6. How the banking industry changed over time and why. “To pump up their returns even more, the banks tried a new tactic: What if they could persuade the government to limit bankruptcy protections?”
7. Her quest to be fair to families. “The Founding Fathers had called for bankruptcy protection in the Constitution itself, and surely even the banking lobby wouldn’t pick a fight with them. But they did propose changes – stacks and stacks of changes.”
8. An excellent behind the scenes discussion on the proposed bankruptcy legislation. It covers victories and defeats and the long process of legislation. Readers will gain an understanding of the process.
9. Some astounding facts. “By 2001, the number of families in financial collapse was shocking: More children would live through their parents’ bankruptcy than their parents’ divorce.”
10. A look at the financial crisis of 2008. Warren’s involvement in a Congressional Oversight Panel (COP).
11. The real story behind the meltdown. Great insights. “Many lenders made a mad dash for quick profits, abandoning their time-honored practice of carefully investigating job histories and pay stubs before approving a mortgage. Down payments shrank. Penalties and fee shot through the roof. Mortgage lending became so profitable that salesmen went door-to-door, often targeting African American and Latino neighborhoods for their highest-cost, most deceptive products.” A bonus quote, “The real cause of the crash was not some inevitable cycle; this crash was the direct consequence of years of deliberate deregulation and the resulting dangerous actions of the big banks.”
12. The story behind the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) the $700 billion bank bailout. Warren explains how Wall Street greed in essence was behind this whole mess. “The traders soon figured that if they could make a little money bundling and trading a few mortgages, then why not make a mountain of money selling a mountain of mortgages?”
13. The concept of Too Big Too Fail (TBTF) well described. “Grow your bank as big as you possibly can, as fast as you possibly can. Even if it means taking on big risks. Even if it means overpaying to acquire smaller companies. Even if it means entering shaky or unprofitable markets. Do it anyway, so you can grow, grow, grow. And then – here’s the important part – borrow from everyone else to finance growth.”
14. The importance of the government to provide meaningful oversight to protect the public interest. “In the article, I compared the safety of toasters with the safety of financial products. I proposed the creation of a new government agency, one whose sole mission would be to look out for consumers, and to serve as the cop on the beat who would make sure that financial companies follow some commonsense rules.”
15. Some great examples of banks clearly taking advantage of the public. “Somewhere in the fine print, the rate on his car loan was marked ‘preliminary.’ No one was obligated to spell out what that meant, and what it meant was: ‘Preliminary means that after you buy the car we can increase your monthly rate by $105, just because we want to.’”
16. An interesting look at how lobbyists operate in Washington. Their role in attempting to derail the CFPB or limit their ability to execute their mission.
17. The politics involving the selection of the director of the new agency (CFPB). Some of it is troubling. “So there it was: Senator Shelby and his fellow Republicans were furious, not with the mortgage servicers that broke the law and stole people’s homes, but with government regulators who were pushing for more accountability – and specifically me.”
18. Warren’s fascinating battle for the Senate. Great stuff! “One of her remarks stuck with me: We need to try. When a woman runs, she makes it easier for the next woman to run, and that’s how we’ll win.”
19. Photograph inserts.
20. Notes included.
Negatives:
1. I was hoping to learn more about her political views. Of course she shares her passion for bankruptcy laws and how to help working class families but there is very little else. An appendix or tables capturing her views would have added value.
2. Regarding predatory lending that targeted service members, name the banks involved. Shame on them!
3. Elizabeth Warren was too nice in her memoir. Sure she goes after banks with plenty of zeal but she was surprisingly complementary and for a lack of a better word too civil but that’s just this reviewer’s respectful opinion.
4. Notes included but not linked.
In summary, a terrific memoir on a driven, wise and caring woman. The book provides excellent insights into her evolution from a girl from a small-town in Oklahoma to a big-time Senator with a big presence and defender of the working class. Interesting and easy book to read I just wished it had more insights into her political views. It’s a book worth reading I recommend it!
Further suggestions: “Bailout” by Neil Barofsky, “The Divide” by Matt Taibbi, “A Call to Action” by Jimmy Carter, “Winner-Take All Politics” by Jacob S. Hacker, “Predator Nation” by Charles H. Ferguson, “Screwed the Undeclared War Against the Middle Class” by Thom Hartmann, “The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America…” by Michael W. Hudson, “Divided” and “Perfectly Legal…” by David Cay Johnston, “The Looting of America” by Les Leopold and “The Great American Stickup” by Robert Scheer.
June 16, 2019
This book was shelved next to the book I just took back. I remembered where it was, and picked it up for the holiday weekend, and darn it, I read it in one day. Senator Warren writes just like she talks: enthusiastically, completely engaged, sincere. She didn't want to be in politics, she wanted to be a teacher-and that's what she was-and then Harry Reid called to see if she could come educate some folks about some stuff in Washington D.C. We may remember that Harry Reid asked Professor Warren to summarize/examine TARP (The Troubled Asset Relief Program) that bailed out the corporations that had landed us at 2008. The rest is current history. The unraveling of bank law with the repeal of Glass-Steagall, in combination with tightening of bankruptcy laws leading up to the worst financial disaster in history, Dodd-Frank, the election of Barack Obama, and the mess of the Wall Street bailouts and the crooks who are still walking around, doing more of the same. Subprime bundled derivatives are still being sold: different name, same high-yield danger. Elizabeth Warren thought she could make a difference in the lives of regular people. She is succeeding. We're all lucky to have her on our side.
May 2, 2014
One of the biggest takeaways for me: Plutocracy cannot triumph when the people understand the wool the corporate puppet masters are trying to pull over their eyes.
Elizabeth Warren's genius -- and she IS in that category -- is first in being a fighter herself, refusing to give in -- aka, a definite passion for the people -- egalitarian inside and out; and second, in that she's a brilliant law professor with a talent for understanding the complexity of the financial world and making it clear and simple for everyday people to understand.
I read a review when I had first started this book saying that it's a Middle Class manifesto. That's pretty much right on the mark.
The cure for apathy is empowerment. Elizabeth Warren tells a mighty fine story of her own empowerment and the relentless drive she has to empower everyday Americans in the never ending struggle against those who have insidiously taken control of Washington DC.
Lastly, her story, especially the chapter about her campaign for the US Senate, makes me want to run for office.
Elizabeth Warren's genius -- and she IS in that category -- is first in being a fighter herself, refusing to give in -- aka, a definite passion for the people -- egalitarian inside and out; and second, in that she's a brilliant law professor with a talent for understanding the complexity of the financial world and making it clear and simple for everyday people to understand.
I read a review when I had first started this book saying that it's a Middle Class manifesto. That's pretty much right on the mark.
The cure for apathy is empowerment. Elizabeth Warren tells a mighty fine story of her own empowerment and the relentless drive she has to empower everyday Americans in the never ending struggle against those who have insidiously taken control of Washington DC.
Lastly, her story, especially the chapter about her campaign for the US Senate, makes me want to run for office.
October 31, 2019
I rarely read all of the footnotes. This book has dozens of pages of them. There is a whole other book in the footnotes. Ms. Warren proves her wonkiness in the notes and proves she is a natural teacher. The notes alone are as good as many texts and history books.
As a biography it is warm, funny, moving and real. She is a caring, incredibly hard working, brilliant and yet normal person. She is a rare person of exemplary principle and character. I am very glad to have read this wonderful little book about hope, fighting, honesty, democracy and justice.
As a biography it is warm, funny, moving and real. She is a caring, incredibly hard working, brilliant and yet normal person. She is a rare person of exemplary principle and character. I am very glad to have read this wonderful little book about hope, fighting, honesty, democracy and justice.
October 17, 2019
What a great woman, what a great Senator. I feel guilty for every credit card I own. At least I have money in a small credit union.
When people were declaring bankruptcy, it was for 3 reasons in 90% of the cases: 1. Medical problems, 2. Job loss, 3. Family breakup. The Fox News types tried to portray them as lazy cheaters.
Banks could make more money by giving credit to people who were in trouble. Those families became targeted by banks.
Banking industry backed bills were already promoted in Congress before Ms. Warren had a chance to fight back because she did the research. Banks hid behind jargon and gibberish to make the problem more complex.
Banks brought in their own "facts" with "independent" studies.
Banks teased people to buy homes with "deals."
Examples of phone calls from sales people show outright lies.
I understand Too Big To Fail, but the problem was that we didn't get anything in return. We needed to control the money, make regulations, help the people who needed it. So why do you, Gentle Reader, vote for these Senators? Hmmm?
The banks cut back on small business lending, foreclosed more mortgages, and bought out other banks. Shame on them and on us for listening to the nonsense from the right wing.
"Good regulations create an opportunity for good businesses to thrive."--Joseph Kennedy, Sr.
When people were declaring bankruptcy, it was for 3 reasons in 90% of the cases: 1. Medical problems, 2. Job loss, 3. Family breakup. The Fox News types tried to portray them as lazy cheaters.
Banks could make more money by giving credit to people who were in trouble. Those families became targeted by banks.
Banking industry backed bills were already promoted in Congress before Ms. Warren had a chance to fight back because she did the research. Banks hid behind jargon and gibberish to make the problem more complex.
Banks brought in their own "facts" with "independent" studies.
Banks teased people to buy homes with "deals."
Examples of phone calls from sales people show outright lies.
I understand Too Big To Fail, but the problem was that we didn't get anything in return. We needed to control the money, make regulations, help the people who needed it. So why do you, Gentle Reader, vote for these Senators? Hmmm?
The banks cut back on small business lending, foreclosed more mortgages, and bought out other banks. Shame on them and on us for listening to the nonsense from the right wing.
"Good regulations create an opportunity for good businesses to thrive."--Joseph Kennedy, Sr.
December 27, 2015
Elizabeth Warren tells it like it is. In plain, straightforward language, she tells the truth about the mortgage crisis, the bank bailouts, the crumbling of the financial life of the everyday American family. Warren is a fighter you want on your side.
September 5, 2017
I'm voting for Warren.
May 7, 2014
I suspect by the subject and tone, that we'll be seeing Sen Warren in the 2016 Democratic Presidential Primaries. The book is an inspirational auto-biography, with the audio version read by the author. She gets choked up when talking about the loss of family, including her dogs. It was interesting to hear her perspective on the campaign scandals, and important events like Bankruptcy "reform", and the TARP. She states her positions clearly and articulately. I was impressed by how she got interested in the subject of Bankruptcy and how she came to be one of nations experts, not just on the legal side, but the human side as well. I don't think I learned all that much new, other than in her childhood, and background. I did find that inspirational, and often amusing. I don't know if the book could have been deeper of more insightful, OR, perhaps she has really been as transparent as she suggests. I will say this, if she runs, I will do all I can to see her elected. She is smart, insightful, passionate, and seems to really care about the average American. I didn't get any hate for the "1%" only a clear desire that they pay their fair share for all the benefits they receive. Do read this book. It's the best I've read this year.
August 14, 2019
I'm 100% with Liz Warren for President. And this book, her style, her passion, her drive, and her overarching goals of fighting FOR the middle class instead of against them made me even more convinced that this is a woman I want in charge.
This book covers her childhood, career, and ends with (spoiler!) being elected as a Senator from Massachusetts. I can't wait to see her become President.
This book covers her childhood, career, and ends with (spoiler!) being elected as a Senator from Massachusetts. I can't wait to see her become President.
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