The Luckiest Man
Life with John McCain
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
A “moving and lucidly written memoir” (The Wall Street Journal) of the late Senator John McCain from one of his closest and most trusted confidants, friends, and political advisors.
More so than almost anyone outside of McCain’s immediate family, Mark Salter had unparalleled access to and served to influence the Senator’s thoughts and actions, cowriting seven books with him and acting as a valued confidant. Now, in The Luckiest Man, Salter draws on the storied facets of McCain’s early biography as well as the later-in-life political philosophy for which the nation knew and loved him, delivering an intimate and comprehensive account of McCain’s life and philosophy.
Salter covers all the major events of McCain’s life—his peripatetic childhood, his naval service—but introduces, too, aspects of the man that the public rarely saw and hardly knew. Woven throughout this narrative is also the story of Salter and McCain’s close relationship, including how they met, and why their friendship stood the test of time in a political world known for its fickle personalities and frail bonds.
Through Salter’s revealing and “psychological portrait” (The Washington Post) of one of our country’s finest public servants, McCain emerges as both the man we knew him to be and also someone entirely new. Glimpses of his restlessness, his curiosity, his courage, and sentimentality are rendered with sensitivity and care—as only Mark Salter could provide. The capstone to Salter’s intimate and decades-spanning time with the Senator, The Luckiest Man is the authoritative last word on the stories McCain was too modest to tell himself and an influential life not soon to be forgotten.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Salter (coauthor, The Restless Wave), a former speechwriter and chief of staff for Sen. John McCain (1936 2018), offers an intimate and inspirational portrait of the Arizona Republican and two-time presidential candidate. Drawing on material gathered for the seven books he wrote with McCain, Salter documents his former boss's peripatetic upbringing as the son of a U.S. Navy admiral and harrowing five-year ordeal as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Salter renders the physical and mental torture McCain endured in vivid detail, making McCain's decision to refuse an offer of early release seem all the more heroic. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1982 and the Senate in 1986, McCain's legislative record showcases "his refusal to give up causes that appeared hopeless," Salter writes, noting that in the months after his 2017 brain cancer diagnosis, McCain began his fourth attempt at passing a bipartisan immigration bill. Salter expresses admiration for McCain's candor and tenacity, but takes issue with a handful of decisions, including his selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate in 2008 and his support for the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Though Salter's critiques aren't exactly hard-hitting, they give the book credibility. Political history buffs will savor this well-rounded account.
Customer Reviews
We’ll written bio of an exceptional man
Salter writes well, had 30 years observing his subject who was a truly exceptional person.
YEAH....
Right