"From political economist, cabinet member, beloved professor, and bestselling author Robert Reich, a deeply felt memoir of a life spent fighting for democracy and economic equality--and a candid assessment of his idealistic generation's legacy. Coming Up Short is a ... chronicle of the choices that have landed the country where it is today--with economic bullies and powerful corporations on top, demagogues on the rise, and growing inequality fueling anger and hatred. Nine months after World War II ended, Robert Reich was born in an America with a bright future. Democracy had defeated fascism. But then, over time, big money took over our democracy. Reich's run-ins with school bullies on account of his short stature set him on a path to spend his life fighting bullies of every sort. He recounts mourning the death of a friend in the civil rights movement, working for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy, experiencing a country torn apart by the Vietnam War, and meeting Hillary Rodham in college, Bill Clinton at Oxford, and Clarence Thomas at Yale Law. He details his friendship with John Kenneth Galbraith during his time teaching at Harvard and subsequent friendships with Bernie Sanders, Ted Kennedy, and Alan Simpson, as well as his efforts as labor secretary for Clinton and as economic advisor to Barack Obama. Ultimately, Reich asks: What did the members of his generation accomplish? Did they make America better, more inclusive, more tolerant? Did they strengthen democracy? Or did they come up short? Reich does not abandon us to despair over a doomed democracy. With his characteristic spirit, humor, and decency, he lays out how we can reclaim a sense of community and a democratic capitalism based on the American ideals we still have the power to salvage"-- Dust jacket flap.
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