“I think too often government officials try to find a reason not to get things done。 It’s too hard， it’s never been done before or they are just lazy and want to make excuses。 When you grow up the way we and millions of other Americans did， it’s hard to understand why our government fails so many people。” （Kristi Noem， pg。 61）For sure， not your typical political volume， “Not My First Rodeo”， by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem， is her life to date auto biography。 It does include her political j “I think too often government officials try to find a reason not to get things done。 It’s too hard， it’s never been done before or they are just lazy and want to make excuses。 When you grow up the way we and millions of other Americans did， it’s hard to understand why our government fails so many people。” （Kristi Noem， pg。 61）For sure， not your typical political volume， “Not My First Rodeo”， by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem， is her life to date auto biography。 It does include her political journey but this book is much more。 It’s her grounding， her foundation， the story of her family roots and how she arrived at the forefront of the GOP。 Much of the early part of this story is a love letter to Noem’s father。 He was a larger than life kinda guy， a farmer that met with a tragedy while working on the family farm。 That pivotal event set the course for her family’s future which gets summed up in a quote by Teddy Roosevelt， a favorite of hers:“It’s not the critic who counts - not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles。 Or where the doer of deeds could have done better。 The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena， whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood， who strives valiantly， who errs and comes up short again and again and again because there is no effort without error or shortcoming。 But who knows great enthusiasms， the great devotions who spends himself for a worthy cause。”An elegant blend of homespun wisdom， common sense and humor with no nonsense political savvy and actual “We the People” governing; it’s refreshing to read Noem’s non apologetic accounting of her faith， family and country commitment to S。 D。， the Heartland and our beloved U。S。A📚 。。。more