Biography

Romney: A Reckoning

Romney: A Reckoning

  • Downloads：7527
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2023-10-28 00:19:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：McKay Coppins
  • ISBN：B0C3MXH9PL
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Peter Fuller ，

Pretty balanced — no butt kissing of Mitt Romney here。

Kenneth Lund ，

My only complaint is that I wish it were 500 pages longer。 It’s too abbreviated。 While it’s certainly not on par with Chernow’s writing， it is a great listen or read （I listened on Audible）。 Romney’s private thoughts on other political figures are interesting。 It is candid about Romney’s flaws， though the flaws are viewed in the light most favorable to Romney。 But nobody is a bigger critic of Romney than Romney。 One of the most salient quotes in the book is from Tennyson: “This madness has come My only complaint is that I wish it were 500 pages longer。 It’s too abbreviated。 While it’s certainly not on par with Chernow’s writing， it is a great listen or read （I listened on Audible）。 Romney’s private thoughts on other political figures are interesting。 It is candid about Romney’s flaws， though the flaws are viewed in the light most favorable to Romney。 But nobody is a bigger critic of Romney than Romney。 One of the most salient quotes in the book is from Tennyson: “This madness has come on us for our sins。” Romney feels how I feel。 The GOP is reaping the whirlwind for knowingly and willfully supporting an “uncommonly stupid man” with a “poverty of character。” The book plays out like Bolt’s Man for all Seasons， with Romney as More and senate Republicans as the sycophants who follow Trump because， as Shaw’s King Henry says in the Man for All Seasons’s film， “there’s a mass that follows me because it follows anything that moves。”Romney’s greatest ire is reserved for men like Cruz and Hawley， who he recognized as brilliant， but willing to sell their souls for Trump and for power。 “They know better。” And the absence of character in men like Harry Reid is also laid bare。 Those who still entertain the idea of Trump as a serious political candidate should read the book。In a better Republic， Romney as he evolved would have had more of a voice。 He is intelligent， practical， and character driven。 A flawed politician， but a conscientious， pragmatic， and skilled executive。 The book dwells on the question of his “flip-flopping。” He acknowledges changing positions for political calculation earlier in his career， of the same sort he castigates senators later in the book。 And he openly wonders if a younger version of himself would have sold out to Trump。 But his changes also reflect his willingness to listen and be persuaded， and I think our federal government could benefit from more legislators who want to listen more。 Romney as a senator represents a more secure， confident and grounded political figure。 One of the highlights of the book is his brave lone GOP vote on Trump’s first impeachment。The book suggests we do a massive disservice to our country by continuing to willfully support too many people devoid of intelligence and character on both sides of the aisle。 This madness has come on us， Democrat and Republican， for our sins。 。。。more

Linda Malcor ，

I actually read the hardcover。Well-written book。 Very insightful。 Plenty of humor。 Thought-provoking。 Nice to know I'm not the only person who thinks the GOP fell off the deep end。 I actually read the hardcover。Well-written book。 Very insightful。 Plenty of humor。 Thought-provoking。 Nice to know I'm not the only person who thinks the GOP fell off the deep end。 。。。more

Bryant Brown ，

An important read。 Mitt Romney outlines the danger of the current political climate。 Too many politicians， mostly in his own party， simply worry about their next election results and not what is best for America。 It is a great read， but also rather depressing。 Hopefully， this book can convince people to not vote for Trump and his lackeys。 They are killing America。 As a Utah Mormon， it also is extremely depressing how fellow residence have treated Romney and praised Trump。 it makes no sense， and An important read。 Mitt Romney outlines the danger of the current political climate。 Too many politicians， mostly in his own party， simply worry about their next election results and not what is best for America。 It is a great read， but also rather depressing。 Hopefully， this book can convince people to not vote for Trump and his lackeys。 They are killing America。 As a Utah Mormon， it also is extremely depressing how fellow residence have treated Romney and praised Trump。 it makes no sense， and this book highlights why。 Everyone should read this， not just people from Utah。 。。。more

Bruce ，

Probably not everyone would find this book as fascinating as I did， but as a member of the same faith， I found Romney's journey and introspection often mirrored my own evolution of political thought。 What struck me most was how lonely it must have been for Romney， especially in the final few years as a Senator， when he stood by his own beliefs and watched as others parlayed their lip service to a tyrant into （short-term I believe） political fortune。 This book gives us a better glimpse into the p Probably not everyone would find this book as fascinating as I did， but as a member of the same faith， I found Romney's journey and introspection often mirrored my own evolution of political thought。 What struck me most was how lonely it must have been for Romney， especially in the final few years as a Senator， when he stood by his own beliefs and watched as others parlayed their lip service to a tyrant into （short-term I believe） political fortune。 This book gives us a better glimpse into the psyche of a man struggling between his faith， his own past self-rationalizations， and his own party's descent into authoritarianism。 。。。more

Chris Collins ，

If you had told me in 2012 how much I would respect and admire Mitt Romney in 2023， I wouldn’t have believed you。 This book is worth reading。

Sara ，

I think people will find this to be more even-keeled than what the reviews made it out to be and if you follow very closely along with Senate news or Romney's career， it might not even be that surprising。 But overall a very good look into the Senator's world， upbringing， and thoughts。 I think people will find this to be more even-keeled than what the reviews made it out to be and if you follow very closely along with Senate news or Romney's career， it might not even be that surprising。 But overall a very good look into the Senator's world， upbringing， and thoughts。 。。。more

Derek Baker ，

This is simultaneously an incredible biography and a resounding indictment of the modern Republican Party。 It’s also an incredibly frustrating book to read， but that’s mostly due to the fact that I think the subject is a frustrating man。 The book is more sympathetic to Romney than I tend to be， but that’s to be expected， given than it is drawn largely from Romney’s own notes and personal interviews。 The best example of this， I think， is how the book discusses Romney’s joke about nobody wanting t This is simultaneously an incredible biography and a resounding indictment of the modern Republican Party。 It’s also an incredibly frustrating book to read， but that’s mostly due to the fact that I think the subject is a frustrating man。 The book is more sympathetic to Romney than I tend to be， but that’s to be expected， given than it is drawn largely from Romney’s own notes and personal interviews。 The best example of this， I think， is how the book discusses Romney’s joke about nobody wanting to see his birth certificate during the 2012 presidential race。 The book recounts that Romney thought nothing of it at the time， that it was a kind of off-the-cuff， nothingburger of a joke without any intent to nod to the popular conservative， racist conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was actually born in Kenya。 Here’s the passage:At a rally in Michigan in August， Romney was playing up his home state roots when he ventured an off-hand joke。 “Ann was born at Henry Ford Hospital， I was born at Harper Hospital。 No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate！ They know that this is the place where we were born and raised。” The “birth certificate” line immediately exploded on Twitter， and the fallout quickly migrated to the rest of the media as Democrats accused him of pandering to “birthers” and pundits debated the strategic pros and cons of his alliance with Trump。 The truth， Romney wrote in his journal that night， was that he’d put no thought into the joke at all - it was simple “boneheaded” free association gone awry。This， to me， is a very credulous way of recounting the incident that strains belief。 In the context of the rampant birtherism on the right， Romney’s comment is a strange thing to say if it is not meant to appeal to that birtherism。 The author takes Romney at his word that it was just a flippant remark and moves on。Overall， though， this is an incredibly valuable book that sheds a lot of light on the changes that have taken place in American politics over Romney’s career。 Despite my frustration with Romney’s naïveté （for example in his exploration of starting a new party with Joe Manchin）， I do admire him for his moral courage in big moments like Trump’s impeachments。 。。。more

Jill H ，

Seemed like a fair and balanced bio of Mitt Romney that covers both his strengths and weaknesses as a leader。 I learned quite a bit about his upbringing and life in politics， starting in Massachusetts。 Makes me wish we had term limits in Congress。