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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 328.73092
EAN: 9780812969740
ISBN: 081296974X
Label: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 432
Publication Date: September 09, 2003
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Release Date: September 09, 2003
Sales Rank: 392699
Studio: Random House Trade Paperbacks
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Product Description:
In 1999, John McCain wrote one of the most acclaimed and bestselling memoirs of the decade, Faith of My Fathers. That book ended in 1972, with McCain’s release from imprisonment in Vietnam. This is the rest of his story, about his great American journey from the U.S. Navy to his electrifying run for the presidency, interwoven with heartfelt portraits of the mavericks who have inspired him through the years—Ted Williams, Theodore Roosevelt, visionary aviation proponent Billy Mitchell, Marlon Brando in Viva Zapata!, and, most indelibly, Robert Jordan. It was Jordan, Hemingway’s protagonist in For Whom the Bell Tolls, who showed McCain the ideals of heroism and sacrifice, stoicism and redemption, and why certain causes, despite the costs, are . . .
Worth the Fighting For
After five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, naval aviator John McCain returned home a changed man. Regaining his health and flight-eligibility status, he resumed his military career, commanding carrier pilots and serving as the navy’s liaison to what is sometimes ironically called the world’s most exclusive club, the United States Senate. Accompanying Senators John Tower and Henry “Scoop” Jackson on international trips, McCain began his political education in the company of two masters, leaders whose standards he would strive to maintain upon his election to the U.S. Congress. There, he learned valuable lessons in cooperation from a good-humored congressman from the other party, Morris Udall. In 1986, McCain was elected to the U.S. Senate, inheriting the seat of another role model, Barry Goldwater.
During his time in public office, McCain has seen acts of principle and acts of craven self-interest. He describes both ex-tremes in these pages, with his characteristic straight talk and humor. He writes honestly of the lowest point in his career, the Keating Five savings and loan debacle, as well as his triumphant moments—his return to Vietnam and his efforts to normalize relations between the U.S. and Vietnamese governments; his fight for campaign finance reform; and his galvanizing bid for the presidency in 2000.
Writes McCain: “A rebel without a cause is just a punk. Whatever you’re called—rebel, unorthodox, nonconformist, radical—it’s all self-indulgence without a good cause to give your life meaning.” This is the story of McCain’s causes, the people who made him do it, and the meaning he found. Worth the Fighting For reminds us of what’s best in America, and in ourselves.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - John McCain: hero, father, self-professed diety,
John McCain's memoir "Worth Fighting For" is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a great American. Whether it's gardening in the nude at his Arizona ranch, or threatening Arlen Specter with bodily harm, McCain isn't afraid to back down or change his hard-set ways. What I found especially interesting is McCain's often heated arguments with God, over things as important as the SALT treaty, or as trivial as some missing sprinkles on his pudding. Fact is, John McCain doesn't take any b---s--- from anyone, not even the Almighty! Though at first McCain's cursing of the Almighty seemed offensive, I later realized it's just one of the many pieces that make up this fascinating man. Though I don't agree with McCain's claim that he himself is "as good as, if not better than" God, I still feel that he's a true American hero.
Rating:  - The Real John MCain?
I found the book missing in some critical information about Mr. McCain such as:
John McCain has pledged that, if he and Ms. Palin are elected, he would end the revolving-door practice of administration officials leaving office for lucrative lobbying jobs Obama has also pledged to stop the revolving door if elected. He has also declined to take donations from lobbyists; McCain has not.
Still, during McCain's nearly 25 years in Congress, the revolving door has remained open.
.
As his aides have moved downtown from Capitol Hill, they've drawn from their experience on the senator's personal staff or on his key committees: Armed Services, Commerce and Indian Affairs
Here's some examples:
* Mark Buse went from being staff director of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation when McCain chaired it to becoming a lobbyist at two firms, ML Strategies and Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo. His clients included many companies with issues before the committee, including Northwest Airlines, AT&T Wireless, Cablevision and Exxon Mobil Corp. This year, Buse returned to work for McCain as chief of staff of his Senate office.
* John D. Desser was a staffer in McCain's Senate office and was a health policy aide in his 2000 presidential campaign.
After that, he lobbied for the health insurance, chemical, coal and pharmaceutical industries. From there, he was deputy assistant secretary for health policy at the Department ... Read More
Rating:  - Dissapointing
Unfortunately this book which I hoped to be a biographical "chapter 2" to his personal journey after his Viet Nam stint, as covered so well in "Faith of My Fathers," this book offers only a sloppy mish-mash of this and that, which causes it to never commit to be any specific type of book. It tries to be part "Profiles in Courage" (which later McCain books "Courage Matters," and "Hard Call" commit to), part "Leaders" (by Nixon), and part autobiography, but sits as an uncommitted, uneven, unsatisfactory read. On paper this might have been a good idea - to tell one's story by also talking about that person's heroes, but in this work all these different types of works get in the way of each other. There is a chapter that goes on ad nauseum about the Keating scandal to be followed up on a piece of fluff over Ted Williams the baseball player.
This is also probably not the bio that his supporters want us to read during this 2008 election as almost each and every "hero" of his...including his contemporaries...are all dead, which highlights the age issue. I have yet to find a classic bio on this man, but I understand they are out there; unfortunately this book sadly misses its mark.
Rating:  - Worth The Fighting For by John McCain
This is a great book by a great man. John McCain's humor, style, and love of life are inspiring in this read. His honor, patriotism, and his words of those who have inspired him, make him one of the most inspiring public figures of his generation. He has a loving awe of what is best in America, and in ourselves.
Rating: - Great historical, political, autobiographical and insightful read
When the 2008 GOP primary began, I was not a fan of McCain. I didn't dislike him. I just had a different preference. I'd always wanted to read Faith of My Fathers and read that one first. It took the reader from McCain's grandfather, to his father, and finally to McCain himself and his experience in Vietnam, where it concluded with his homecoming.
This book picks up with John McCain's return home. He is atypically candid for a politician and presidential candidate. He admits faults where necessary. He takes responsibility when demanded. He defers credit where due. He takes the reader into his personal struggles, in particular the Keating 5 affair. He touches on his failed first marriage -- and takes full responsibility. The reader has the privilege of being a "fly on the wall" as McCain learns from his mentors and teachers. I can't imagine an author being much more transparent. The reader does not come away with a messianic vision of John McCain. Rather, one develops an understanding of whom he is and what influenced him. There is also much history to be learned as he explains how historical figures have influenced him in his career. I was a bit surprised by the profanity used in the book, but it's a part of who he is -- part sailor, part rebel, part patriot, part leader, part humble student, part aspiring executive, part competitor -- and full time, 100% himself.
If you have an interest in politics and/or history, and want a better understanding of who this potential ... Read More
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