An Even Better Place: America in the 21st Century

The man who would be the next Speaker of the House presents readers with a thoughtful, earnest book in which he reflects on his 23 years in Congress and articulates what he believes needs to be done to make America an even better place. After an obligatory call for leaders in Washington to stop the ""politics of personal destruction,"" the Missouri Democrat reviews his career, discussing what he's fought against (NAFTA) and what he's lobbied to pass (the Patient's Bill of Rights, a higher minimum wages) in Congress. Addressing the needs of the future, Gephardt identifies what he calls a ""quiet crisis"" brewing in this country: a crumbling Social Security system, millions of people who are overworked and underpaid, millions more without adequate health care. The only way to fix these problems, Gephardt states, is for the American people to renew their sense of civic duty and to help government help people help themselves. Perhaps because he is not running for national office (he declined to seek his party's presidential nomination in 2000), Gephardt is far less self-promoting in these pages than the average pol is in the average campaign-season book. While the book has its share of bland platitudes, Gephardt offers some real insights into such issues as American trade policy (he's not nearly the protectionist his critics claim) and welfare reform (he hates the reform bill Clinton signed on the eve of the 1996 election). Most of all, he comes off as an honorable career politician trying to redefine what it means to be a labor Democrat in a post-industrial economic and political landscape. (June)