More Davids Than Goliaths: A Political Education

It's easy to forget that politicians are people too, so Ford Jr.'s account of his life from four to 40 is a welcome read. As a young man, Ford Jr. worked on his father's campaigns for Congress, learning skills that would help him win his father's seat in 1996. Ford Jr. credits grassroots strategies for returning him to the House five times, strategies he refused to abandon even after they failed to send him to the Senate in 2006. In a candid chronological examination of what made him the man and the politician that he is, Ford Jr. shares many personal moments, including bracing experiences of racial discrimination. Facing Goliaths in both the House and the media, Ford Jr. believes he exhibited the same valuable traits that his father possessed: honesty, integrity, and determination. Although his account remains largely personal and bipartisan, trafficking in solid American values that readers of all affiliations will sympathize with, one can't help but wonder about the next phase of the still young man's career; this is politics after all. (Aug.)