"I'm the only person in the history of Virginia elected to statewide office with a Union card, two Purple Hearts, and three tattoos."
Jim Webb--the bestselling author and now the celebrated, outspoken U.S. Senator from Virginia--presents a clear-eyed, hard-hitting plan of attack for putting government to work for the people, rather than special interests, and for restoring the country's standing around the world. Infused with the intelligence, force, and firebrand style that has earned Senator Jim Webb enormous national attention from his earlest days in office, A Time to Fight offers a thorough and provocative assessment of the thorniest issues Americans face today, along with cogent solutions drawn from Webb's lifetime of experience as a much-decorated Marine, a widely traveled, award-winning journalist and novelist, a highly placed member of the Reagan administration, a Senator with a son who fought as a Marine in Iraq and, perhaps most important, a proud scion of America's vast but frequently ignored working class. Webb exposes how America has entered a dangerous, unprecedented cycle of seemingly unsolvable unknowns. Our economic policies, particularly in this age of globalization, have produced widely divergent results leading to a country calcifying along class lines. Our demographic makeup has been altered dramatically and is set to keep on changing, through both legal and illegal immigration. Our editorialists and politicians talk about the American dream, and some urge us to bring democracy to the rest of the world. But more than two million Americans are now in prison, by far the highest incarceration rate in the so-called advanced world. Our foreign policy is confused, without clear direction; increasingly vulnerable to such largely unexamined long-term threats as China's emerging power while it has become bogged down in the never-ending struggles of the Middle East. As this drift toward societal regression has taken place, America's leadership has largely been paralyzed, unable or unwilling to stop the slide. "Where are the leaders?" Webb asks. "Has our political process become so compromised by powerful interest groups and the threat of character assassination that even the best among us will not dare to speak honestly about the solutions that might bring us back to common sense and fundamental fairness?" Through vivid personal narratives of the struggles members of his family faced, and citing the courageous actions of presidents ranging from Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt to Dwight Eisenhower, A Time to Fight provides specific, viable ideas for restoring fairness to our economic system, correcting the direction of national security efforts, ending America's military occupation of Iraq, and developing greater government accountability. Webb brings a fresh perspective to political dynamics that have shaped our country. His stirring, populist manifesto calls upon voters to make the choices that will change America for the better in this election season.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Stirred but not shaken:
With a Houdini-like narrative, A Time to Fight escapes political partisanship and provides a fresh, honest, and independent missive to the American public on the shortcomings of our nation. Weaving personal vignettes with historical lessons, Webb explains, in an articulate and concise fashion, the challenges our government, and US citizens, face in the years to come. Using family experiences (with particular homage paid to Webb's Uncle Tommy), West Point and Marine Corps leadership lessons, journalistic... more info
A New-Found Respect for My VA Senator:
My point of view, first of all, is that there is an under-current, of a powerful, select elite who control the market, our politics and news. Most of the media I digest is in the margins. That being said, I was surprised at the empathy I had for Jim Webb's military perspective. His autobiographical approach to dissecting the time-line of America's political parties gave me a much more human connection to the soldiers who have made history, and who are currently fighting. Webb adds much richness to this... more info
Challenge to today's Americans:
"A Time to Fight" is largely autobiographical, describing Webb's family background, military career (Viet Nam), writing career (several novels), Washington bureaucrat career (Secretary of the Navy), bitterly fought 2006 Senate campaign, and now his Senate career. Very impressive, obviously. In the midst of all that, Webb also includes numerous historical references and anecdotes, mostly about military history, politics, and economics. The rest of the book describes some of America's pressing... more info
Real Straight Talk from an Actual Maverick:
Webb offers some tough policy prescriptions in this well written treatise. These aren't the standard platitudes, and few will agree with everything he says, but he writes with uncommon command for a politician and his call to action is persuasive. There's a lot of biographical insight here, but little self-congratulation. His writes about some topics that simply never get discussed. Indeed, his chapter on criminal justice was probably where his Vice Presidential vetting stopped.
