Paul Wellstone: The Life of a Passionate Progressive

By Bill Lofy

Book Overview

"Paul Wellstone, we miss you. Few politicians, especially these days, are as willing to stand up and speak the truth as Wellstone was. In this era of flaccid rhetoric and pre-approved sound bites, he had the rare ability to ignite a fire in his audiences. Bill Lofy's excellent biography rekindles that fire and reminds us just how much politicians of Wellstone's honesty, character, and spine are needed---now more than ever. This book should inspire a new generation of voters and political leaders alike."
---Arianna Huffington, columnist and editor of HuffingtonPost.com

"This book captures the vibrant spirit of my friend Paul Wellstone---the fierce commitment to justice that defined his life, and that shapes his enduring legacy."
---U.S. Senator Russ Feingold

"Paul Wellstone was a great leader because he fused progressive idealism with a stubbornly pragmatic politics. Bill Lofy's book captures that dual commitment in his story of Wellstone's life, and also shows us the extraordinary human appeal that Wellstone emanated in his relationships with people in all walks of life. This book is an engaging read that also tells us a lot about the political practice to which we should aspire."
---Frances Fox Piven, author of The War at Home

"This vividly written book captures the life and personal qualities of the late Senator Paul Wellstone. In so doing it provides an illuminating gloss on Max Weber's seminal exposition of the political vocation. It is a jewel of a book."
-Fred Greenstein, Princeton University

Bill Lofy's fast-paced and readable biography tells the inspirational story of one of the most compelling figures in the history of American politics---Senator Paul Wellstone.

Yet Lofy's book is more than just the chronicle of Wellstone's life and political career; it's also an indispensable guide to what ails political life today. Readers politically inclined or not will find in its pages a handbook to the uncertain and often treacherous business of politics and a stirring example for living a courageous and honest life---whether as public servant or private individual.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472031198
• ISBN13: 9780472031191
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Story

This biography was one of the best I've read in a very long time. It wasn't overly long and drawn out, I read it in one sitting. Of course, I have great admiration for the subject, so I am biased, but the book would stand on its own merits. Sometimes a biography can get too bogged down in irrelevant details of the subject's life, but this definitely wasn't one of them.

A Tribute to a Life Short but Well Lived

Regardless of your views on either the left or the right, you have to appreciate the life that Paul Wellstone lived. From a kid in trouble to college professor to United States Senator is neither an easy nor a likely path. But that's what Paul Wellstone did. In this book Bill Lofy, Communications Director of Wellstone Action, the organization created to carry on Paul and Sheila Wellstone's legacy after their death, writes a biography of his life. But more than that, this book provides some insight to the problems that beset political life today. The point of view of Mr. Lofy is, of course, progressive or liberal as we used to say. More than that, though, is the love that he shows to Paul Wellstone as a person, not just a politician.

Northfield's Own

What first started out as an article on the impact of Paul Wellstone's politics, Bill Lofy's Paul Wellstone: The Life of a Passionate Progressive transformed into a biography to be reckoned with. Starting with Paul's childhood and formative years to the day of his untimely departure, the book captures Paul's deep convictions and principles for social justice and progressive changes, which had forever altered the domestic politics landscape. One could double the biography as a platform for Paul's radical, oftentimes effective mechanism "...for the little guy versus the big guy." In a nutshell, Mr. Lofy succeeded in presenting Paul's bold resolve to espouse populist idealism in sharply divided American politics by foraying into academic politics and community activism and inevitably the Senate, as if he knew that, quoting the start of a chapter, "to be sure, mere passion, however genuinely felt is not enough." Presumably written on the behalf of many, this book is an embodiment of Paul's passion and integrity to remain genuine in the face of victories celebrated and failures embraced with dignity and humor. Resonating Paul's strength and vigor, the book offers lessons in life and leadership for everybody, regardless of affiliations. From the wresting mat to unorthodox campaign strategies, Paul's uncanny ability to rise in times of uncertainty inspired his constituents to "raise hell," like the book asserts Paul liked to say. However, that transpires the impulsivity Paul had acknowledged from time to time while remaining true to himself not to make decisions he did not believe in. In calculating courage in action, Paul showed us how, quoting Max Weber, he "...would not have attained the possible unless time and again he had reached out for the impossible." Conclusion can be made that the book is not just about Paul's impact on politics but also his passion for everybody. In the same vein, the book would share that when Paul visited a deaf awareness fair, he marveled at sign language and asked how to sign "beautiful." Like the book, that gesture of genuine appreciation for humanity Paul had so revered throughout his life could not be better exemplified.

Brillant

Bill Lofy's Paul Wellstone: The Life of a Passionate Progessive is a brillant book. Mr. Lofy has distilled the essence of Senator Wellstone and unequivocally demonstrates just why Wellstone was so special, why he changed peoples' lives and why he is so missed. This book is more than a recounting of the Senator's life. It also provides thoughtful and moving political analysis of Wellstone's work and achievements. Abraham Joshua Heschel, the noted Jewish philosopher, historian and social reformer, said shortly before his own death that we must "Know that every deed counts, that every word is power...Above all, remember that you must build your life as if it were a work of art." Paul Wellstone's life was such a work of art and Bill Lofy shows us why.