Time Present, Time Past: A memoir - Tapa dura

Remarkable memoir from one of America’s most colorful, dynamic and respected senators.

Bill Bradley is one of the most admired figures in American public life. In a memoir at once deeply felt, lively and astute, he talks about his life, his country, his role in government and his hopes for the future. He speaks with affection about his small-town Missouri upbringing and traces his road from childhood to Princeton and Oxford, to ten years of professional basketball and public service in the US Senate. Bradley describes his many voyages of exploration across America – to urban ghettos, coal-country Appalachia, Sioux reservations and bars in Detroit, and he tells of the scoundrels and heroes, the celebrated political figures past and present who have crossed his path.

But this is more than an account of his life. He spends much of the book outlining his interpretation of American history, his solutions for the great divides of race and economic status and his belief in a truth-telling leadership which does not shirk reality. Not only is Bradley’s book a remarkable memoir, it is a book about life, filled with humour, moral lessons and empathy for the human condition. Above all, it is a book about America – its past and its future.

Bill Bradley is one of the most admired figures in American public life. In a memoir at once deeply felt, lively and astute, he talks about his life, his country, his role in government, and his hopes for the future. He speaks with affection about his small-town Missouri upbringing and traces his road from childhood, to Princeton and Oxford Universities, to ten years of professional basketball and public service in the US Senate.

We accompany Bradley on his voyages of exploration across America – to urban ghettos, coal-country Appalachia, a Sioux reservation, an autoworkers’ bar in Detroit. He tells us stories of scoundrels and heroes, of celebrated political figures past and present, and of unheralded citizens whose year-in, year-out contributions to their country go unacknowledged, but all of which have helped confirm his belief in the continued potential for a change in American national direction.

In describing his own life’s journey and his political and religious beliefs Bradley looks back at the lives of his Scots – Irish and German ancestors and forward to life in the next century. He sets out his interpretations of American history, most notably his ideas about nation building and the great divides of race and economic status. He assesses not only what kind of political action is needed to reconstitute people’s faith in government but also their responsibilities to each other, and he presents his view of a truth-telling political leadership that inspires even as it confronts reality.

This remarkable memoir reflects the author’s desire to move beyond the vagueness of politics to clear assessments of the national situation facing the United States. But more than that, it is a book about life, filled with humour, moral lessons and empathy for the human condition. Above all, it is a book about America – its past and its future.

“'Time Present, Time Past' is an exceptional memoir about growing up in Missouri, going to Princeton, and, above all, serving in the Senate. It is a political book, but not a politician’s book. Rather, it is the work of a writer who happens to be a politician. Intelligent, surprisingly candid, and exceptionally well written, it is a love letter to America from someone who is aware of the country’s weaknesses and contradictions but who is still optimistic about the future.”
DAVID HALBERSTAM, 'Vanity Fair'

“Marvellous... It has been a long time since any American in public life has written as valuable a book as this.”
DAVID McCULLOUGH

“A memorable contribution to the literature of politics. Bill Bradley has brought to its writing – as he has brought to politics – a rare sense of history. 'Time Present, Time Past'is remarkable as well not only for its candour and objectivity but for its penetrating insight into the interplay of politics and personality, and into the nature, and tragedy of America’s current governmental dilemma.”
ROBERT A. CARO

“Refreshingly honest, Bill Bradley’s book puts a human face on policy, politics, and life. One can’t easily forget his empathy and his humour – and his moving portraits of colourful and heroic Americans.”
ROBERT REDFORD