Book of the Week (January 14, 2008)

On the New Book Shelf

Call Number: E 840.8 .O225 A3 2007

Raising Hell for Justice: The Washington Battles of a Heartland Progressive

By David R. Obey

The autobiography of Central Wisconsin's own Dave Obey, published in 2007 by the University of Wisconsin Press.

"Dave Obey's story reminds us that in a city of quicksand it is still possible to stand on principle as a servant of your ideals and the public."—Bill Moyers, author of Moyers on America

"Raising Hell for Justice is a powerful and enlightening political memoir by one of America's all-time great legislators. Obey is one of a vanishing breed in Congress whose entire career in public life has been committed to both advancing a principled agenda and working constructively with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to hammer out agreements that advance that agenda. Obey burns with a passion sparked by his childhood experience growing up in an economically vulnerable working class family and channeled into politics and policy-making by his embrace of Catholic social justice and La Follette progressivism. His compelling memoir demonstrates how ennobling and satisfying a career in the first branch of government can be."–Thomas E. Mann, W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in governance studies, Brookings Institution

Obey looks back on his journey in politics beginning with his early years in the Wisconsin Legislature, when Wisconsin moved through eras of shifting balance between Republicans and Democrats. On a national level Obey traces, as few others have done, the dramatic changes in the workings of the U.S. Congress since his first election to the House in 1969. He discusses his own central role in the evolution of Congress and ethics reforms and his view of the recent Bush presidency–crucial chapters in our democracy, of interest to all who observe politics and modern U.S. history.

David R. Obey (D-Wausau) is the longest-serving member of the U.S. Congress in Wisconsin history and is the current chair of the House Appropriations Committee. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he chaired the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, which funded America's economic and political response to the collapse of the Soviet Union.