“After reading Charlyne Berens’s very thorough study of Chuck Hagel, I am more than ever proud to call this fearless, outspoken, passionate, and principled man ‘friend.’ Choosing conscience over conformity, he represents the best of bipartisanship and patriotism.”UNP Salon for New Chuck Hagel BiographyOctober 26, 2006, 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Joslyn Castle
3902 Davenport Street
Omaha, Nebraska
A comment about the Hagel biography (available from Amazon at the right side of this page):A comment about the Hagel biography (available from Amazon at the right side of this page):One of our readers has written a brief review of Charlyne Berens's book, Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward. You can buy the book off of Amazon.com at the right side of this page. Citizen McLain writes:Overall, the book is a good primer on Chuck Hagel. There is repitition of various issues and it started off a bit weak, but when it got into the substance of his political philosophy, his role in the Senate, in the GOP, the impact of the Vietnam War on his foreign policy, it was more intriguing.Thanks for the review!
Berens offers a wide range of opinions and speculation on the subject from political scholars and operatives, but by the conclusion of the book, the questions of whether Hagel will run or could mount an effective campaign are left hanging.The article and the book touch on the theme of this week, that Chuck Hagel is clearly in the right place within the Republican party.
For all the frustration Hagel expresses about the Republican Party, he is philosophically in tune with many of its traditional stances. He is an ardent free-trader, favors as little government as possible (wishful thinking in an era of exploding government growth) and supports limits to government intrusion in the private lives of Americans, while Bush has authorized warrantless wiretaps of telephones and e-mails.The book puts Hagel's comments on Iraq into perspective given his life and the article mentions that briefly.
Check out the article if you want the full review of the book. I have read Charlyne Berens' biography of Senator Hagel and I highly recommend it.In the fall of 2004, Harold W. Andersen, the retired publisher of the Omaha World-Herald, wrote a column for the paper declaring that Nebraska Republicans were tired of Hagel's criticism of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq. Hagel responded that it was his responsibility as a senator to ask the hard questions that "were not asked when we sent young men and women into Vietnam."
"Where were our elected officials then?" he asked, with the same straight-from-the-shoulder forthrightness that has gotten him into hot water with his party.
The Omaha World-Herald has an article from yesterday about Chuck Hagel's possible presidential ambitions and the new biography about him.Read the full article here.Chuck Hagel has said he is considering running for president in 2008, but he won't make a decision until after the November elections.
He has said one of the biggest factors in weighing a run for the White House is the impact such a move would have on his family.
"He may not want to sacrifice his home life for what has become one of America's most exhausting rituals, in which candidates and their reputations are routinely battered by their opponents and the media, and the winners are expected to enjoy living in a fishbowl," writes Berens, a professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The University of Nebraska Press is pleased to announce that Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward by Charlyne Berens is now available for purchase at the following link:Get the book and learn more about Senator Hagel. His compelling personal story is one of his greatest assets.
http://unp.unl.edu/bookinfo/5106.html
View the Table of Contents and read an excerpt:
http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/books/excerpts/5106.pdf
Chuck Hagel: Moving ForwardIt looks very interesting and we'll post again about it when it becomes available for purchase. Amazon.com says that it should be out this September, and you can preorder it from them now.By Charlyne Berens
“After reading Charlyne Berens’s very thorough study of Chuck Hagel, I am more than ever proud to call this fearless, outspoken, passionate, and principled man ‘friend.’ Choosing conscience over conformity, he represents the best of bipartisanship and patriotism.”—Bob Kerrey, President of The New School and former U.S. Senator
“Charlyne Berens’s terrific biography brings Chuck Hagel’s straight-shooting, courageous character to life. The Senator is one of a kind on Capitol Hill, and Berens’s book leaves the reader waiting to witness the next chapter in Hagel’s remarkable political career.”—John D. Podesta, President of the Center for American Progress and Chief of Staff to former President Bill Clinton
“In writing the first full-dress biography of Senator Chuck Hagel, Charlyne Berens has illuminated the experiences of a major contemporary public figure. Her honest and readable account of Hagel's personal life and career in politics is certain to be the definitive work on the subject.”—Ross K. Baker, Professor of Political Science, Rutgers University
In late August 2004 the Republicans were celebrating the nomination of incumbent George W. Bush for another term as president of the United States. In the midst of the festivities, Chuck Hagel, a senator from Nebraska, was telling reporters that the Republican Party had “come loose of its moorings.” This was a bold position for someone identified by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Boston Globe as a prospective 2008 presidential candidate, but it was not surprising coming from a Republican senator who had also recently remarked that the occupation of Iraq was poorly planned and that it had encouraged the spread of terror cells throughout the world. Who is Chuck Hagel, what is his story, and is he a genuine player on the national political stage? Charlyne Berens sets out to answer these questions in her close and careful look at one of the most interesting and independent figures on the current American political scene.
Having survived a tour of duty in Vietnam and having made a fortune as a pioneer in the cellular phone industry, Chuck Hagel seemingly came out of nowhere to beat a popular sitting governor in a race for the U.S. Senate in 1996. Berens charts Hagel’s quick rise to national recognition and influence and examines the background that has led Hagel to an outspoken internationalism that often puts him at odds with his own party and president. This complex, plain-spoken Nebraskan may be on his way to the White House. Charlyne Berens explains why and how.
