Description
Book SynopsisRepresenting Michigan for thirty-six years in the US Senate, Carl Levin, the longest-serving senator in Michigan history, was known for his dogged pursuit of the truth, his commitment to holding government accountable, and his basic decency.
Getting to the Heart of the Matter: My 36 Years in the Senate is his story.
Trade Review[Carl Levin is] the model of serious purpose, principle, and personal decency, whose example ought to inspire the service of new and returning senators. Carl and I served together for five terms-thirty years-and we developed a very strong bond of personal trust. Our word was our bond and the security of our nation was always foremost. Even though we are from different political parties, we share a love of country, a commitment to do what is right, and a deep mutual admiration and respect for each other. We never let our policy differences turn into personal differences. And we served in a Senate where bipartisanship was something to be sought after, where compromise was not a dirty word but an essential ingredient to make our government function better. Getting to the Heart of the Matter reminds us there are patriots like Carl Levin who define 'honesty, integrity, and civility.' In a lifetime of dedicated service, he made government more accountable, the nation more secure, and fought for opportunity for all. He is an American hero. The Dingell and Levin families have shared decades of friendship and public service. Getting to the Heart of the Matter is a heartfelt, thoughtful narrative of his career which had a positive impact on so many people. Everyone interested in public service should read this. Carl Levin's life and work continue to be an inspiration to each of us who have had the privilege of knowing him. His commitment to public service and the leadership he exemplifies have made a remarkable and historic contribution to the country. His beautifully written autobiography makes me wish we had more like him now. Care about integrity? Read this book. Given up on finding truly selfless politicians? Read this book. Senator Carl Levin's riveting biography is food for our decency-starved souls and is a page-turning must-read for future public servants and all who love Michigan. Over fifty years of immersion in the Senate-writing about it, interacting with its members, and working inside it-I have seen very few of its members garner the universal admiration and respect of Carl Levin. Getting to the Heart of the Matter is a memoir, but it is much more than that. Writing about his six terms in the Senate, Levin gives us an intimate, inside portrait of thirty-six years of key policy decisions and political developments in the country-and his role, often a pivotal one, in many of them. Along the way, we get a sense of how the Senate worked during those decades. This book is a tribute to a remarkable, important career and is a must-read for all who care about the country, its values, and the workings of its institutions going forward. Senator Carl Levin is the epitome of a dedicated statesman. His wise, effective, and collegial service to our nation is admirable. His memoir is a must-read for those who seek to understand how our government should work. Carl Levin served as the de facto conscience of the United States Senate for thirty-six years. He never forgot the people he grew up with in Detroit where he started out driving a taxi and working in an automobile factory. As chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Levin ferreted out wrongdoing, abuses of taxpayers, and failed policies, its reports all issued with bipartisan agreement, a remarkable feat of dignity, duty, and moral strength in our era. Getting to the Heart of the Matter is an account of a splendid Senate career by one of its greats. But it is also a well-timed reminder of what the Senate is supposed to be: a place where the national good is earnestly considered, not a viper's nest for conspiracy theories and vitriol. Levin, a Democratic stalwart if ever there was one, was never a shrinking violet when it came to issues he cared about, and there were plenty of those. But his old-fashioned sense of fair play helped him forge productive relationships with Republicans and craft bipartisan legislation in the days before that phrase became an oxymoron.
