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AMERICAN DREAMS - BILL BRADLEY'S NEW STORY FOR AMERICA - ROD AMIS reviews former Senator Bradley's latest book, The New American Story, with an accompanying G21 Exclusive Podcast conducted by TOM PARISH.

Austin, TX, USA - 20 May 2007 Austin, TX, USA - When I was first asked to review former Senator, former U.S. Presidential candidate, former basketball star Bill Bradley's latest book, The New American Story (Random House, USA, 2007 - ISBN: 978-1-4000-6507-3), I expected to get the usual press flak review copy. To my surprise, I received a personally autographed copy from the Senator's office at Allen & Company in New York. That says a lot about the man as a public citizen and speaks directly to the issues he outlines in his ambitious blue print for ch ange in the social and political system in the United States.

Senator Bradley makes the point throughout this book, providing copious detail for the wonky among us, that there are seven (7) crucial issues which all Americans share concern about that can reasonably be addressed:

1. Education
2. Jobs
3. Health Care
4. Pensions
5. Oil Dependency
6. The Environment
7. Savings

Before going into the meat of this review, for the benefit of our younger readers, here's some background on Senator Bradley himself:

Senator William W. Bradley, 63, is a Managing Director of Allen & Company LLC. From 2001-2004, he acted as chief outside advisor to McKinsey & Company's nonprofit practice. He was a Senior Advisor and Vice Chairman of the International Council of JP Morgan & Co., Inc. from 1997-1999. During that time, he also worked as an essayist for CBS evening news and was a visiting professor at Stanford University, University of Notre Dame and the University of Maryland. Senator Bradley served in the U.S. Senate from 1979 - 1997 representing the state of New Jersey. In 2000, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Prior to serving in the Senate, he was an Olympic gold medalist in 1964 and a professional basketball player with the New York Knicks from 1967 - 1977 during which time they won 2 NBA championships. In 1982, he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Senator Bradley holds a BA degree in American History from Princeton University and an MA degree from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has authored six books on American politics, culture and economy. Currently, Senator Bradley hosts American Voices, a weekly show on Sirius Satellite Radio that highlights the remarkable accomplishments of Americans both famous and unknown.

Senator Bradley's book opens with these lines:

Politics is stuck. It's not that there's an absence of political will and good intent. It's that too many people who want change don't believe change can happen. So all the policies that would make our lives better just pile up, with no movement forward, no action, no change.

I wrote this book in the hope that it would help break up this logjam, so that the many people of great talent and high values who serve in office today would be encouraged to do what must be done for the country's long-term future - and that it would encourage private citizens to try to make a difference, not only in their won communities, but also in the larger world of which we're all a part...

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin says of The New American Story:

Bill Bradley's book is a powerful call to arms - a wise, passionate, insightful polemic that everyone who is serious about politics and our country will read and debate in the months and years ahead.

The late David Halberstam observes:

Bill Bradley is one of the most valuable public citizens. What he has given us in this wise and thoughtful book is a chilling portrait of a nation that has lost its way politically, economically, and socially - and a road map to help us find our way back.

Bradley makes the case that we have been dealing with some myths over the last few decades, chief among them that there is a "Red State/Blue State" divide in this country. He debunks that myth is a simple and common sense manner. (See SIDEBAR "G21 PODCAST: SENATOR BILL BRADLEY - 2007-O5-18".)

SIDEBAR: Listen or download to your iTunes or your iPod: G21 Podcast: Senator Bill Bradley - 2007-05-18 Senator Bradley on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Bill Bradley's Live Chat at Gather.com.

Bradley takes the position in his new book that America is a big country that only succeeds when it meets the challenge of Big Ideas. He advocates those Big Ideas in The New American Story. In the process he provides a number of history lessons. His history lessons provide insights into the great Presidents of the country in the past and why they could be considered great, the history of both the Republican and Democratic parties and the history of U.S. foreign policy.

At the same time, the dynamic of the book is to compare and contrast what he feels is the predominant, small idea ("can't do") story and the Big Ideas ("can do") story. Point by point, on globalization, jobs, the electoral system, the two-party system as it exists today, pensions, Social Security, Medicare, energy, the environment, the income tax system, Bradley presents deep analysis, including his recommendations for a budget and how funds could be reallocated.. (The book runs a full 343 pages with copious footnotes and an 18 page index.)

Bradley is of the belief that the American government can be run by the American people again, rather than only corporations, lobbyists and consultants. He espouses in his book the (idealistic) opinion that government can and should be more transparent and responsive. In the process, he even goes into such detail as to ask the question, "Why are our elections on Tuesday?" (See the book or listen to podcast in the SIDEBAR to get the answer.)

While admiring both the depth and breadth of the proposals for social change and a reactivated citizenry proposed by Bradley in the book, This Reviewer found some of his proposals - especially in the area of energy independence - leaning toward being so draconian as not to be realistic for acceptance by the American public. Bradley accurately and convincing makes the point that America can kick its oil addiction. The means he proposes to getting there - including a new gasoline tax and a monetary penalty for people who continue to drive gas-guzzling vehicles - one suspects will not go over well in a country that has a love-affair with automobiles. (NOTE: This said by a Reviewer who has refused to drive motor vehicles for over a decade.)

On balance, many of Bradley's other policy suggestions make a good deal of sense. His notion that there should be a transparent federal budget - enabled with keyword searches on various budget items - which all citizens can review online prior to the vote in Congress is one such Big Idea that is achievable. [Senator Bradley will be in Texas later this year to meet with members of the Open Source technology community, activists and politicians to move this initiative forward.] On ideas like this one, Bradley is walking the walk, as the saying goes, by involving himself with people nationally to make this happen.

Senator Bradley's book, The New American Story can be purchased at major bookstores as well as online.