Although many are often written using a ghostwriter, books by presidential candidates are often informative. A few of our U.S. presidents have been great writers: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln. Two have been very accomplished authors of numerous books before and after their time in office: Theodore Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter. Barack Obama looks to be another in this tradition.
Often books written well before a presidential campaign are more revealing than the traditional “campaign book” outlining policy visions. I will try to read at least one book by each candidate before the 2020 Iowa Caucuses. Here are a list of the books written by the 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates, roughly in the order in which they announced:
Rep. John K. Delaney (D-MD-06):
The Right Answer: How We Can Unify Our Divided Nation. Henry Holt & Co., 2018. His prescription of bi-partisan compromise is rooted in his experience as an entrepreneur. It is a focus on innovation and problem solving. It may be naive about the power of ideology and the lack of common experiences. (One source of common ground in previous generations was that, thanks to the draft, most American males had some military service.) Still, the work is informative of Delaney’s perspective.
Andrew Yang:
Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America. HarperBusiness, 2014. This was Yang’s 1st book as part of his project (Venture for America) of getting capital and guidance for innovative start-up companies.
The War on Normal People: The Truth About America’s Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income is Our Future. Hachette Books, 2018. This book shows how automation has been destroying more jobs than it creates and how this is being accelerated by artificial intelligence. It also details Yang’s plan for universal basic income, his major economic policy proposal in his presidential campaign.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-Notre Dame, IN):
Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model’ for America’s Future. Liveright, 2019. Buttigieg’s memoir, his experiences revitalizing the city of South Bend, IN and his vision for the future of America.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA):
Elizabeth Warren was a law professor for far more years than she has been a senator. She is an acknowledged expert on commerce law and bankruptcy law. She is the author of 11 books.
- As We Forgive Our Debtors: Bankruptcy and Consumer Credit in America. with Teresa A. Sullivan and Jay Westbrook. Oxford University Press, 1989.
- The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt. with Teresa A. Sullivn and Jay Westbrook. Yale University Press, 2001.
- The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle Class Parents are Going Broke. with Amelia Warren Tyagi. Basic Books, 2004. Rev. Ed., subtitle: Why Middle Class Parents are Still Going Broke. 2016.
- All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. with Amelia Warren Tyagi. Simon & Schuster, 2006.
- Casebook Legal Briefs: Commercial Law. with Lynn M. LoPucki, Daniel Keating, Ronald Mann, and Normal Goldenberg. Aspen Publishers, 2006.
- The Law of Debtors and Creditors: Texts, Cases, and Problems. with Jay Westbrook. 6th ed. Aspen Publishers, 2008.
- Chapter 11: Reorganizing American Businesses (Essentials). Aspen Publishers, 2008.
- Secured Credit: A Systems Approach. with Lynn LoPucki. Walters Kluwer, 2008.
- A Fighting Chance. Metropolitan Books, 2014.
- This Fight is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class. Metropolitan Books, 2017.
The last two works outline her mature vision for a renewed America via a progressive economic system, including strong unions, a strong social safety net, progressive taxation, debt-free college, and corporate and banking regulation.
HUD Secretary & Former Mayor Julian Castro (D-San Antonio, TX):
An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up From My American Dream. Little, Brown, & Co., 2018. This is Castro’s memoir and campaign book.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI-02):
Is Today the Day? Not Another Political Memoir. Twelve Books, 2019. Due out in August.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY:
- Off the Sidelines: Speak Up, Be Fearless, and Change Your World. Foreword by Hillary Rodham Clinton. Ballentine Books, 2015. Gillibrand got involved in politics after hearing a challenge in these words by then-Sen. Hillary R. Clinton. This is part memoir, part rallying of ordinary people, especially women, to become activists.
- Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote. Illustrated by Maira Kalman. Knopf Books, 2018. An illustrated book for young people, especially girls, profiling 10 trailblazing women who worked for the suffrage and equality of women.
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA):
- Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer. Chronicle Books, 2009.
- The Truths We Hold: An American Journey. Penguin Press, 2019. Harris’ memoir and political vision.
- Superheroes are Everywhere. Philomel Books, 2019. This is a children’s book that takes the fascination with fictional superheroes and directs children to recognize everyday heroism in real life and to strive to be heroic themselves.
Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA) :
Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America’s Clean Energy Economy. with Bracken Hendricks. Island Press, 2009. 2nd. Ed., 2010. A version of this forms the center of Inslee’s platform and campaign, tackling climate change as the existential challenge of our time.
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ):
United: Thoughts on Finding Common Ground and Advancing the Common Good. Ballentine Books, 2017. Booker’s memoir and case that the virtues of empathy, responsibility, and action must guide our nation to a brighter future.
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN):
- Uncovering the Dome. Waveland Press, Inc., 1986. This is the published form of Klobuchar’s Yale dissertation on the financing and building of Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey Dome.
- The Senator Next Door: A Memoir from the Heartland. Henry Holt, & Co., 2015. Klobuchar’s very funny political memoir and vision for the nation.
- Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage. Edited and with a Foreword by Amy Klobuchar. Knopf Books, 2018. Inspired by the “Nevertheless, she persisted” moment when Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attempted to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren during the confirmation of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. This is a children’s book giving examples of female heroism.
Books from likely candidates:
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT):
- Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In. Thomas Dunne Books, 2016. Memoir and campaign book for Sanders’ 2016 campaign.
- Bernie Sanders’ Guide to Political Revolution. Henry Holt & Co., 2017. This is a political action guide for the network “Our Revolution” that Sanders created toward the end of the 2016 campaign.
- Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance. Thomas Dunne Books, 2018. Sanders’ account of his and other progressives’ actions since 2016. Also includes Sanders’ recipe for reforming the Democratic Party (which apparently doesn’t include joining it).
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH):
- Congress from the Inside: Observations from the Majority and Minority. Kent State University Press, 2004.
- Myths of Free Trade: Why American Trade Policy Has Failed. The New Press, 2006.
Former Vice President Joseph Biden (D-DE):
- Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics. Random House, 2008.
- Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. Flatiron Books, 2017.
Former Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) [I don’t think he’ll run, but POTUS Obama keeps urging him to do so.]:
A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life. Broadway Books, 2011.
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX-13):
Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico. Cinco Puntos Press, 2011.
Former GA House Minority Leader Stacy Abrams (D-GA-84) (who is also an author or romances):
Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Real Change. Henry Holt & Co., 2018.
There may be others that run, but I don’t know any other rumors.