The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
k80uva's review against another edition
4.0
Specific, impassioned, invigorating, just like Elizabeth Warren herself.
rachelygr's review against another edition
2.0
Leaving politics out of the review and star rating of the book.
My issue is how little Warren brought in her personal life stories into this book and focused exclusively on economic issues. She does talk about her life growing up but there are huge gaps in the story that aren't addressed. Like she talks about how she got into college and then dropped out to get married but doesn't talk about her own finances and what it was like going to grad school, etc. I get that she wasn't trying to write a biography (something I would be more interested in) but she raises questions by just skimming around with her story.
That said, the book was well written just boring :/
My issue is how little Warren brought in her personal life stories into this book and focused exclusively on economic issues. She does talk about her life growing up but there are huge gaps in the story that aren't addressed. Like she talks about how she got into college and then dropped out to get married but doesn't talk about her own finances and what it was like going to grad school, etc. I get that she wasn't trying to write a biography (something I would be more interested in) but she raises questions by just skimming around with her story.
That said, the book was well written just boring :/
morganbird's review against another edition
4.0
Not great literature but a solid political manifesto
runsforcoffee's review against another edition
4.0
I'm so sad reading this now. She would've been an amazing president.
catronky's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 I really like Elizabeth Warren and voted for her in the primaries after reading this, but her obvious disdain for the GOP made me uneasy. She really knows what she's talking about and would made a great policy president.
mattyzmom's review against another edition
3.0
This is about how the middle class can become stronger. Warren pushes her agenda blaming Republicans for previous decisions. I learned a lot about politics and how rueful it can be. I bet she could write another book about the recent Roe v Wade decision and the future of student loan debt, the effects of inflation, and the increase in school shootings. I respect and admire Senator Warren. It seems like she is working for those that need a voice.
ifoundtheme's review against another edition
3.0
I've been reading several books by candidates recently. This one stands out as worth reading for history and ideas that are relevant beyond the 2020 campaign.
dmturner's review against another edition
3.0
Read by the author, the book is an accessible, partisan discussion of the ways in which a government geared toward supporting and promoting the progress of lower- and middle-income citizens has steadily moved toward one supporting big business, large banks, and the wealthy. The effect of policy is illustrated throughout by the stories of three average Americans who have lost momentum due to the government's change of direction. The book, as of spring 2017, was up-to-date, incorporating the events leading up to and immediately following Donald Trump's election.
Things I found illuminating: A discussion of the increasing role of lobbyists in the decision making of elected officials over the last 60 or 70 years; the pervasiveness of the reductive "trickle-down economics" theory of the economy; and a breakdown of the banks' role in the 2008 recession and the Wells Fargo scandal.
Things I found less rewarding: It's one-sided (not a surprise), and it hammers the same points over and over. I listened to it in the car and probably should have read it in hard copy; audiobooks are better when they are complex and rich (I listened Moby Dick and Great Expectations that way and felt enriched as a result). The author's distinctive dry, vehement teacher voice makes her a good speaker but an over-emphatic reader.
Things I found illuminating: A discussion of the increasing role of lobbyists in the decision making of elected officials over the last 60 or 70 years; the pervasiveness of the reductive "trickle-down economics" theory of the economy; and a breakdown of the banks' role in the 2008 recession and the Wells Fargo scandal.
Things I found less rewarding: It's one-sided (not a surprise), and it hammers the same points over and over. I listened to it in the car and probably should have read it in hard copy; audiobooks are better when they are complex and rich (I listened Moby Dick and Great Expectations that way and felt enriched as a result). The author's distinctive dry, vehement teacher voice makes her a good speaker but an over-emphatic reader.
rebekah_nobody's review against another edition
4.0
“Did you hear about the guys sitting in a bar, having a few beers, when Bill Gates walks in?”
…
“One guy yelled, ‘Woo-hoo! On average, everyone in the bar is now a billionaire!'”
And there it is. On average, we’re doing great.
For decades Warren has observed and investigated what the numbers can tell us about wealth and real people in America - no facile averages, no dewy-eyed tech-consolidation-love, and no pretense of being perplexed about where we are today, with known legislative history and cause-and-effect at play. It’s an engaging, exasperating read, very much in the author’s voice.
…
“One guy yelled, ‘Woo-hoo! On average, everyone in the bar is now a billionaire!'”
And there it is. On average, we’re doing great.
For decades Warren has observed and investigated what the numbers can tell us about wealth and real people in America - no facile averages, no dewy-eyed tech-consolidation-love, and no pretense of being perplexed about where we are today, with known legislative history and cause-and-effect at play. It’s an engaging, exasperating read, very much in the author’s voice.