The Good Fight: A Life in Liberal Politics by Walter F. Mondale with David Hage (2010; Scribner. ISBN 978-1-4391-5866-1)
Attorney General of the State of Minnesota. United States Senator. Vice-President of the United States. Ambassador to Japan. Father. Husband. Native son of Minnesota. Lawyer. And yes, friend and political mentor to the author of this review. I, along with my father, mother, brother, and sister, know him as “Fritz”. He and my father have been friends for fifty years. Fritz was a friend of my Uncle Willard (Minnesota’s famed environmental legislator and an original Farmer-Laborite) from the late 1950s until Willard’s death in 1999. Despite his busy schedule, Fritz Mondale made sure he attended Willard’s funeral (an event bringing together politicians of every persuasion) and he took time to write the foreword to Mr. Environment: The Willard Munger Story (see “Books” tab above on the dashboard of this website to purchase your copy), my biography of Willard’s remarkable life.
When I learned that Fritz’s political memoir was being released (my dad got an early copy), I knew I had to read it and review it for this website. But of course, there’s a problem with doing that, isn’t there?
What if I don’t like the book?
Of course, if that was the case, I could simply refrain from penning a review. But how would that look? I mean, I bought all four of my sons personally inscribed copies of the thing. If I didn’t review it here, they, if no one else, would know something was amiss: My boys know I read the books that I buy within a few days of purchase. So I couldn’t throw out the excuse, “I haven’t got to it yet.” Pleading the fifth wasn’t going to be an option.
Damn. I guess I’ll just have to read it and give my honest appraisal of the book.
Here goes. Like Teddy Kennedy’s memoir (reviewed below) True Compass, The Good Fight chronicles the ideals, political career, and personal life of a true 20th century Liberal. With the plethora of “memoirs” being thrust into the public square by folks on the right (including two by a person who didn’t even finish her one term as Governor of Alaska!), it seems only fitting that the left should have some reading material. And Mondale’s book is a good one; not just for Liberals, but for anyone interested in the politics of our great nation. You get the history of the Senate, the politics of the past forty years, the anecdotes and stories; all the things you’d expect from political memoir. But you also get something far more important: An understanding, a belief, that a fundamentally understated and decent man can make a difference in the shark-filled waters of national politics.
The book’s depiction of Mondale’s civil rights involvement, his work on behalf of the environment, and his time spent as President Jimmy Carter’s understudy is well written, insightful, and a must read for anyone interested in world affairs, national politics, or Minnesota history.
Near the end of the memoir, as Mondale describes his hectic six day campaign for the late Paul Wellstone’s United States Senate seat (at the behest of both the DFL Party and the Wellstone family) you understand that, unlike the vast majority of politicians today, Walter Mondale was in the “Good Fight” not for personal gain, or glory, or ego: He was in politics to represent those Americans, who because of race, gender, religion, or economic status, couldn’t fight for themselves. 5 stars out of 5.
