Al Franken, Giant of the Senate

De: Al Franken

Narrado por: Al Franken

From Senator Al Franken - #1 bestselling author and beloved SNL alum -- comes the story of an award-winning comedian who decided to run for office and then discovered why award-winning comedians tend not to do that.

"Flips the classic born-in-a-shack rise to political office tale on its head. I skipped meals to read this book - also unusual - because every page was funny. It made me deliriously happy." -- Louise Erdrich, The New York Times This is a book about an unlikely campaign that had an even more improbable ending: the closest outcome in history and an unprecedented eight-month recount saga, which is pretty funny in retrospect. It's a book about what happens when the nation's foremost progressive satirist gets a chance to serve in the United States Senate and, defying the low expectations of the pundit class, actually turns out to be good at it. It's a book about our deeply polarized, frequently depressing, occasionally inspiring political culture, written from inside the belly of the beast. In this candid personal memoir, the honorable gentleman from Minnesota takes his army of loyal fans along with him from Saturday Night Live to the campaign trail, inside the halls of Congress, and behind the scenes of some of the most dramatic and/or hilarious moments of his new career in politics. Has Al Franken become a true Giant of the Senate? Franken asks readers to decide for themselves.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The best political book of 2017."—Alex Shephard, The New Republic

"In this excellent, insightful memoir, comedian turned senator Franken recalls his unlikely path to public service...Franken is quite a raconteur, and he tells the story of his remarkable life and times with a sense of humor that is always irreverent and often self-deprecating."—Publishers Weekly

"This is a great book about politics. No joke...Compulsively readable [with] laugh-out-loud lines in every chapter."—Booklist Starred Review

"[AL FRANKEN, GIANT OF THE SENATE] may...be the funniest memoir by a sitting - standing, recumbent, squatting - U.S. senator. Scratch that 'may.' It surely is. This is a genuinely funny book, often hilarious...the Senate, and the country, would be the poorer without him. He's an American original."—Christopher Buckley, The Washington Post

"Admirably incautious...Franken has weaponized the gifts that proved so useful for comedy - a sharp eye, a sharper tongue, the ability to tease out the essential absurdity of a given situation and deliver the goods with maximum impact." —Mark Binelli, Rolling Stone

"In a breezy, funny, biting, and often earnest read, Franken pulls off what many of his congressional colleagues have failed to do: write...an interesting and honest memoir."—Sam Brodey, MinnPost.com

"A fun and compelling book. [Franken] uses self-deprecating humor to poke fun at everyone on either side of the aisle, and he gives readers insight into the daily workings of life in the Senate. His love of the people and the state of Minnesota is crystal clear."—Jeff Ayers, AP

"With this book, Franken is both resistance leader and family counselor...A hilarious guide to what happens when a comedian runs for Congress."—The Nation

Giant of the Senate

Informs as it entertains in his inimitable Franken style.
What I love about this book is that Senator Franken is bursting with exuberant love for people. For Minnesotans, for Americans. for his wife, his children, his friends and even some of his adversaries.
I really love his sense of outrage at the "Lying Liars", his fear and worry in the face of Trump's election, and his final note of hope.
I have a daughter, son in law, and two grandchildren a sister and a brother in law in Minnesota, and I'm just as happy as can be that their senator cares so much about them.
The other thing I love about this book is that I learned a lot about what a senator DOES. I laughed a lot of course, because Al Franken is a very funny man, but I also learned a great deal.
This book is hot of the press and speaks to current events but I have no doubt that people reading this book in twenty years will find it equally fascinating as a look inside an American head at a time when the country appears to have gone bat sh*t crazy. I'm reassured to think that those readers will judge us less harshly after reading Giant of the Senate.

Worth a listen regardless of political leanings

Great story and well written- Well worth a listen regardless of whether you are a democrat or republican

Little Giant

I've always liked Al Franken--both his comedic talent and his work in the Senate--but this is the first of his books that I've read. To a great extent, it's biographical. There's a little about his parents and his early life, how he met his wife Frannie, the birth of his first child, and so forth, but most of the book is focused on his decision to run for the Senate, his first campaign, his adjustment to the political life in DC, and his relationships with his colleagues in Washington. (Who would have guessed that he is friends with Jeff Sessions and that Sessions' wife knitted his first grandchild's favorite blanket?) Of course, there's a good bit of humor thrown in (the episode of a campaign stop at a Native American ritual where he was told NOT to dance is hilarious), but much of the account is honest and straightforward. Franken comes across as a caring man who truly want to honor the memory of his friend Paul Wellstone by doing his best for the people of Minnesota. It's pretty up-to-date: Franken describes going to the Trump inauguration and his conflicts with Jess Sessions, Betsy DeVos, and others in confirmation hearings. He doesn't touch on the most recent White House "scandals," although he does at one point refer to Trump "becoming what we all feared he would be."

I listened to the audio version, read by Franken himself--probably the best option.

binge listening

Any additional comments?

A perfect listen. A great american and a great storyteller. An ethical politician who cares about the life experience of his constituents. I've laughed out loud a few times.

Highest Recommendation

This book on audible is the only way to listen. It's like listening to Sen Frankin tell you a story. The story makes you connect with him and leaves you inspired.