Follow Here To Purchase We Can All Do Better

Author: Bill Bradley

Publisher: Vanguard Press

ISBN: 978-59315-729-6

On January 23, 1965, a ‘Profile’ of Bill Bradley, the author of this thoughtful book, We Can All Do Better, was published in The New Yorker, written by John McPhee, called ‘A Sense of Where You Are’.

The title of this excellent piece was chosen by famed New Yorker editor William Shawn and it was a quote from Bradley that Shawn thought was appropriate as a title for McPhee’s article. How right he was, or rather, how right Bradley was. Although Bradley was talking about a basketball player’s intuition on the court ( he was an All-American Basketball player when he was at Princeton), ‘A Sense of Where You Are‘ could well have stood as a title for this, his latest book, written 47 years later, about the current political and social scene in America,.

Older readers, perhaps a little misty-eyed, will remember best the young Bill Bradley, Rhodes Scholar, Olympic Gold medalist, called the greatest college basketball player of all time, professional with the New York Knicks from 1967-1977 during which time they won 2 NBA championships, and election in 1982 to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Younger readers, zealous hearts still aflame, will know Bill Bradley as a member of the US Senate representing the state of New Jersey from 1979 to 1997, as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and as author of six books on American politics, culture, and economy.

Bradley’s view of America appears at first to be one of disillusionment. He writes,“ ... the land is engulfed by arrogance, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness,” but anyone knowing anything at all about Bill Bradley will be assured that he is not one to walk away from any challenge. Those many years ago, he said to John McPhee, “ ... the only way to solve a problem is to go through it rather than around it.” The man who sharpened his basketball skills through phenomenal feats of discipline and dedication, for example, by throwing thousands of practice shots at hundreds of baskets, working at a problem until he mastered it, has not changed over the years. Because Bill Bradley has always believed in the basic goodness of the American people, his message to them is that you can’t wait for someone else to fix a problem, you have to get in there and do it yourself. His challenge is in the title of this unflinching analysis- We Can All Do Better. The emphasis being on the ‘we’ and the ‘all’.

As the American people, Democrats and Republicans alike, head for the polls this Fall, they would all do well to read, and take to heart, this stirring call to positive action which points towards a better life for everyone regardless of political stripe. 

Follow Here To Purchase We Can All Do Better