Al Franken, Giant of the Senate

by Al Franken

AL FRANKEN, GIANT OF THE SENATE 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.

• ISBN10: 1538759985
• ISBN13: 9781538759981
• Publish Date: 30 May 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Twelve
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Heather]

This book answers the question that so many people had - How did this man:



turn into this man?



Al Franken was best known as a writer for Saturday Night Live when he announced his candidacy for Senate in his home state of Minnesota.  His candidacy was treated as a joke but he was very serious.  He had written several books on political topics and had been hosting a three hour daily political radio show that taught him a lot about issues.  He had campaigned for Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone prior to Wellstone's death in a plane crash.  When the Republican senator who took over Wellstone's senate seat said that he was a 99% improvement over Democrat Wellstone, Franken decided that someone had to defeat that guy.  He just didn't realize yet that it was going to be him.

This memoir was very well done.  It talked just a bit about his childhood and then moved quickly into his life as a satirical writer.  This is important because as he says he spent 35 years learning to be funny professionally and the next decade learning not to be.  He calls the Republican plan for dealing with him "The Dehumorizer".  Just assume that everything he ever wrote was absolute truth and not a joke - up to and including shooting elderly people over a river in a rocket.  Turn that into "Franken hates the elderly" and you get the idea.  It wasn't like he hadn't given them huge amounts of easy material to work with.  He did write a story for Playboy called "Pornorama" after all.

Once he got into the Senate by winning the closest election in Senate history, he started working to prove that he was there work and not be a clown.  What do Senators do every day?  He discusses in detail how bills are made into laws; what compromises to do you have to make to get things done?  He talks about working with people you totally disagree with in order to get laws passed.  He tells what it is like to grill people you like personally but don't want to get a cabinet position (Jeff Sessions).  And there is a whole chapter on why everyone hates Ted Cruz.  He also discusses what needs to be done now in the age of Trump.

Franken lets out a little of the vitriol that he needs to keep inside during his day job.  There is more humor than he is allowed to show at work.  Apparently he is only allowed by his staff to speak freely in car between events.  I'd love to hear what actually happens in the car. 

Franken reads the audiobook himself so you can feel the ideas that he is passionate about and feel his anguish at having funny lines in his head that he isn't allowed to say. 

I'd recommend this book for anyone who wants to know what it is really like to be a Senator.  Now I'm watching the news and seeing the people who he spoke about in the book in a new light.
This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[Beth C.]

I knew of Al Franken due to his comedic background. Not much, mind you. I wasn't a huge follower of SNL. I have become much more aware of Senator Franken as I have watched him within the chaos that has followed the election of Trump - and have become quite impressed with his diligence, his intelligence, and how he quite often seems to make points that others fail to make. Then - I saw him talking about Ted Cruz with Samantha Bee, and frankly - while I was already sort of curious about his new book - that is what sold me. Anyone who can eviscerate that sodden lump of moldy towels deserves a chance. And happily, I got much more than I anticipated.

What pleased me most about this book was the information. Chock full of facts (uh...real ones) that made sense in context, all of them important, and many of them unknown to me. Not the sort of "facts" that would be used to justify pussy-grabbing, or criticizing women's bleeding bits...but the sort of facts that show we still have a long way to go as a country. The sort that show why people are important, and why Senator Franken continues to fight for the common good - when right now, it would be so easy to give up. Yes, there is some humor - my husband shook his head as I laughed out loud here and there. But it's not over the top, and it does a fair amount to showcase the craziness that we call politics.

I'm not from Minnesota, nor have I ever been there. But I can't help but think that those people got it right in electing - then re-electing - Senator Franken. Someone in this day and age who makes an effort to reach across the aisle, to realize that his opponents are still people (except Ted Cruz - he doesn't count), and to still believe that it's worth fighting the good fight? It's a wonderful thing.