Too much of this book was the 30,000 foot view of the events of his life. I found myself wanting more details about the Oklahoma Corporation Commission scandal and his relationships with other political leaders. He couldn’t get into that, though, because he spent far too much time recounting his football glories (and struggles). I had no idea he had been a top-flight college QB, but I picked this up to find out about his character and his ideas, not his athletic exploits. That’s just me, though.

I did enjoy the sections about his experiences in the CFL, because it’s just familiar enough to be understandable, but foreign enough to stay interesting. The social differences between the US and Canada are very interesting, as well as some of the legal differences (CFL players are required to be members of the players association, even when the PA doesn’t help them out at all).

But the incident with the CFLPA, like so many other interesting and semi-interesting anecdotes, simply led to a “that’s why I believe in x” statement, that made me feel like I was reading a 275-page campaign pamphlet. But in the last chapter he really hits stride. He throws in his thoughts about racial politics (“It’s considered a given that Democrats, especially black Democrats, can’t be racists. But isn’t it racist to think that all blacks must have the same political philosophy?”), economic hope for poor communities (“When people own their own home or business, they have a personal stake in their neighborhood and community that makes all the difference…”), and political progress (made up of “more 4-yard than 40-yard gains. The important thing is to keep the ball moving in the right direction.”) It’s a shame the rest of the book weren’t more like these last 40 pages.

Overall I was a bit disappointed, but I’m glad to know more about the remarkable life the Congressman has led, and I hope to see him active again soon; perhaps as the second black president.