Promises To Keep (Biden Book)
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'' Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics '' is a memoir by then-senator Joe Biden, (later the 46th president of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
) first published by
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on July 31, 2007. A paperback version was published on August 28, 2008. It was published in the run-up to his 2008 presidential campaign.


Contents

Biden begins by recounting his life growing up in a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
family in
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and later
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
. He details the 1972 car accident that killed his wife Neilia and their one-year-old daughter Naomi, and the struggles he faced in its aftermath. He then writes about the second chance he was given upon meeting Jill Jacobs in 1975, as he began his career representing Delaware in the U.S. Senate. The book also explores his beleaguered 1988 presidential campaign, during which he suffered from two brain aneurysms, and the physical and political recovery he later made. Parts of the text describing Biden's early childhood are drawn
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from the 1992 book '' What It Takes: The Way to the White House''.


Cultural reference

The title of the book was inspired by
Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...
's 1922 poem "
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem by Robert Frost, written in 1922, and published in 1923 in his ''New Hampshire'' volume. Imagery, personification, and repetition are prominent in the work. In a letter to Louis Untermeyer, Frost ...
."


Reception

''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' praised the book saying "Biden is a master storyteller and has stories worth telling." Likewise, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called it "a compelling personal story", while ''
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'' commended Biden's response to tragedy as "both admirable and likable".


References


External links


Biden speaking about the book
at the
National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
(August 1, 2007) 2007 non-fiction books 2008 non-fiction books American political books Books by Joe Biden English-language books Random House books American memoirs Books written by presidents of the United States {{US-poli-book-stub