Nancy Unger
Author of "Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer"
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Press Book
Fighting Son
A Biography of Philip F. La Follette
Jonathan Kasparek
An insightful biography of the son of a major political figure who continued the charge of the La Follette progressive legacy and left his own lasting impact on Wisconsin political life.
352 pages, 6 x 9, 40 b&w photos
Paperback: $22.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-353-4
Ebook: $15.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-530-9
Publication Date: 8/20/2006
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Description
Philip F. La Follette’s political journey was incontrovertibly marked by the legacy of his father, “Fighting Bob” La Follette. Like his father, Phil was fiery, confrontational, and unwavering. His efforts led to the passage of the country’s first unemployment compensation act, aid programs for workers and farmers, and the reorganization of state government. His controversial effort to forge an alternative course of action to FDR’s New Deal was at once his greatest contribution to American politics and his greatest failure. Phil’s is a history of continuing progressivism, of innovative solutions to social problems, and of loyalty to a political ethos that goes far beyond love of country.
In Fighting Son, Jonathan Kasparek traces Philip La Follette’s path from childhood through three terms as Wisconsin governor, active duty in the Pacific, return to law practice, and the end of the Progressive era. His treatment of this Fighting Son is a monument not only to La Follette but to progressive politics in Wisconsin.
Author Bios
Jonathan Kasparek
Jonathan Kasparek is a history professor at the University of Wisconsin–Waukesha and the author of several books and articles on Wisconsin history, including the award-winning Fighting Son: A Biography of Philip F. La Follette and Proxmire: Bulldog of the Senate. He lives in Waukesha.
This lively and nuanced political biography . . . will attract attention far beyond Wisconsin as it explores the strengths and limits of the progressive tradition and the value of innovative leadership. The questions it raises about the most effective ways to combat economic and social injustice offer valuable insight into our own time as well as the past.
“La Follette is not merely a piece of Wisconsin history—he’s a model of what’s needed in American politics today. He didn’t glibly love his country, he fought to implement the values of our country, to bring the great egalitarian idea of America into being in the life of each person. This was his progressive mission, and it must be ours today.”
—Jim Hightower, bestselling author, nationally syndicated columnist, and radio commentator
“Breathes flesh and blood in the life and times of our state’s twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth governor. . . . Anyone interested in the La Follette–Progressive movement in Wisconsin’s history must read this book.”
—The Honorable Lee Sherman Dreyfus, former Wisconsin governor
“Readers who are serious students of the conditions, issues, and political relationships among Wisconsin’s movers and shakers during the 1930s should consider this book a must.”
—The Honorable Patrick J. Lucey, former Wisconsin governor
“Fighting Son . . . will rank with the most important of books on Wisconsin political history.”
—Dave Zweifel, editor, The Capital Times
Fighting Son
A Biography of Philip F. La Follette
Jonathan Kasparek
352 pages, 6 x 9, 40 b&w photos
To purchase a copy, follow the links below or visit your favorite bookseller.
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