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569 reviews for:
Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
Pete Buttigieg
4.14 AVERAGE
569 reviews for:
Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future
Pete Buttigieg
4.14 AVERAGE
Interesting memoir dealing with Buttigieg's call to service and how he became mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the struggles and successes he had in office. Mayor Pete's a smart guy but this was written in a very conversational tone and won't be above the head of the average reader.
This provided an interesting look into his love for analytics and action based on them. I can definitely see him going farther politically than his current role as the Secretary of Transportation.
This provided an interesting look into his love for analytics and action based on them. I can definitely see him going farther politically than his current role as the Secretary of Transportation.
I listened to the audiobook. Mayor Pete is very eloquent. It was a refreshing political read. You can tell he actually cares about doing the most good he can.
I really enjoyed this memoir, and it's a fantastic introduction to Pete Buttigieg if you are interested in his presidential campaign. My relatively low rating is because it's a bit too much of an introduction to Mayor Pete and not enough of a "model for America's future." His biography is fascinating and his resume is quite impressive, but I felt like some things were missing. I would have liked more of a focus on the challenges South Bend has faced and any innovative methods he's used to address those. I also hoped for more of a vision of how to apply the lessons he's learned from his experience governing South Bend to other parts of the country. Furthermore, I felt that Mayor Pete was very cautious about revealing anything too vulnerable, which makes for a less compelling memoir. He does have a chapter about being gay, which he safely tucks away at the end of the book, barely alluding to his sexual orientation prior to that. He says very little about his experience in the closet. He discusses the story of his marriage to Chasten, but in a way that feels a little too picture-perfect. I certainly understand why a presidential candidate would exercise caution on this topic, but his caution makes for a less impactful and inspirational book.
All that being said, Buttigieg does have a lot of great insights, and I would still recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the 2020 election (i.e. most people).
All that being said, Buttigieg does have a lot of great insights, and I would still recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the 2020 election (i.e. most people).
This book showed such a raw and refreshing look at a presidential candidate. So often, we see these candidates as super human. We put them on a pedestal and don’t see them as real people. But Pete’s mortgage is about $500. He was the mayor of the town he grew up in. Chasten was a partner at Starbucks and waited tables in college.
On a literary note, this book was so descriptive. I could tell the thought and care that he put into this book. He has a passion for this town and for his country as a whole. Such a good read and I highly recommend it!
On a literary note, this book was so descriptive. I could tell the thought and care that he put into this book. He has a passion for this town and for his country as a whole. Such a good read and I highly recommend it!
This was so good! I loved learning more about him, and now I can actually pronounce his name correctly, instead of wondering how to
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
I won a copy of this book from Goodreads Giveaways.
I enjoyed this memoir, and it's well-written. Buttigieg is thoughtful and articulate, and I'm amazed by what he has accomplished in his relatively young life. I was reading this with an eye on his campaign for president, and so some of this feels a little bit calculated from that end, but all in all it's interesting and insightful.
I enjoyed this memoir, and it's well-written. Buttigieg is thoughtful and articulate, and I'm amazed by what he has accomplished in his relatively young life. I was reading this with an eye on his campaign for president, and so some of this feels a little bit calculated from that end, but all in all it's interesting and insightful.
While watching the Democratic Presidential Candidates debates in 2020, I was taken by this young, intelligent, insightful speaker. Well-trained in the art (and rules) of debate, his responses addressed each point and were punctuated with evidence and personal experience. That young candidate was Pete Buttigieg. I didn’t know much more about him then than I’d heard on TV and read online. I figured, someday, he’ll run for president again, and I’d like to know who I’m listening to.
Shortest Way Home did not disappoint. Reading Pete Buttigieg is much like listening to him; he is gifted in the use of his own voice. He weaves a story that is both comfortable and surprising - like taking a walk through your old neighborhood and suddenly wishing you had done more than just wave at boy next door. His perspective and ideas, influenced by those who came before and fashioned through education, outreach, and experience, are refreshing. His determination to revitalize his beloved South Bend is inspiring. His desire to apply his ideas on a national scale, even more so. Harvard grad, Rhodes scholar, war veteran, mayor, Democratic presidential candidate - that Buttigieg has accomplished all that he has in such a short period of time is impressive.
Shortest Way Home was, indeed, an enjoyable and enlightening read, written by someone who is so much more than “just a mayor.”
Shortest Way Home did not disappoint. Reading Pete Buttigieg is much like listening to him; he is gifted in the use of his own voice. He weaves a story that is both comfortable and surprising - like taking a walk through your old neighborhood and suddenly wishing you had done more than just wave at boy next door. His perspective and ideas, influenced by those who came before and fashioned through education, outreach, and experience, are refreshing. His determination to revitalize his beloved South Bend is inspiring. His desire to apply his ideas on a national scale, even more so. Harvard grad, Rhodes scholar, war veteran, mayor, Democratic presidential candidate - that Buttigieg has accomplished all that he has in such a short period of time is impressive.
Shortest Way Home was, indeed, an enjoyable and enlightening read, written by someone who is so much more than “just a mayor.”
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
Very simply, I have found this man to be kind, brilliant, thoughtful and strong in so many ways we do not see in those who govern. Win or lose, if this is our future grab your shades, baby. It looks bright.