Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders

A trusted Sander’s aide, the author presents this behind-the-scenes chronicle of Sanders’s meteoric 2020 campaign for president, revealing the man behind the enigmatic progressive icon and showing the making of a rare politician motivated by principle, not power. Illustrations.
"An intimate account of Bernie Sanders as we have never seen him before, finally revealing the man behind the enigmatic progressive icon. Bernie Sanders is one of the most influential figures of our time, a politician who inspires fervent love and, even among his enemies, a measure of grudging respect--yet we know comparatively little about this famously private left-wing firebrand. Now, Ari Rabin-Havt, a trusted Sanders aide, is able to take us where no press features or televised interviews have been able to go. The Fighting Soul is a behind-the-scenes chronicle of Sanders's meteoric 2020 campaign for president--from the first campaign meeting in Rabin-Havt's living room to Sanders's heart attack and the end of the campaign as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world--that deepens into an unforgettable portrait of Sanders: the history that drives his deep ideological commitments to the working class, his views of his young supporters, his sense of humor, which few outside his immediate circle everwitness, and the role his wife, Jane, plays in his success. In the tradition of What It Takes and other exuberant works of American political writing, The Fighting Soul shows the making of the rare politician motivated by principle, not power"--
An unparalleled and intimate account of Bernie Sanders from one of his most trusted confidants.
Bernie Sanders inspires fervent love and, even among his enemies, a measure of grudging respect—yet, curiously, we know little about who the man really is, with Sanders deliberately keeping the focus on his policies.The Fighting SoulThe Fighting SoulSanders’s second bid for the presidency began in Rabin-Havt’s apartment in Washington DC in January 2018. From there, Rabin-Havt offers a behind-the-scenes account of Sanders’s run, including his heart attack in Las Vegas, his notorious debate encounter with fellow-progressive Elizabeth Warren, and a momentous conversation between Sanders and Barack Obama that has never been reported before. At every step, Rabin-Havt shows us Bernie Sanders when the cameras turn off: his dry sense of humor; his views of his young supporters; the pivotal role his wife, Jane, plays in every decision he makes; and more. Delving into Sanders’s life and career, with moving glimpses of his childhood in Brooklyn and first forays into politics in Burlington, Rabin-Havt discloses that Sanders is shocked by his ascent: “Ari, my parents would tell me I was crazy if I told them I would become a senator, much less could become president of the United States.”The Fighting Soul