Trades and Book Reviewers Receive Highly Anticipated Political Memoir "Dispatches from the Eastern Front"

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) December 16, 2013

In an era of divisive party politics, with congressional approval ratings at an all-time low, Washington, D.C. may well seem the worst place to make a difference in this world.

But Gerald Warburg begs to differ.

Beginning December 16, 2013, trade reviewers from Booklist to Library Journal to The Chronicle of Higher Education will receive advanced reader copies of Warburg’s "Dispatches from the Eastern Front: A Political Education from the Nixon Years to the Age of Obama."

Warburg’s memoir chronicles his career, from reforming nuclear energy policy during the Carter Administration to traveling into the Soviet Union as a senior staffer for Senate Minority Whip Alan Cranston, to lobbying on K Street and, later, educating a new generation of public servants as professor and assistant dean of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.

“It’s a remarkable story,” says publisher Bruce Bortz, whose Bancroft Press will launch Dispatches on March 11, 2014, “but what’s most remarkable is Warburg’s message. This isn’t a tell-all. It’s not a screed against the powers that be in Washington. It’s the story of one man’s coming-of-age in the political arena, and an unflinchingly optimistic call to public service.”

It’s an approach that has drawn some rather remarkable early praise. John Casey, winner of the National Book Award for "Spartina," calls Warburg’s memoir “terrific,” describing it as “an engaging narrative for anyone who likes a good story, and a wonderfully practical book for politicians and public servants—or any young person considering a public service career.”

Adele Smith Simmons, the former president of the MacArthur Foundation, sees Dispatches as "a superbly written inside view of the modern Congress that makes clear the impact smart and committed policy entrepreneurs can have, from legislators to corporate lobbyists to NGO activists." Professor Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, calls it "required reading for students longing to change Washington."

And according to Pulitzer Prize-winner Douglas A. Blackmon, author of Slavery by Another Name, “Dispatches offers a heartfelt exploration of that inexplicable impulse that lures so many bright minds to the world of Washington politics and policymakers—from one who served long and well.”

This deep insight into decades of contemporary Washington politics would be worthy on its own, but for Bortz, it really is the call to service that stands out.

“President John F. Kennedy asked my generation “not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for our country,” says Bortz. “It has been a long time since that message has been delivered with such optimism, but that’s exactly what we see from Gerald Warburg.”

"Dispatches from the Eastern Front" will launch from Bancroft Press, an acclaimed independent trade publisher for more than 20 years.

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