About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherFlatiron Books

ISBN-101250852455

ISBN-139781250852458

eBay Product ID (ePID)17057254728

Product Key Features

Book TitleWe've Got to Try : How the Fight for Voting Rights Makes Everything Else Possible

Number of Pages224 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2022

TopicCivil Rights, American Government / General, Political Ideologies / Democracy, American Government / National

IllustratorYes

GenrePolitical Science

AuthorBeto O'rourke

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.9 in

Item Weight14.1 Oz

Item Length9.6 in

Item Width6.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2022-023654

SynopsisActivist and political leader Beto O'Rourke blends history, sociology, and travelogue for a thrilling, inspiring case for how voting rights is essential to a productive and healthy democracy., The challenge we must accept is not only to go out and vote, but to make sure every eligible American can do the same. If our history has taught us anything, it is that democracy is never guaranteed. The fight is never fully won. And while progress is always possible, backsliding, suppression, and even violence are inevitable unless we consciously commit ourselves to the work before us. We are always becoming a democracy; it never ends. It can be exhausting, daunting, even brutal work. But compared to the alternative? We don't have a choice... We must embrace the challenges before us. Because our democracy, which makes everything that is essential to this country possible, is on the line. And while the outcome of the fight before us might be uncertain, we know one thing for sure. We've got to try. Book jacket., "Uplifting. . . . O'Rourke gets an A-plus on both the moral frisson of the long fight and the rightness of the cause. . . . The happy warrior from Texas is inspiring." --The Washington Post Activist and political leader Beto O'Rourke blends history, sociology, and travelogue for a thrilling, inspiring case for how voting rights is essential to a productive and healthy democracy. In We've Got To Try , O'Rourke shines a spotlight on the heroic life and work of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon and the west Texas town where he made his stand. The son of an enslaved man, Nixon grew up in the Confederate stronghold of Marshall, Texas before moving to El Paso, becoming a civil rights leader, and helping to win one of the most significant civil and voting rights victories in American history: the defeat of the all-white primary. His fight for the ballot spanned 20 years and twice took him to the U.S. Supreme Court. With heart, eloquence, and powerful storytelling, O'Rourke weaves together Nixon's story with those of other great Texans who changed the course of voting rights and improved America's democracy. While connecting voting rights and democracy to the major issues of our time, O'Rourke also shares what he saw, heard, and learned while on his own journey throughout the 254 counties of his home state. By telling the stories of those he met along the way and bringing us into the epicenter of the current fight against voter suppression, the former El Paso Congressman shows just how essential it is that the sacred right to vote is protected and that we each do our part to save our democracy for generations to come.

LC Classification NumberJK4890.O78 2022