5619. Every Day Is Extra, by John Kerry (read 11 Apr 2019) This is an autobiography and tells well of the busy life of the author, who was a Senator from Massachusetts for 28 years, the Democratic nominee for President in 2004 (if 35,000 in Ohio had voted for him instead of for George W. Bush he would have been elected), and Secretary of State during President Obama's second term. He tells well of his whole life (including his time in Vietnam and I found the book consistently interesting--though maybe a little overly detailed in regard to some of his efforts while Secretary, such as the fruitless quest to effect a peace between Israel and the Palestinians. One has to admire the sturdy work he did , especially while Secretary of State. We are fortunate that he did such good work, even though the present President seeks to undo some of it. ( )

The former senator, presidential candidate and secretary of state has written a doorstopper, almost 600 pages long, but he has also led an extraordinary life. There were times early on when I contemplated putting this one down, but once Kerry started to talk about his time in Vietnam, he had me. He takes us through his service, his work with Vietnam Veterans Against the War and his entire political career. Kerry needed those 600 pages to tell his story and reveal something of himself. In fact, there are parts of his story he appropriately doesn't tell in detail, like the decline of his first marriage. He comes across as a very decent hard-working man dedicated to serving his country, similar to some of his friends like Joe Biden. I found his account of his 2004 presidential campaign very compelling but his descriptions of his efforts at diplomacy both as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as Secretary of State even more interesting. Kerry gives much credit to the career diplomats and foreign officials who worked with him on a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine problem, the JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) and the Paris Climate Accords. Some of his behind the scenes accounts of decision making in the Obama White House show the President as the careful, calm decision maker he always seemed and Kerry's account of the JCPOA negotiations complement's Wendy Sherman's very well. ( )