“The definitive account of the senator’s career.” --The New Republic
Description
“The definitive account” (The New Republic) of one of the biggest stars in the Republican party and possible next Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio has been called “the Michael Jordan of Republican politics.” No one—not even his rivals in the Democratic Party—disagrees with the fact that Marco Rubio is going far in American politics.
Washington Post reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia tells the story of how Rubio rose so fast, and about the forces that have shaped him. It’s a classic American odyssey: his parents left Cuba for a better economic life in Miami a few years before Castro came to power; the father worked as a bartender, the mother as a maid and then a stock clerk at Kmart. The small but tough Rubio made the football team, became an expert on the Miami Dolphins, and raced to begin a political career minutes after graduating from law school. By 2010, he had become the youngest-ever and the first Hispanic Speaker of the Florida Statehouse.
As Mike Huckabee likes to say, “Rubio is our Barack Obama with substance.” Rubio has the endurance, smarts, and charisma to be a presence on the American political scene for years to come. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and documents, Roig-Franzia shows how Rubio cultivated a knack for apprenticing himself to the right mentor, learning the issues, and volunteering for tough political jobs that made him shine. The Rise of Marco Rubio is, “a rewarding read, giving valuable insight into this young man in a hurry” (The Daily Beast).
Reviews
"[The Rise of Marco Rubio] will be an indispensable Rubio guidebook for the amateur political junkie as well as the pundit cramming for a quick hit on cable. Roig-Franzia is relentlessly balanced and fair.” --Washington Post
“A rewarding read, giving valuable insight into this young man in a hurry.” --The Daily Beast
“As Florida bureau chief for The Washington Post, Mr. Roig-Franzia knows the Miami fishbowl and the Tallahassee toilet. He serves up very good political journalism, the type of fare our republic needs in the political diet.” --The Washington Times
