Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption

Written by Jules Witcover

Narrated by Jason Culp

Newly updated, the definitive biography of the forty-seventh Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, which examines the fascinating life of a man who has shaped Washington politics for more than four decades, including his years in the Obama White House.

Raised in the working-class towns of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, and with lackluster grades in school and no particular goals, Joe Biden shocked the nation in 1972 when he became one of the youngest elected senators in U.S. history. Over the course of four decades, he carved a legacy for himself as one of the most respected legislators in the country, and was a close friend and partner to President Barack Obama, who valued his vice president’s vast experience in domestic and foreign affairs.

Yet Biden's political success has been matched by personal tragedy and countless challenges. Within two months of being elected in 1972, Biden lost his wife, Neilia, and his young daughter in a tragic accident—a loss that brought him to the nadir of despair and shook his resolve to stay in politics. He suffered two brain aneurysms and career-threatening gaffes and miscues. In 2015, he lost his eldest son, Beau, to brain cancer. Now, Biden is back in the spotlight as the frontrunner in a crowded Democratic field challenging Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Based on exhaustive research by one of Washington's most prolific journalists, including numerous exclusive interviews with Biden's confidants and family members, as well as President Obama and the former vice president himself, Joe Biden goes beyond conventional biography to track the forces that have shaped a man who, with his plainspoken style and inspiring life story, has resonated with millions of Americans and whose work has shaped modern American life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Sep 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062986498

Jules Witcover

Jules Witcover has been writing from Washington on politics and history since 1954, first for the Newhouse Newspapers, then the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Star and Baltimore Sun, and his column is syndicated by the [Chicago] Tribune Company. His twenty books include 85 Days: The Last Campaign of Robert Kennedy, The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power, The Resurrection of Richard Nixon, The Year the Dream Died: Revisitng 1968 in America, accounts of the presidential elections from 1976 through 1992, and biographies of Vice Presidents Spiro Agnew and Joe Biden. 

Reviews for Joe Biden

[dawn1361 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

“Joe Biden A Life of Trial and Redemption” by Jules Witcover is a walk through the life of Biden drawing heavily upon the lens of Biden’s own perspective in shaping his political encounters. Biden’s lengthy public service story has its place in our understanding of this man and the life events that impacted him. Biden’s frequent gaffes are borne from his down to earth manner. Usually harmless. Usually explained. Perhaps out of context. But Biden is aware of the power of words. German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt once remarked to the young senator, “You don’t understand, Everytime America sneezes, Europe catches a cold. I think presidents have to understand that words matter.” What a profound statement from years ago that speaks to today’s current political climate. While the book is weighed down with lengthy congressional manuveriings, it is an easily digestible primer into a governmental window and worth the slog. While an exchange between Biden and Mike Mansfield occurred early in his career, the words delivered may have solidified the Biden character: “...never question anyone’s motives, because you can always find good in ‘those who are willing to look for good in the other....’ This approach allowed me to develop friendships I would never have expected to occur.” Refreshing. I received my copy of this book through LibraryThing’s early reviewer program.

[powderfinger69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An old-school political biography by an old-school journalist. I miss the days when I could read about major political figures without having to know on which network(s) the author does and does not offer scathing "analysis". This book was a breath of fresh air. Of course, much of the material had been written years ago, but I learning the backstory of our political leaders. It helps me understand better their actions.

[Keith James · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Wjho are these people kidding? Only after years of drugging people out of their minds would they have been able to pull this joke, a braindead puppet who gets the questions beforehand from the media and reads the answers, a disgusting creepy career politician who didn’t work a day in his life! Are people braindead too? Of course they are, too many years of doctors diagnosing everybody with depressions, anxieties and panic attacks in order to drug them out of their minds. Drop the pills and WAKE UP!

[mrmapcase · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a well-researched bio about our 47th vice-president. The author goes into great detail about all aspects of his life, from his childhood to college, to his days as a senator, to his stint as vice-president, and beyond.Free review copy.

[sophroniaborgia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is mostly a reprint of Jules Witcover's 2010 biography of Joe Biden, with a short chapter added to cover Biden entering the presidential race in 2018. Witcover has concentrated mostly on telling Biden's personal story, which is admittedly moving and powerful. But there is also a lot of information about Biden's rise through the politics of Delaware and years in the Senate, culminating in his vice presidency. The book is very well-researched, with plenty of cites to interviews and quotes, and Witcover tells his story well. The only problem I had is that even as I was reading the book events were overtaking the story! I would really like to have more material added to this book someday to cover the Trump impeachment and Biden's success in the recent Democratic primaries. Presumably there will be a lot more people wanting to find out about Biden in the next few months, and this is a readable, well-sourced summary of Biden's personal and political journey.

[elliot1822 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Joe Biden the man is what you see. A family man, ordinary shot and a beer man. He's got a strong sense of right and high moral values for all peoples. He'll fight for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, free tuition at public colleges, realistic job training, affordable child care, equal pay for women, strengthening the Affordable Care Act and putting monies into our crumbling infrastructure. Will I vote for him, well that's my business. Yet if you see hope and goof=d in a human being by looking into one's eyes and heart then read Joe Biden by Jules Witcover.Would all that and his stronger connection to working-class Americans have combined to derail the Trump juggernaut?That will always be one of the unanswerable mysteries of American politics.

[johnclaydon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jules Witcover has been a great political writer for many decades and in general I highly recommend his books. This one is a useful basic political biography, covering through 2008. It is a reissue of the 2010 edition, updated only by the addition of a short epilogue.

[chgstrom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This biography Has a lot of information on Biden’s early career that I didn’t know. It talks about both his strengths and his weaknesses, although at times, it seems the author is making excuses for his weaknesses or writing them off. It did give me good background on helping me decide whether to vote for him or not.

[nancyadair-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jules Witcover's biography Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption has been updated and rereleased. Reading this book helped me to understand Biden's career, his consistent strengths and weaknesses, and his deeply held values. I found the biography to be interesting, informative, accessible, and enjoyable.Witcover gives us details of Joe's legislative career, illustrating his long-held views. I was thoroughly engaged while experiencing many 'ah-ha' moments of clarity on issues currently being discussed, such as his view on busing which came up in an early Democratic primary debate.Biden's ability to connect with people, coupled with his winning smile, his accessibility in a small state, made him Delaware's "Joe." Readers learn that Delaware is such a small state that politicians can't afford to not get along, a quality Joe brought into national politics. Joe also was unafraid to stand up against his own party's stance, such as busing. It was also very interesting to learn about Joe's leadership in vetting supreme court justices. The book is detailed and yet so interesting and relevant. Also, Joe's experience in foreign affairs is very revealing and relevant. As a family man, Joe offers much to recommend as a role model. The 'life of trial,' as many know, includes the early loss of his wife and child and the more recent loss of his son Beau. Joe's commitment to his family took precedence over becoming a Washington insider, as his daily commute from Washington D.C. to Delaware isolated him from other congressmen. Witcover doesn't shy away from exploring Joe's 'fatal flaws' which have labeled him. For instance, the charge that Joe talks too much is explored while also affirming that Joe really knows what he is talking about. Although a lackluster student, Joe is an avid reader and lifelong learner, which with his years of experience, makes him an authority.Previously, I had read Joe's profoundly moving and inspirational book Promise Me, Dad and The Book of Joe. I had also read about how Joe and Beau Biden supported Sarah McBride in her memoir Tomorrow Will Be Different.I won a free book from the publisher through LibraryThing. My review is fair and unbiased.