Bob Dole
Harper
Paperback, May 2006
Four stars
If you ever want to do yourself a great favor, sit down with someone who lived through World War II, get them talking about their experiences, and listen. You will gain a new sense of perspective on life as your problems suddenly seem less significant and less insurmountable. I’ve done this many times when researching my books. It’s always an eye-opening experience to hear the uncertainties people lived through, the hardships they endured, the sacrifices they made.
That’s why I looked forward to reading Bob Dole’s memoir. We’re into an era when our national leaders are too young to have served in World War II, and that is a pity, because when we have the opportunity to learn from someone whose character was forged in those difficult times, we are in good hands.
In this fast-moving, engaging book, Dole recounts growing up poor but not without ambition, becoming an Army lieutenant and then suffering a near-fatal wound in Italy in the waning days of the war. After victory was won, Dole’s battle was just beginning, with years of uncertain recovery ahead of him. Multiple surgeries and grueling therapy got him back on his feet and walking, but could not restore his arms. At times his frail condition took a turn for the worse and he hovered near death. The love and support of family and friends helped him get through it.
In circumstances that would have compelled many to give up, Bob Dole kept going. After all, he reasoned, there were many people who were dealing with worse problems. This is something I’ve heard more than one of my veteran interviewees say — I tried not to complain because I knew there were other guys who had it worse — so I think we can consider it a characteristic of their generation. How different that attitude is from the way most of us approach our problems today.
Instead of focusing on the unfairness of things, Dole learned over time to appreciate what he still had and make the most of it. So the man whose injuries meant he couldn’t take notes went back to college — his first wife attended class with him and took notes for him. The man who couldn’t shake hands properly went into a line of work where handshakes are currency. The man who couldn’t walk as well as he used to walked from door to door to ask for people’s votes.
Dole was often portrayed in the media as hot-tempered and humorless during his presidential run, and it was only after his loss to Bill Clinton that most Americans began to get a glimpse of the man’s humility and sense of humor. Those qualities shine through in this book. Many memoirs are self-serving exercises, but Dole does not shy away from his own flaws. He tells, for example, the story of how he drove his fiance away by refusing for too long to let her visit him while he was in training camp. He candidly admits the reason: he let a good woman get away because he was too embarrassed to let her see his shaven head. By telling a story that is funny now, years later, but must have been devastating at the time, Dole shares with us the lesson he learned about pride. And that is the goal of this memoir: not to brag about what the subject has accomplished, but to share what he has learned along the way. I heartily recommend this book.