Every Day is Extra

New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018. First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition [stated]. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. ix, [7], 622, [2] pages. Illustrations (some in color). Author's Note. Index. John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat currently serving as the first U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the administration of Barack Obama and represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1985 to 2013. Kerry was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2004 election. From 1968 to 1969, during the Vietnam War, Kerry served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam. While commanding a Swift boat, he sustained three wounds in combat with the Viet Cong, for which he earned three Purple Heart Medals. Kerry was awarded the Silver Star Medal and the Bronze Star Medal for valorous conduct in separate military engagements. After completing his active military service, Kerry returned to the United States and became an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. At the end of the Obama administration in January 2017, Kerry remained active in public affairs from 2017 to 2021 as a vocal opponent of Obama's successor, President Donald Trump. Kerry returned to government in January 2021, becoming the first person to hold the new position of U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, under Joe Biden. An instant New York Times bestseller, John Kerry's revealing memoir offers "a detailed record of an important life...frank, thoughtful, and clearly written...A bittersweet reminder of what the country once demanded of its leaders" (The New York Times Book Review). Every Day Is Extra is John Kerry's candid personal story. A Yale graduate, Kerry enlisted in the US Navy in 1966, and served in Vietnam. He returned home highly decorated but disillusioned, and he testified powerfully before Congress as a young veteran opposed to the war. Kerry was elected to the Senate in 1984, eventually serving five terms. In 2004 he was the Democratic presidential nominee and came within one state—Ohio—of winning. He succeeded Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in 2013. In that position he tried to find peace in the Middle East; dealt with the Syrian civil war while combatting ISIS; and negotiated the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement. "In these pages Kerry shows remarkable honesty, depth, even spirituality...There is remarkable poignancy—not the usual currency of the career politician and the country's top diplomat" (The Boston Globe). A witness to some of the most important events of our recent history, Kerry tells wonderful stories about colleagues Ted Kennedy and John McCain, as well as President Obama and other major figures. He writes movingly of recovering his faith while in the Senate, and how he deplores the hyper-partisanship that has infected Washington. Every Day Is Extra "draws back the curtain on a life you thought you knew, but turns out to be a bit different...A surprisingly personal book" (The Washington Post) that shows Kerry for the dedicated, witty, and authentic man that he is and provides forceful testimony for the importance of diplomacy and American leadership to address the increasingly complex challenges of a more globalized world. John Kerry tells the story of his remarkable American life, from son of a diplomat to decorated Vietnam veteran, five-term United States senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and Secretary of State for four years' revealing memoir by a witness to some of the most important events of our recent history. Every Day Is Extra is John Kerry's candid personal story. A Yale graduate, Kerry enlisted in the US Navy in 1966, and served in Vietnam. He returned home highly decorated but disillusioned, and testified powerfully before Congress as a young veteran opposed to the war. Kerry served as a prosecutor in Massachusetts, then as lieutenant governor, and was elected to the Senate in 1984, eventually serving five terms. In 2004 he was the Democratic presidential nominee and came within one state, Ohio, of winning. Kerry returned to the Senate, chaired the important Foreign Relations Committee, and succeeded Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in 2013. In that position he tried to find peace in the Middle East; dealt with the Syrian civil war while combatting ISIS; and negotiated the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement. Every Day Is Extra is Kerry's passionate, insightful, sometimes funny, always moving account of his life.