The Restless Wave; Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations

New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018. First Simon & Schuster Hardcover Edition [stated]. Second printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Brian Snyder (author photograph). [12], 402, [2] pages. Index. John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 - August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. While on a bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder over Hanoi in October 1967, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. McCain was a prisoner of war until 1973. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama. In 1982, McCain was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served two terms. Four years later, he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served six terms. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain also gained a reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to break from his party on certain issues, including LGBT rights, gun regulations, and campaign finance reform where his stances were more moderate than those of the party's base. He was also known for his work in the 1990s to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam. McCain belonged to the bipartisan "Gang of 14", which played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations. He refused to support then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the 2016 election and later became a vocal critic of the Trump administration. After being diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2017, he reduced his role in the Senate to focus on treatment. In this candid new political memoir from Senator John McCain, an American hero reflects on his life, and what matters most. I don't know how much longer I'll be here. Maybe I'll have another five years. Maybe, with the advances in oncology, they'll find new treatments for my cancer that will extend my life. Maybe I'll be gone before you read this. My predicament is, well, rather unpredictable. But I'm prepared for either contingency, or at least I'm getting prepared. I have some things I'd like to take care of first, some work that needs finishing, and some people I need to see. And I want to talk to my fellow Americans a little more if I may. So writes John McCain in this inspiring, moving, frank, and deeply personal memoir. Written while confronting a mortal illness, McCain looks back with appreciation on his years in the Senate, his historic 2008 campaign for the presidency against Barack Obama, and his crusades on behalf of democracy and human rights in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Always the fighter, McCain attacks the spurious nationalism and political polarization afflicting American policy. He makes an impassioned case for democratic internationalism and bi-partisanship. He tells stories of his most satisfying moments of public service, including his work with another giant of the Senate, Edward M. Kennedy. Senator McCain recalls his disagreements with several presidents, and minces no words in his objections to some of President Trump's statements and policies. At the same time, he offers a positive vision of America that looks beyond the Trump presidency. The Restless Wave is John McCain at his best. The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations is a 2018 book by American politician John McCain and his frequent collaborator and former staff member Mark Salter. It is a personal memoir looking at McCain's last ten years or so in the Senate, and his 2008 campaign for the presidency against Barack Obama. As such it is the final volume of an autobiographical trilogy that also comprises Faith of My Fathers (1999) and Worth the Fighting For (2002). It also covers his work on behalf of democracy and human rights in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The work's title comes from the second line of the naval hymn "Eternal Father, Strong to Save", reflecting McCain's career as a naval aviator. It contains 10 chapters including Arab Spring and Regular order.