The Bulger book was also very good, but somehow less profound. If books by governors are rare, books by state legislators are all but unknown. This is too bad. Bulger has some great stories. He's at his best when he's telling them about some of the characters of South Boston with names like "Knocko McCormack" and "The Good Robb," as well as less interestingly named Massachusetts politicians. Bulger's stories about campaigns and legislative battles are great, as are his accounts of a few vacations he took and clients he took on as a lawyer. The book has added punch because Bulger holds nothing back in describing various political opponents from four decades in politics. He seems to go to great length to name as many names as possible, and explain in as much detail about the shortcomings of the people with those names. If I knew who some of these characters were, the book would be more interesting still, but Bulger is descriptive enough to make his characters come to life.

He's at his worst when describing a few longer accounts about incidents towards which he is still very bitter including his fight against bussing in Boston and his defense against allegations of corruption. Here Bulger indulges in a level of thoroughness that seems more designed to construct an irrefutable argument than an interesting story. His sense humor, which is the book's strength elsewhere, is often absent here.

Another weakness is that Bulger basically only tells the story of one battle to pass a bill. While his stories about campaigns and scandals are interesting, they are not especially unique - but this is one of the only memoirs ever written by a state legislator, I would have liked to have read more about legislating.

I read the book very swiftly. I liked Bulger, though I get the sense that I would have frequently been at odds with him if I was active in Massachusetts politics during his time. On the whole, the book was very enjoyable and instructive on state politics.

Former Massachusetts State Senate President William Bulger's autobiography provides readers insights into the inner workings of his state's politics and into legislative affairs. In addition, it provides many personal insights into the rise of a man from a working class South Boston neighborhood to legislative leadership.
A primary lesson Senator Bulger wishes to convey is that politicians should be driven by their believe they can make a difference. They should continue at politics "while the music lasts" and they can still hear that music that lets them know they can create the changes for which they fight.
Mr. Bulger's advice to legislators is to learn facts and data when arguing the merits of their proposals. He believes good research is more valuable than good rhetoric. He recommends that legislators avoid creating divisions amongst their peers and to avoid choosing sides too soon when these divisions occur. For that reason, he followed a rule of avoiding discussing divisions with the media, whom he believes fuels these divisions. Senator Bulger was a practitioner of the art of compromise, although he states taht moral principle should always come first.
The book provides a good description of the two year fight Senator Bulger had in passing key child care legislation. Part of his struggle included withdrawing his name as sponsor in order to pick up votes to pass it. The book also provides the author's insights into the very heated school busing issue.
This book is a great resource for readers wishing to learn more about the legislative process, about Massachusetts politics, or the insights of a colorful politician from South Boston.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and felt the most important aspect of it was the succinct way in which Mr Bulger argued the case for the aversion that the various neighborhoods of Boston (particularly South Boston) had for forced busing. I have not lived in Boston for 7 years now but did whilst most of the problems with busing and its aftermath existed, and I found the book to be an important reminder of just how intimidating that period was for the average citizen. It was in the midst of a particularly oppressive recession, the end of the Vietnam war, Watergate.....generally a time in which trust in the government and America's place in the world, all appeared to be under threat. The imposition of forced busing brought this very feeling of society's unravelling right to our doorsteps. I think Mr Bulger's book served as a very important personal reminder to me of that time in our lives. I am proud of the fact that he was able to set the record straight, in favour of the good citizens of Boston who were unfairly treated by the courts and the media of the time. The anecdotes were great and were tied together favourably in a chronological order that made it easy to follow. It was a great book to read leisurely ( I read it while traveling over the course of two weeks)