From Hope to Higher Ground

January 1, 2007
One of the longest-serving governors in the nation, Huckabee offers an optimistic outlook on the state of the nation. This is no Pollyanna view; Huckabee is candid about the nation's problems; as governor of Arkansas, he had a front seat from which to observe Hurricane Katrina and the disastrous recovery efforts. Part 1 of his book is a description of his small-town origins and the kinds of civic and church involvement and activities that bind communities. The second part of the book lists 12 action steps to avoid cynicism, the nation's number-one problem. Among his recommendations: don't believe bad reports without documentation, listen to more music and less talk radio, do volunteer work, and have regular conversations with people of other ethnic, religious, or political backgrounds. Republican Huckabee is from Hope, the same small town that produced former president Clinton. That fact and Huckabee's homespun prescriptions for curing the nation's ills will surely raise questions about his future political ambitions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)