A powerful and deftly written memoir by New Jersey Senator Cory Booker chronicles his days as a youngster in an upscale New Jersey community to one of the nation’s most powerful and visible politicos. The book is entitled, United and will be released nationally on Tuesday.
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Booker, 46, served as mayor of Newark–New Jersey’s biggest and most ethnically diverse city between 2006 and 2013. He rose to national prominence during his tenure as leader of the ?Brick City? and became a social media darling garnering more than 1 million Twitter followers and high profile celebrity friends, including Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.? Booker is currently the junior senator in the Garden State.
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The book, published by Ballantine Bantam Dell?an imprint of Penguin/Random House Publishers in New York, tells the story of the socially savvy, Yale educated lawyer and celebrity hob nobber.? Booker, a long time advocate of small business and entrepreneurship, is credited with implementing strategies to bringing state-of-the-art high tech equipment to the Brick City during his tenure; offering tax incentives to businesses that set up shop in Newark and employ disenfranchised workers; and offering grants to small business owners to refurbish their properties.
Booker inherited the reins of running the city of Newark following the scandal-scarred administration of disgraced long time ex-mayor Sharpe James. Booker was, eventually, elected to the Senate in 2014 following the passing of longtime politico Frank Lautenberg.
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In his new memoir, Booker shares his experiences from 7 years as leader of the Brick City, including living in a dilapidated housing tenement in Newark to call attention to the problem of inadequate housing in Newark; details regarding the highly publicized Newark schoolyard murders in 2007; the $100 million donation from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg; and frequent clashes with an uncompromising and combative city council.
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The book, which was originally slated to be released in January, has already generated publicity prior to its official release due to the current race for the 2016 White House. Booker has already been mentioned by some political pundits circles as a possible running mate for predicted Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton?a notion Booker neither supports or dismisses. When asked regarding the possibility of being a running mate for Clinton during a recent campaign stop in Iowa, Booker said, ?I’m focused 100 percent on being the senator from New Jersey.?? To view an excerpt of United visit Booker’s web site.
