Leon Panetta has had two of the most significant public service careers in the United States in the last fifty years. His first career, which began as an army intelligence officer and concluded in his revolutionary role as Clinton's budget czar and White House chief of staff, lasted 35 years and included a long term as one of Congress's most prominent and respected members. After that, he 'retired' to form the Panetta Institute with his fifty-year-old wife, Sylvia, to serve on the Iraq Study Group, and to safeguard his beloved California coastline.
But, in 2009, he accepted what many considered a thankless job: returning to public office as the director of the CIA, bringing the agency out of disarray following the Bush-era torture debates and repositioning it at the heart of America's war on Al Qaeda, including the campaign that resulted in the assassination of Osama bin Laden. After bin Laden's murder, Panetta became the United States secretary of defense, inheriting two challenging conflicts during a period of austerity and difficult choices.
Panetta's ideals are reflected in Worthy Fights, just as they are in his career. It's full of the genuine, grounded, and frequently amusing character of a man who never forgot his roots: his family's walnut farm inCarmel Valley, California. It's also a tribute to a bygone era of political leadership, one that prioritizes development and patriotism before partisanship. Panetta is a Democrat who worked for balanced budgets while also boosting care for the elderly and sick; a devout Catholic who opposes the death penalty yet had to consider the morality of every drone strike from 2009 to 2011.
Panetta's guiding principle has been his notion that a public servant's true choice is between leadership and crisis. Troubles usually arise through no fault of one's own, but with courage and foresight, the majority of them can be avoided.
In Worthy Fights, Panetta calls them as he sees them, as he usually does. The book is an epic American success story, a magnificent political biography, and a revelatory glimpse into many of the great individuals and events of our time, infused with its author's decency and obstinate common sense.
Leon Panetta's book was published on October 7th, 2014 by Penguin Press.
