My Review

This is a short book, largely reflections Bernie had during his 2025 speaking tour around the country. His focus is on Oligarchy, what it is and why the United States has become one, and what he thinks should be done about it.

I liked that Bernie speaks directly. He makes his positions clear, defends them with data, and makes suggestions for how to move forward. In this case, how to combat Oligarchic tendencies in the US and empower democratic processes.

It’s a short book and if you had heard any of Bernie’s speeches or podcast engagements in the last year you will have been exposed to about half of the book already, maybe more.

The other half you won’t hear from his speeches are his personal reflections, quotes that stand out to him, his own hopes and desires, and while this content is brief, I enjoyed it.

While it can be argued this book is a bit derivative, I like it because reading his thoughts gave me time and space to process them in a way hearing those same ideas in a speech doesn’t.

It will take you only about 8 hours to read this book, and you may leave with a more accurate picture of Bernie the person, and the problems facing the US today.

I gave it 3 stars because it’s short. I would have liked a longer exposition of Bernie’s ideas and his own personal thoughts, but it was a good read nonetheless.