The Education of a Senator From JFK to Trump

A US senator who started in JFK’s Justice Department, worked in the Nixon White House, turned down serving as GOP Watergate counsel and as Ford’s campaign manager, walked for six months across Tennessee to become governor, lost two runs for president, and served as a university president and education secretary before winning three senate terms—Lamar Alexander answers that question with a resounding, “Yes.”
Over nearly six decades, Alexander saw the public arena from as many angles as any living American. With wry humor and wisdom, he reminds us that Americans have asked this question in times more troubling than today—through wars, economic panics, pandemics, and social upheaval.
Alexander paints insider portraits of the ten presidents he worked with—including the one best suited to the job, the most skillful politician, most accomplished in foreign affairs, most “normal,” and another who was on his way to being the most consequential.
His book is for Americans hungry for optimism and leadership. It will inspire anyone who wants to serve in public office but doesn’t know how to start. It is a blueprint for those who want to join the 519,682 Americans already elected to office and the millions who work with them.

Lamar Alexander has long been known as one of America’s most principled and effective statesmen. As US Senator, Alexander shepherded major laws that today govern K–12 education, medical innovation, and maintenance of our national parks. Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “For eighteen years, there was Lamar Alexander, and there was the rest of us. He was hands-down one of the most brilliant, most thoughtful, and most effective legislators any of us have ever seen.” As governor, Alexander brought the auto industry to Tennessee and made it the first state to pay teachers more for teaching well. He was chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, the nation’s governors, and of President Reagan’s “Commission on Americans Outdoors.” He served as US Education Secretary and as a university president.
Alexander was also known for campaigning in a plaid shirt and performing on the piano with twenty-seven symphonies and on the Grand Ol’ Opry. He graduated from Vanderbilt University and New York University Law School. He and his late wife Honey were married for fifty-four years, had four children and nine grandchildren. His parents were teachers. A seventh generation Tennessean, Alexander lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains near Maryville where he grew up. This is his tenth book, all written by the author himself.

This event is part of our TN Writers | TN Stories series. Readings and discussions take place in the Digital Learning Center at the Tennessee State Museum. All events include an opportunity to purchase books through the Museum store and get them signed by the author. If you show your Eventbrite ticket you will receive a 10% discount on your book purchase in the Museum Store.

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