Book Review: ‘Promise Me, America,’ by Joe Biden

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PROMISE ME, AMERICA, by Joe Biden

Joe Biden wants you to know that he is proud of himself — and if his new memoir is any indication, he thinks everyone else should be proud of him, too. “Promise Me, America” begins with soaring declarations about the “long sweep of history” and the “fundamental goodness” of the United States, before turning into a minutely detailed account of his presidential accomplishments. The result reads like a mix of cover letter and campaign speech — one that’s more than 400 pages long.

It didn’t have to be this way. The post-presidential memoir is an uneven genre; to engage in sustained reflection requires some humility, a quality for which former presidents aren’t typically known. And Biden, who turns 84 this week, can legitimately lay claim to a raft of domestic policy feats at an extraordinarily difficult time. Pandemic relief, infrastructure, clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing: He understandably wants to chronicle the hard work behind these achievements, and more.

But enumerating the wins is easy. The true test of a book like this is whether its author will own his losses, too. Biden, for his part, does not. He is so preoccupied with burnishing his legacy that he gets awkward and defensive when addressing the two issues many readers will be most curious about: his handling of the war in Gaza, and his decision to run for a second term.

From the first chapter, “History Comes Knocking,” the book runs on two tracks: steady pragmatism and accelerating grandiosity. Biden takes pains to show how, as a 78-year-old commander in chief, he assembled a “great team,” and he is plenty willing to give credit where credit is due. He makes sure to name-check his staffers, dedicating entire paragraphs to simply listing the people who traveled with him or attended a meeting. Such compilations are generous, if narratively fatal. It’s hard to sustain momentum amid a blizzard of names.