Synopses & Reviews
In January 2003, Jennifer Granholm was sworn in as governor of Michiganthe eighth largest state in the nation and home to Americas auto industry. She swept into office on a campaign of hope and change, armed with youthful energy and optimism. Reality struck immediatelyin the form of an inherited fiscal crisis, an imploding auto industry, and unforeseen breakdowns from hospital systems and the electric grid to collapsing cities. Then the entire country was caught up in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Throughout her two terms as governor, Jennifer Granholm led Michigan through a slew of profound economic challenges including some of the largest bankruptcies in American history and eight straight years of gigantic budget deficits.
In A Governors Story, Jennifer Granholm and her husband, Dan Mulhern, provide a gripping first-hand account of a series of battles that erupted first in Michigan and swiftly spread across America: the battle for jobs in a global economy; the battle over budget deficits; the battle to rebuild a manufacturing base crippled by globalization, technological upheavals, and unfair foreign competition; and the battle to restore fairness to an economic system in which a few prosper while many suffer. In this candid account, they reveal what it took to start on the tough path to recovery in Michigan and provide a model of hope to businesses across the country. Filled with revelations from the front lines, A Governors Story illuminates whats happening not just in the industrial heartland but in states across the nation, through the perspective of a dynamic leader and public servant who found herself at the heart
Synopsis
In this national bestseller, the former two-term governor of Michigan--a state at the epicenter of the economic storms devastating middle-class lives throughout the US--offers a candid portrait of her tenure and the lessons learned, and points the way toward a new future.
Jennifer Granholm was the two-term governor of Michigan, a state synonymous with manufacturing during a financial crisis that threatened to put all America's major car companies into bankruptcy. The immediate and knock-on effects were catastrophic. Granholm's grand plans for education reform, economic revitalization, clean energy, and infrastructure development were blitzed by a perfect economic storm.
Granholm was a determined and undefeated governor, who enjoyed close access to the White House at critical moments, and is now tapped to run the Department of Energy under President Joe Biden. Ultimately, her story is a model of hope. She hauls Michigan towards unprecedented private-public partnerships, forged in the chaos of financial freefall, built on new technologies that promise to revolutionize not only the century-old auto industry but Michigan's entire manufacturing base. They offer the potential for a remarkable recovery not just for her state, but for American industry nationwide.
Synopsis
Jennifer Granholm was the two-term governor of Michigan, a state synonymous with manufacturing during a financial crisis that threatened to put all Americas major car companies into bankruptcy. The immediate and knock-on effects were catastrophic. Granholms grand plans for education reform, economic revitalization, clean energy, and infrastructure development were blitzed by a perfect economic storm.
Granholm was a determined and undefeated governor, who enjoyed close access to the White House at critical moments (Granholm stood in for Sarah Palin during Joe Bidens debate preparation), and her account offers a front row seat on the effects of the crisis. Ultimately, her story is a model of hope. She hauls Michigan towards unprecedented private-public partnerships, forged in the chaos of financial freefall, built on new technologies that promise to revolutionize not only the century-old auto industry but Michigans entire manufacturing base. They offer the potential for a remarkable recovery not just for her state, but for American industry nationwide.
About the Author
Jennifer Granholm was elected governor of Michigan in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. She was born in Vancouver, Canada, grew up in California, and is an honors graduate of both the University of California at Berkeley, where she now teaches in the law and public policy schools, and Harvard Law School. She is a senior advisor to the Pew Charitable Trusts Clean Energy Program, a contributor to Meet the Press, and a regular guest on other national news programs.
Dan Mulhern is an honors graduate of both Yale University and Harvard Law School, teaches at the business and law schools at the University of California at Berkeley, and is an advisor to the Families and Work Institute. He is an author, talk show host, public speaker, and expert in leadership development and the changing roles of men and women. He is married to Jennifer Granholm.