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Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future

Pete Buttigieg

4.27 · Rating details · 8,358 ratings · 1,362 reviews

A mayor’s inspirational story of a Midwest city that has become nothing less than a blueprint for the future of American renewal.

Once described by the Washington Post as “the most interesting mayor you’ve never heard of,” Pete Buttigieg, the thirty-six-year-old Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has improbably emerged as one of the nation’s most visionary politicians. First el

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Kindle Edition, 347 pages

Published February 12th 2019 by Liveright

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Apr 30, 2019 Justin Tate rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

God, yes! A presidential candidate who went to Harvard for LITERATURE. There's even a chapter where he discusses the beauty of "linguistic rhythm."

*SWOON*

Oh yeah, he did some other things too, like fight for our country and turn a dying city around. But that's not nearly as important.

Being honest, after 2016 I mostly keep my head in the sand. I wander around, blissfully pretending that I don't live in a United States where a large enough population rejected the most qual ...more

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Apr 17, 2019 Larry H rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Where my reading is concerned, I mainly subsist on a diet of fiction (both mainstream and YA), thrillers, and rom-coms, with the occasional dash of sci-fi/fantasy. But every now and again I choose to sample a little nonfiction, usually in the form of memoirs, when someone that interests or fascinates me writes one.

I first heard of Pete Buttigieg when he ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee. I didn't know much about him other than that he had made real progress as the ma ...more

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Feb 17, 2019 Lena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019

This man makes me proud to have chosen to live (although begrudgingly at first) in the Midwest. This is not flyover country. It’s easy to be a Democrat and super liberal on a coast, it’s another thing to live your values in a place where not everyone feels the same way you do...and find you actually love when you can find something you agree on! Read. This. Book. This man should be president.

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Mar 22, 2019 Nick Pageant rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

I have all the thoughts and none of the words... I really enjoyed this book and truly admire this man. I'm honestly frightened by how inspired I am by him and how hopeful he makes me feel because I'm terrified to back someone who, for obvious reasons, might not be able to win the biggest race in our lifetimes... but, FUCK IT! I'm voting Mayor Pete and I hope you will too. End of totally unacceptable politically motivated review.

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May 07, 2019 Elyse (retired from reviewing/semi hiatus) Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Audiobook read by Pete Buttigieg

It rattles my brain realizing that Pete Buttigieg, 36 years of age, is a year ‘younger’ than our oldest daughter.
MAYOR PETE has a vision for America —and I like his vision!!!!

Pete wants to ensure that America’s future is better than its past.
That every American has the freedom to live a life of their own choosing.
Where racial justice is a reality and not a dream.
Where we put an end to endless war.
Where we’ve summoned the national will ...more

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Jun 16, 2019 Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, audio-book, non-fiction, autobiography, memoir, us-history

I am attempting to read books by the various presidential candidates for the 2020 election. The list is long and Buttigieg is one of them. Buttigieg tells the story of his life to date. He appears to be a very smart young man. He graduated from Harvard and was a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford. He is a Navy veteran. He is the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He studied government in school and he did a summer internship with Senator Teddy Kennedy. These two things do allow him some knowledge about the wor ...more

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Jul 11, 2019 Holly rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-read, audiobook, non-fiction

I initially contributed (a very small amount) to Buttigieg's political campaign, but unfortunately this book solidifies for me that he is not actually ready to be President. I haven't decided who I am voting for in the democratic primary, but it more than likely won't be him. Why? Many reasons, but here's the run down from what I discovered in this book:

- I'll start off with the stupidest reason first: he spends a whole chapter explaining how he goes on regular runs with two other guys and then describes in exc I initially contributed (a very small amount) to Buttigieg's political campaign, but unfortunately this book solidifies for me that he is not actually ready to be President. I haven't decided who I am voting for in the democratic primary, but it more than likely won't be him. Why? Many reasons, but here's the run down from what I discovered in this book:

- I'll start off with the stupidest reason first: he spends a whole chapter explaining how he goes on regular runs with two other guys and then describes in excruciating detail a pretend run through the city of South Bend. Did you know they have a geese problem in one area? I can tell you all about it, but I'll save you from the tedious boredom of it. This was obvious book filler and it really shows that he didn't have enough details/plans for the content that the book title suggests.

- He clearly suffers from White Man Overconfidence Syndrome. Take a look at his history of running for political offices in order of how they happened: Indiana State Treasurer (lost), South Bend Mayor (won twice), DNC Chair (lost), and now he is running for President of the United States. Because if a man who can't win a state-wide election or the election of his own political party structure shouldn't be President, who should? Um, pretty much anyone else who actually HAS won, that's who. Beto O'Rourke is another example of this attempt to 'lose forward'.

- His service seems more like a political calculation, not based out of a real desire to serve. I am not putting down his service, as his service is more than I have done (which is zero). I am just saying that the service he signed up for seemed specifically designed to be not long and yet at a high profile location. He signed up for the Navy Reserve and then specifically states that he ASKED to go to Afghanistan, where he served for seven months. Coming from a Harvard/Rhodes scholar who majored in politics and then went into politics, it makes me wonder about his motivations.

- He fixates on Mike Pence in this book, who coincidentally was also the recipient of his first (and only) major attack so far while running for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. On it's own, that's not surprising considering they are both from Indiana, except for one small thing: he's quick to bring up that there's a photo of him looking chummy with Pence and then proceeds to deliver a backstory about how he supposedly was actually trying to get him out of a rowdy bar area and into a likely less confrontational eating hall next door. To me, the inclusion of this description of this seemingly random moment and photo, that absolutely no one at the time it happened cared about, screams "I did opposition research on myself and I am trying to get ahead of this bad-looking photo because I plan to go after Pence during my Presidential run". Here's the photo (not included in the book, but I looked it up)

- He spends a lot of time talking about the same things he does on the the campaign trail now, so I won't repeat them. But what is perhaps more interesting is what he doesn't talk about. He doesn't talk about how his support from the African American community dropped in the election for his second term for mayor. He doesn't talk about how his firing of the first AA police chief might have lead to that. He doesn't talk about any actions he did specifically for the AA community except for his '1000 houses in 1000 days' campaign (to tear down or help owners repair derelict or abandoned houses throughout South Bend). Abandoned houses only suppresses the value of all the other homes nearby, a true problem, but random empty lots in established neighborhoods also don't help increase home values either. Where was the plan to help build or develop in these now blank spaces? Where was the outreach to that community beyond the code enforcement increases?

- I reject his whole premise that South Bend can be considered a microcosm of cities across the United States and his successes there can be used as a template to improve things across America. In flyover country where the mass exodus of manufacturing jobs have left towns decimated, sure! But living in a 'coastal elite' state (Florida - ha!), his city's issues are nothing like mine. We have no need for 'smart streets' (aka a way to purposely slow down car traffic in areas so that foot traffic businesses can flourish better; we have tons of tourism here), or 'smart sewers' (this is something about controlling water runoff for melting snow, which we don't have in Florida obviously) or have abandoned housing issues (we have lack of available low-income housing but tons of 400k+ housing being built and sold out all the time) or have unemployment issues (instead we have issues with people having more than one low-paying job in order to afford the aforementioned not-affordable-housing). There is no one-size-fits-all approach that can be used as a 'model' for America. He seems to have a solid grip on some of the issues in his area, but how can that apply as a model to areas quite different to his own? He doesn't really say.

If Buttigieg somehow wins the Democratic nomination, I would not hesitate to vote for him in the November 2020 election. He's intelligent, I think he's coming from a genuine place of wanting to improve things, and I think he's willing and able to learn in the areas he is weak on. But is he my first or even third choice? No. There's too many better qualified candidates in the race and this book did not sway me into viewing him as a stronger contender for the office. It actually did the opposite. ...more

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Feb 24, 2019 Ryan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

If anyone has any doubts of what kind of man and leader Mayor Buttigieg is, I think this book would quickly put those fears to rest. If he chooses to run, he will have my vote in the Kasas Democratic caucus.

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May 05, 2019 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: government, politics, nonfiction, family, america, memoir, autobiography

Since beginning Buttigieg's book, I have travelled across the country and spoken with lots of folks outside of my usual cabal. Nearly everyone I spoke with had heard of Buttigieg, current Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, running for President as a Democratic candidate. Only one of the people I spoke with mentioned his homosexuality as a reason for his possible failure to connect, and the same person was also skeptical about his age.

Buttigieg himself would remind voters that his age has been the th ...more

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Mar 26, 2019 Margaret rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Pete Buttigieg, who at the age of 37 is finishing up his second term as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is one of a huge number of Democrats running for president in 2020. Shortest Way Home is the book he wrote to introduce himself to America (a recent poll ranked him third after Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders). Well, what can I say? I like Pete. He’s smart, sane, steady, thoughtful, down to earth, and starting to catch on with American voters. What else can I say? He has chutzpah. Imagine running for p Pete Buttigieg, who at the age of 37 is finishing up his second term as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is one of a huge number of Democrats running for president in 2020. Shortest Way Home is the book he wrote to introduce himself to America (a recent poll ranked him third after Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders). Well, what can I say? I like Pete. He’s smart, sane, steady, thoughtful, down to earth, and starting to catch on with American voters. What else can I say? He has chutzpah. Imagine running for president as a 37 year-old gay (and married man) whose only political office has been mayor of South Bend, Indiana. And now he’s running for president! What a way to introduce yourself to the world.

Pete grew up in South Bend, the only child of two Notre Dame professors. He was an undergrad at Harvard and studied at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. Good things came his way by dint of his own hard work, sprinkled with a fair amount of luck. As a high school senior he entered an essay contest run by the John F. Kennedy Presidential library. Contestants were asked to write a modern profile in courage. His first choice was Carolyn McCarthy, the Connecticut woman whose husband was murdered on a commuter train in 1993, and who later became politically active in the gun control movement. She eventually ran for Congress, where she served for twenty-eight years. As it turned out, when Pete was nearly finished with his essay, he discovered the winner of the essay contest the previous year had written about McCarthy. He tore up his draft and changed his topic, choosing to write about Bernie Sanders, for being an independent who worked across the aisle to serve the needs of ordinary people. Yes, he won this contest in 1996 by writing about Bernie—you can’t make this stuff up. One lucky outcome of his victory is that he met several members of the Kennedy family at the ceremony at the Library in Boston. Senator Ted Kennedy, impressed by the young man, offered him an internship for the following year. Another good thing that came Pete’s way was his landing in a freshman seminar run by Professor Sacvan Bercovich, an esteemed English professor whose seminal book The American Jeremiad is familiar to most English Grad students. Bercovich took a liking to his young and eager student and hired him as one of his research assistants working on The Cambridge History of American Literature.

Pete was always interested in politics and hung around the Institute of Politics, where he got involved working for several campaigns. He majored in Harvard's History and Literature program. (This interest shows up in the epigraphs for each of the seven sections of his book. He uses quotations from Michael Collins, John Maynard Keynes, Hilary Mantel, Abraham Lincoln, and three quotations from James Joyce. One of those is the source of the title of this book.) In 1996 he worked on Gore’s campaign. He worked on the Kerry campaign after college and before his time at Oxford. After Oxford he took a job as a data consultant for McKinsey. He took time to work on Obama’s campaign. He ran for office twice more, losing elections for state treasurer (in 2010) and chair of the DNC (in 2017). He joined the naval reserve in 2009, serving on active duty in Afghanistan for seven months in 2014. He served in the Naval Reserve for eight years, leaving in 2017. He was first elected to mayor in 2011 at the age of 29; for a few years he was the youngest mayor in America.

And all of this is the barest outline of this very young man’s life and story. There is also plenty to read here about South Bend, about the ethos of the Midwest, and about the call to look to the future instead of trying to drag the country into the past, an effort Pete says is doomed to fail. These presidential campaign books (books written for those already in or trying out for one's "political choir") are hardly my favorite genre, but I just had to look at this one. If you want to meet an earnest young man who is creating a lot of buzz, take a look. ...more

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Dec 28, 2018 Cheryl rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, memoirs

I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the publisher through a Goodreads Giveaway. I enjoyed Shortest Way Home quite a bit. I live in South Bend and I have voted for Mayor Pete. He has been an outstanding mayor. It was interesting reading his take on events that I remember, and his explanations for decisions he made which varied in popularity locally. His memoir is intended to introduce him to a wider audience than just those of us who live in city. I hope it finds the wide audience it deserve ...more

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May 24, 2019 Richard Derus rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: quiltbag, returned, borrowed, pearl-ruled

Pearl Ruled (p157)

Buttigieg had a dull, ordinary childhood in a dull, dying flyover-country town that nobody much has heard of. His fancy-pants parents, liberal college professors at Notre Dame, gave him all the love and attention any kid could ask for; his friends and he did the usual kid things; he was a high flyer from teenage on in everyone's eyes. He's succeeded at being the kind of politician that should be the norm not the exception: Focused on results, compromising what he can to ...more

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Mar 21, 2019 Mehrsa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Buttigieg is really impressive. He's super sharp, has great politics, and seems like a great leader. Do I want him to be the next president? No. Not because he's too young. I don't care about that. It's because he reminds me of the smart Obama guys who were really great speechwriters, great with stats, and with crazy impressive resume, but who relate more to the elite in the corridors of power than anyone else. Buttigieg is a midwesterner and does seem to get some of the complexity of former man ...more

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Aug 05, 2019 Jenna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: political, non-fiction

The 2020 US presidential election might just be our most important one ever and I want to be as informed as possible about all of the candidates before casting my vote next May. My choice thus far is Bernie, but I plan to vote for whomever I think has the best chance of defeating trump. Some of the candidates I didn't previously know much about, and Pete Buttigieg is one of them.

First things first: How the hell do you pronounce his surname??! If you aren't sure either (I read my news The 2020 US presidential election might just be our most important one ever and I want to be as informed as possible about all of the candidates before casting my vote next May. My choice thus far is Bernie, but I plan to vote for whomever I think has the best chance of defeating trump. Some of the candidates I didn't previously know much about, and Pete Buttigieg is one of them.

First things first: How the hell do you pronounce his surname??! If you aren't sure either (I read my news, not watch it), click here to see a short video of some people attempting to say it, followed by Mayor Pete himself pronouncing it correctly.

It's much easier to just say Mayor Pete, but if by some chance he becomes the next president, I don't think we'll be able to get by calling him President Pete.

I enjoyed reading this book and learning about him, but unfortunately I didn't get much of a sense of where he stands on big issues. The book felt more like a memoir, though if his purpose was to let people get to know him personally (as much as you can through a book), then it was successful. It reads like a memoir and is mostly enjoyable though at times felt a bit tedious. He begins briefly telling of his childhood and teen years, then college and his career life. Because I want to know what to expect of him if he won the presidency, I appreciated learning how he dealt with various issues he encountered in his position of mayor of South Bend, IN. However, there simply was not enough about where he stands on the biggest issues and challenges facing America today, and there are many. I thought he could have left out the bit about meeting people at county fairs, and the types of food he ate at them, and talked more about policy. What are his plans for America? Where does he stand on climate change issues, immigration (he did slightly talk about this, but only let us know he doesn't like tearing families apart, not what he would do as far as the Dreamers, immigration law, etc), income inequality, systemic racism, the economy, healthcare, etc. etc. etc.

Maybe some people will appreciate reading his coming out story and how he met Mr. Right, but really, that is not what is important. Maybe most people care more about the personal lives of candidates than they do about their plans because most of the presidential hopeful's books I've read have an over-abundance of their personal lives. Sure, it's nice to know he's an affable man, someone who loves his parents and husband and who has rescued an abused dog. That's all well and good and I want a president who is a good person. However, I'm just not interested in the personal details of politician's lives

That said, it might have been important and a good move for Pete Buttigieg to include so much of his personal life in his book. As a gay man, he needs to help others see that he's just like everyone else. Thankfully we've come a long way in how people view gay people in this country, but there is still a lot of prejudice and evangelicals especially have a big problem with those of us in the LGQBT+ community. No doubt there are those who would never vote for a gay man and so it is crucial to let those people know that we gay people aren't freaks of nature.

I'll give this 4 stars even though I'm disappointed I didn't learn as much as I wanted from this book. It is written very well and openly, and I do feel like I have a better understanding of who Pete Buttigieg is, even if I don't know enough about his platform. He comes across as an intelligent, honest, diplomatic, and compassionate individual, someone I could see being the next president of the US. ...more

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Apr 27, 2019 H.M. Ada rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Everyone that I talk to about this candidate asks the same question: is America ready? But that’s not the right question. The right question is, “What can each of us do between now and November 2020 to open people’s minds so that America is ready?”

First, the book. I wish I could say to read this book to see why America needs Mayor Pete to be President Pete, but you don’t need to – just listen to him talk for five minutes in any of his recent speeches or town halls. I wish also that I Everyone that I talk to about this candidate asks the same question: is America ready? But that’s not the right question. The right question is, “What can each of us do between now and November 2020 to open people’s minds so that America is ready?”

First, the book. I wish I could say to read this book to see why America needs Mayor Pete to be President Pete, but you don’t need to – just listen to him talk for five minutes in any of his recent speeches or town halls. I wish also that I could say to read this book for a complete understanding, but that’s not really true either. The book left me wanting to know more. This book will give you a deeper understanding for sure, but on every topic, from his service in Afghanistan, to his Rhodes Scholar studies, to his time as mayor, I felt like I was only hearing the first chapter of a great story. At age 37, this candidate has done and experienced so many things in his life, that I get the sense he could fill ten books, and they would all be interesting.

He speaks in a way that can bring people from different backgrounds and political mindsets together. He gives real, non-“politiciany” answers to hard questions. He is humble, likeable, and really really smart. He also lives many of the challenges we are all facing. He doesn’t just have opinions and positions: he has college debt, he will be around to see the full effects of climate change, and he has overcome adversity. If not for that one question about whether America is ready for a gay president, I think Pete would be the front runner in this race by a mile already. But I remember a similar question being asked early on about a certain, other energizing new candidate who then went on to became a historic “first” in 2008.

Who can win in 2020 America is not some immutable law. We are America. We decide who can win. If we brush this candidate aside with a, “yeah, he’s great, but he can’t win,” then he won’t. But if we get involved and show up at events, knock on doors, and talk to our friends and family, then he can. He won reelection in South Bend, Indiana with 80% of the vote after coming out, based on the sheer power of his ideas and problem-solving, and with the right support from all of us, he can win the presidency and much more: not just another election where the pendulum swings left, only to return hard-right two to four years later, but in his words “an era.”

Read the book. It’s well written, it’s filled with wisdom, and you will get a deeper understanding of this candidate. But don’t stop there when there is so much more to be done. As Pete learned in Afghanistan:

“A river is made drop by drop.” - Afghan Proverb
...more

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Jul 01, 2019 Connie G rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography-memoir, politics, non-fiction, indiana

Pete Buttigieg has an impressive background--Harvard, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, and a management consultant at McKinsey. He's fluent in several languages including Arabic. With many avenues open to him, he chose a career in public service. At age 29, he was elected mayor of his hometown of South Bend, Indiana. He also served as a Navy lieutenant in intelligence in Afghanistan. Buttigieg came out as gay in the middle of a campaign for his second term as mayor, and won the election in a conserva ...more

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Jul 11, 2019 Meike rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: usa, 2019-read

Yes, this is now published in German, because people over here are digging this mayor of a town they've never heard of - the headlines he makes remind me of the enthusiasm for a certain senator from Illinois. Mayor Pete - multilingual Harvard and Oxford grad, former business consultant and piano-playing Afghanistan vet - is undoubtedly highly qualified for a career in politics, but the positive reactions he evokes are rooted in his ability to represent what America could be if it tried to live up to Yes, this is now published in German, because people over here are digging this mayor of a town they've never heard of - the headlines he makes remind me of the enthusiasm for a certain senator from Illinois. Mayor Pete - multilingual Harvard and Oxford grad, former business consultant and piano-playing Afghanistan vet - is undoubtedly highly qualified for a career in politics, but the positive reactions he evokes are rooted in his ability to represent what America could be if it tried to live up to its promise. While Trump maintains that us Europeans - formerly the States' closest allies - want to see his country fail, the fact that people in Germany are paying close attention to a 37-year-old local politician from industrial Indiana because he inspires hope that transatlantic relations will go back to normal should make it clear that the orange menace is lying (again).

In his memoir, Buttigieg (who is half-Maltese) talks about his family, his studies, his time as a McKinsey consultant, his military service as well as his career politics, and of course he also addresses his coming-out and how he met his husband Chasten (who, hello, German readers!, was an exchange student in Germany). The language is very accessible, but not simplistic - the book nevertheless lives from Buttigieg's interesting life story, not from the text's poetic value. While the author addresses some of his failures and shortcomings, it also shows that this memoir was composed with the intention to win over possible voters, but I can't blame Buttigieg: He is telling people who he is and framing the whole story under the aspect of electability, but without appearing slimy or offering arbitrary positions.

As the publisher obviously wanted to meet the public's growing interest in Mayor Pete, four different translators have worked on the text - unfortunately, it shows: There are some shaky phrases and even the author's name gets accidentally butchered (no, it's not pronounced "Baddidschidsch"). Still, this is an interesting book for people in Europe as well, and I hope it will gain further relevance if Mayor Pete makes even more waves in the Presidential race. ...more

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Dec 28, 2018 Emily Cyr rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Best, most thoughtful political memoir/biography (?) I have read yet. There’s a sense of authenticity, dorkiness and optimism one would hope to see in a mayor. And the part about his husband is so sweet at the end, felt like a bonus!

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Mar 24, 2019 Sarah rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, memoir, queer, published-in-2019, popsugar-2019-reading-challenge, politics, 2019

I am ALL IN for Mayor Pete. In the last several weeks he has surged to the top of my candidate list in the 2020 primary. Sure, that could change between now and the election, but right now I am so impressed with everything I am hearing from and about him. And this book only served to reinforce the positive impression I have of him so far.

This memoir tells us a bit about Mayor Pete's life before politics, but it's mostly about his time as mayor--which includes his service in Afghanist ...more

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Apr 03, 2019 Barbara (The Bibliophage) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, memoirs, audio, politics-and-the-world

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (pronounced “boot-edge-edge”) is just five days younger than our youngest son. If that doesn’t make me feel old, I don’t know what would. But I think he makes up for lack of years in genuine smarts and concrete executive experience. (Mayors and Presidents are both considered executives in their separate domains.) His memoir is engaging and kept me interested every moment.

Buttigieg (I *will* learn to spell this) obviously puts his best foot forward with his storie Mayor Pete Buttigieg (pronounced “boot-edge-edge”) is just five days younger than our youngest son. If that doesn’t make me feel old, I don’t know what would. But I think he makes up for lack of years in genuine smarts and concrete executive experience. (Mayors and Presidents are both considered executives in their separate domains.) His memoir is engaging and kept me interested every moment.

Buttigieg (I *will* learn to spell this) obviously puts his best foot forward with his stories of life in South Bend and beyond. He covers some childhood and teenage stories, including “townies” versus university kids, since South Bend is also home of the University of Notre Dame. But he moves quickly on to his time at Harvard and as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. Seriously, this man is no slouch in the brains department.

After a few years researching grocery prices (snooze!) for McKinsey and Company, he left management consulting for politics. Moving back to Indiana, he ran unsuccessfully for State Treasurer.

In between all of these different endeavors, Buttigieg worked as a volunteer for various campaigns near and far from home. His story is a unique blend of politics, service, and capitalism. After being elected Mayor of South Bend at age 29, he enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 2009. In 2014 he was deployed to Afghanistan, taking an unpaid leave during his first term as Mayor.

My conclusions
Buttigieg has a unique style. He narrates his own audiobook, mostly successfully. Like all of these candidate books, I like hearing his story in his voice. Between the stories, he throws in plenty of policy positions. What I gained the most was a sense of who he is, as a foundation for what he would do as President.

One of the key things I noticed about Buttigieg is his understanding of “otherness.” He was a townie in a university town. At Harvard, he wasn’t one of the rich kids. In the Navy, he was a politician. Plus, he’s a married, gay man who goes to church regularly. In my eyes, there’s something to be said for a Presidential candidate understanding what it feels like to be an outsider, even though he’s still a white guy.

When I first heard about him, I though Buttigieg was probably a flash-in-the-pan candidate. One of those people who runs with no real intention of winning. In fact, I now believe he’s the exact opposite. Mayor Pete wants to bring his brand of Midwestern common sense to the Democratic Party, DC, and the country. He cares about the issues, and is definitely knowledgeable.

He’s all over the news, from The Washington Post to New York Magazine to Trevor Noah’s “getting to know him” segment. All you have to do is Google him, and ten hours later you’ll come up for air. If you’re curious about this millennial candidate, I’d recommend giving Buttigieg’s book a read or listen.

For more reviews of my politically-oriented reads, please visit my book blog, TheBibliophage.com. ...more

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May 08, 2019 Ross Blocher rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Pete Buttigieg (BOOT-edge-edge) has quickly become my favorite candidate in the 2020 U.S. presidential race: he's composed, positive, practical, honest, compassionate, and whip-smart. He raises the level of any conversation he's involved in. Having subsisted for days on a steady diet of various interview clips online, I figured I ought to read his book. Political memoir is not my category, but Shortest Way Home didn't disappoint. I feel I now know (and like) Buttigieg even better. Seeing that he nar Pete Buttigieg (BOOT-edge-edge) has quickly become my favorite candidate in the 2020 U.S. presidential race: he's composed, positive, practical, honest, compassionate, and whip-smart. He raises the level of any conversation he's involved in. Having subsisted for days on a steady diet of various interview clips online, I figured I ought to read his book. Political memoir is not my category, but Shortest Way Home didn't disappoint. I feel I now know (and like) Buttigieg even better. Seeing that he narrated his own audio book, I decided to go that route.

"Mayor Pete" is just half a year older than I am, but he has used his 37 years on the planet as efficiently as anyone conceivably might. He tells his story in loosely chronological order: growing up in South Bend, Indiana, studying at Harvard, making top marks as a Rhodes scholar at Oxford (philosophy, politics and economics), working as a consultant (grocery pricing), volunteering for various political campaigns, becoming the mayor of his home town South Bend (at 29), serving as a Lieutenant in the Navy in Afghanistan, coming out as gay, finding the love of his life, getting re-elected as mayor, and turning one of America's declining cities into a success story. He manages to relay these impressive feats without any of it feeling like a humble brag (he talks about performing as a concert pianist, but glosses over playing guitar and all the languages he's learned). He seems equally committed to discussing his failures, such as backing various campaigns that didn't pan out, running for state treasurer, a late-in-the-game 2017 bid for Democratic National Committee chairmanship, and various contentious issues during his time in office.

As he tells these stories, Buttigieg details lessons he's learned, problems he's found efficient solutions for, thoughts on America's past and future, ways to communicate across aisles and ideologies, ideas on how political decisions affect everyone's lives, and ways those decisions could be made better. He knows he doesn't have all the answers (no one does), but he cares about listening to everyone around him, communicating honestly, governing with compassion, making decisions informed by data, and aligning incentives to make the world a better place. It's all conveyed in a low-key delivery interspersed with bits of dry humor, geekiness, and the kind of vulnerable honesty that comes from someone who's committed to doing the best he can. I hope Buttigieg continues to make traction in his current bid for President, and I'll be rooting for him in any role. His is a great story. ...more

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Mar 25, 2019 Philip rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: jordabecker-book-club, jordabecker-kyle

Outside the Obama rally at Concord High School 2016

I first REALLY heard of Mayor Pete when he joined President Obama at Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana in 2016. My wife and I went to hear the President speak about the economic gains that happened during his time in office - specifically the gains in our area. Elkhart (which has a primary industry focus of RVs) was hit hard during the recession, and he stopped here when first elected to let us know we weren't simply "flyover country" and that he would be working for us as well. He came back in ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Robert Stevens rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Being a transplant to Indiana after my first 22 years of life in Ohio, a lover of South Bend from my multiple trips there, a political junkie, and a Progressive Democrat, I had to read Mayor Pete Buttigieg's book: "Shortest Way Home." This book matters because the Midwest matters ("I wish it had not required a victory by Donald Trump for the political class to renew its interest in the industrial Midwest). This book matters because the story of South Bend needs to be heard and the progress that Being a transplant to Indiana after my first 22 years of life in Ohio, a lover of South Bend from my multiple trips there, a political junkie, and a Progressive Democrat, I had to read Mayor Pete Buttigieg's book: "Shortest Way Home." This book matters because the Midwest matters ("I wish it had not required a victory by Donald Trump for the political class to renew its interest in the industrial Midwest). This book matters because the story of South Bend needs to be heard and the progress that has happened because of Pete Buttigieg needs to be heard. This book matters because attention to state and local races matters from school boards to the state senates across this nation. This book matters because it shows that a city like South Bend may have lost much from the past, but forming a strong relationship with Notre Dame, focusing on data, and taking certain steps, a new South Bend is emerging. This book matters because it showcases how bipartisanship can still happen in a state like Indiana.

This book highlights the importance of paying attention to small details because that helps in the long run: "I've learned that great families, great cities, and even great nations are built through attention to the every day." This book focuses on greatness in small ways that make greater greatness: "A marriage can be great. So can a meal, a recovery from illness, or a song. We are shown greatness on the news, but it is also found in everyday lives, and then in the neighborhoods and communities that take on the character of those lives added up."

I am in love with Pete's personal story and can relate wholeheartedly to the part of his story surrounding his coming out and finding love at a later age than most people. Two quotes I love from this section of the book are "It is easier to be cruel, or unfair, to people in groups and in the abstract; harder to do so toward a specific person in your midst, especially if you know them already" and "In the struggle for equality, we do well to remember that all people want to be known as decent, respectful, and kind." ...more

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Feb 26, 2019 CJ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: go-deep

“There is nothing necessarily wrong with greatness, as an aspiration, a theme, or even as the basis of a political program. The problem, politically, is that we keep looking for greatness in all the wrong places. We think we can find it in the past, dredged up for some impossible “again,” when in reality is is available only to those who fix their vision on the future. Or we think it is to be found in some grand national or international adventure, when the most meaningful expressions of America ...more

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Apr 06, 2019 Skip rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: biography, e-books

It would be wonderful to live in a country where Mayor Pete (of South Bend, Indiana) could be elected President. He is smart, sincere, dedicated, diligent, caring, and truly interested in making things better for all his constituents. Growing up in an academic Midwest family, he graduated from Harvard, became a Rhodes Scholar (with a prestigious First from Oxford), worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. before moving into politics: first, in a unsuccessful bid for Indiana State Treasurer, ...more

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Apr 08, 2019 Allison rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Buttigieg first came on my radar a few months ago when my very-politically engaged teen breathlessly told me that he had picked PB as his 2020 candidate. I dismissed the possibility and wrote it off to youthful ignorance (midsized-city gay mayor who no one had heard of??), but after watching his Town Hall, I bought the hardcover for my son and downloaded the audible version for myself. I thought, at the very least, it would be great insight into how PB's brain worked, as well as hearing some of ...more

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Mar 05, 2019 Eric Brotheridge rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was a pastor in South Bend during Mayor Pete's first term. One could see what needed to be transformed and one could see what already was transformed. The change of the city toward greatness is a remarkable story told by an even more remarkable human being with a story to tell from the leading edge of progress. An educated read. Nuanced. How often do you hear/read the following reflection on the current immigration debate?

"As I got ready to leave, a volunteer came up to me in the h ...more

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Apr 18, 2019 Tracy Challis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, non-fiction

“Good policy, like good literature, takes personal lived experience as its starting point. At its best, the practice of politics is about taking steps that support people in daily life, or tearing down obstacles that get in their way. Much of the confusion and complication of ideological battles might be washed away if we held our focus on the lives that will be made better or worse by political decisions rather than on the theoretical elegance of the policies or the character of the politicians ...more

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Sep 30, 2019 Jessica Woodbury added it · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtq, nonfiction, audiobooks, memoir

Goodreads ate my review, so apologies at this likely inferior second attempt.

If you are curious about Mayor Pete as a candidate and want to know more about how he approaches governing, this is a very useful book. If you'd like some idea of how he defines and sees himself, you will not get a whole lot, even though much of the book is supposedly devoted to his life rather than his political work. This really is more of a memoir than a politics book, but it succeeds much more as a polit Goodreads ate my review, so apologies at this likely inferior second attempt.

If you are curious about Mayor Pete as a candidate and want to know more about how he approaches governing, this is a very useful book. If you'd like some idea of how he defines and sees himself, you will not get a whole lot, even though much of the book is supposedly devoted to his life rather than his political work. This really is more of a memoir than a politics book, but it succeeds much more as a politics book than as a memoir. Buttigieg clearly wants to write something important and literary, but while his prose is more than competent, he lacks the kind of self-awareness that's critical to make a memoir actually work.

We're used to this kind of approach to politics books. People don't want to give us the full story, they want to give us a particular version of themselves. What Mayor Pete doesn't want you to focus on are the things people find the most interesting about him: his age and his sexual orientation. He sees these as not really all that important. He thinks it's much more important that you see him as efficient, data-driven, innovative, and Midwestern. Very Midwestern. While there are elements of the governing sections that are certainly interesting, a lot of it remains anecdotal and on the surface. (Especially for anything divisive or controversial.) He wants to present to you this Regular Guy with his morning runs and his dog and his mortgage. And okay, yes, but also he went to Harvard and Oxford and he often seems to want to brush over that part of himself. (He certainly doesn't mention how he paid for any of it. Money is always discussed in the vaguest of terms, except for that $400 mortgage and the "savings" he used to fund his early campaigns.) It's not always clear that he knows exactly what his story is and what people take away from it.

This is particularly true when you consider that Buttigieg almost entirely ignores his sexuality until about 70% of the way through the book. And sure, if you don't want to get into whatever happened in your 20's with dating and romance, fine, but given the circumstances it's particularly strange to gloss over it the way he does. He joined the military during Don't Ask Don't Tell! He was in office in Indiana in a very public position when the state passed anti-gay legislation! These must have been difficult, complex situations and yet he doesn't address them! It appears that the legislation played a role in his decision to come out, but it's all left very muddled. And when we do finally dive into this part of his story, it is quite vague, of the general I-am-just-the-same-as-everyone-else-love-is-love variety.

Despite my frustrations, this is better than your garden variety politician book. It's just that it could have been much, much better with a little extra vulnerability (the Obama's are very good examples of how to thread this needle--some may also say I could extend this statement not just to the book but to his whole campaign but I'll leave that to your personal judgment). ...more

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Mar 05, 2019 Rishi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Admittedly, I'm a big fan of Mayor Pete. I think he's an uncommonly sharp, soulful, and self-aware public figure who has a very bright future ahead of him. (Personally-speaking, that future can't come fast enough.)

That aside, this was a great read. It's a straightforward, nimble, and insightful accounting of his 37 years on this planet, from his childhood in South Bend all the way up to the post-2016 moment that led to his spirited, though unsuccessful, bid to become DNC chair in 201 ...more

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About Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg

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Pete Buttigieg, born in Indiana in 1982, is currently serving his second term as mayor of South Bend. A dynamic national lecturer and TEDx speaker, as well as a Rhodes Scholar and Navy veteran, Buttigieg was educated at Harvard and Oxford. He and his husband, Chasten Glezman, live in South Bend, Indiana.

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“Good policy, like good literature, takes personal lived experience as its starting point. At its best, the practice of politics is about taking steps that support people in daily life—or tearing down obstacles that get in their way. Much of the confusion and complication of ideological battles might be washed away if we held our focus on the lives that will be made better, or worse, by political decisions, rather than on the theoretical elegance of the policies or the character of the politicians themselves.” — 11 likes

“But for others, work can only be meaningful if its fundamental purpose is in things that would matter even if no one would pay you to care about them.” — 8 likes

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