Writers Bloc and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council Present
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
6:00pm PDT
Free Virtual Event
To purchase a copy with a signed bookplate of Patrick Leahy’s The Road Taken, support local bookstores and purchase it from Chevalier’s Books.
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a great voice of conscience and belief in the importance of simply doing the right thing, is retiring. After 48 years of promoting and championing a steadfast agenda towards social justice, economic strength, and political discourse, Senator Leahy will step down.
His voice in the Senate– measured, strong, and unwaveringly liberal– will be missed by so many who deeply respect his decency. In his new memoir, The Road Taken, Senator Leahy reminds us that he rode into Washington in 1974 as a voice opposed to the Vietnam War. And just recently, he participated in the Supreme Court nomination hearings. In the past 48 years he has helped to create modern American history: he has served under nine Presidents, from Gerald Ford to Joe Biden. He is the longest serving Senator, part of the “Watergate Class of 1974.”
In his new book, The Road Taken, Senator Leahy recounts some of the most dramatic moments in our history and politics. The agony of the Clinton Impeachment Trial. 9/11. His courageous decision to oppose the war in Iraq. President Trump’s Impeachment Trial in 2021, over which he presided. January 6. His stories are not only gripping, but they of course reflect the massive shifts in Washington from one administration to the next. The best stories are about personal relationships. And Senator Leahy is a great storyteller. In his 48 years, he has been in the room for some of the most painful, exciting, and transformative legislation in our history.