Rating: 
Summary: Common Sense
Review: This is a refreshingly honest political memoir and call to action from an experienced and wise leader. Zel Miller may be out of synch with his party's leadership but he writes with conviction and courage of where and how the Democrats have veered left and can no longer claim to be representing the values of a majority of Americans. Senator Miller pulls no punches in his criticsm of the current presidential candidates. Whether you agree or disagree with Senator Miller's positions on social issues you have to admire his guts and common sense.
Rating: 
Summary: No Insight on Democrats; Please, Switch Parties and be Happy
Review: "A National Party No More," ostensibly a book of political criticism, is equal parts autobiographical. The book contains scattered reminisces of Miller's childhood and long political career, generous amounts of "down-home" moralizing, and assurances, as far as core Democratic issues go, that "he has been there and done that." He claims to have personally lived in meager circumstances (in today's lexicon, in poverty), to be a committed conservationist, and to not have a discriminatory bone in his body, rejecting his publicly-spoken racist statements as a young man. In other words, Miller wants to convince us that he is the true Democrat, in touch with the issues and, above all, values of middle-America. However, it is extremely odd that a book that is so assertive in its condemnations makes little effort to examine numerous contemporary economic issues that are having an impact on working Americans and are traditionally addressed by Democrats. Millions of manufacturing jobs have been replaced by low-wage service work; free-trade agreements have resulted in a substantial drain of jobs to overseas locations with harsh working regimes; a variety of visa programs are both putting downward pressures on wages and stealing jobs from many technical and professional Americans; and out-of-control corporations operate with impunity to manipulate markets, loot retirement accounts, and redistribute income upwards as never done before. Not only are these, and many other, extremely important and harmful core Democratic issues not discussed by Miller, but one does not learn how Democrats are handling them. There is so little analysis of what national Democrats are actually thinking, saying, and doing, that the reader is left to puzzle over Miller's strong disapproval of them. To Miller, Democrats are "die-hard liberals" and members of the "loony left" and would require him to keep his "left turn signal blinking and burning brightly" were he to follow their lead. This sort of gratuitous labeling is designed to stop understanding political issues in its tracks. Miller claims that Democrats are captured by many "special interests," which he derisively labels as the "Groups." It is absolutely true that Democrats attempt to represent a greater variety of societal elements, some better organized than others, than do Republicans. For example, labor unions and environmental groups bring informed interest to bear on real problems, which apply to Southerners, as well as to Northerners. Miller's fixation on the detriments of "groups" undercuts his willingness to recognize and address legitimate issues. However, Miller is totally silent on the impact of the largest interest group on politicians, and that is the massive big business lobby. The groups trying to influence Democrats only wish that they could have the insider status that business lobbyists do. The regulatory bodies in this country have been captured by industry insiders. The financial harm done to ordinary citizens by the failure of S&L regulators, the SEC, and utility regulators, etc has been enormous. Of course, corporate PAC money dwarfs that contributed by all other bodies in election cycles. These are issues for "true" Democrats. It is perfectly clear that Miller has not been a life-long Democrat because of a careful study of the pros and cons of various parties. Actually, Miller inherited his Democratic leaning from his mother, a die-hard Democrat. She was, in Miller's words, a strong supporter of FDR and disliked Hoover, who essentially abandoned working people in the Great Depression. Miller seems to be completely unaware of the ironies here. FDR and his band of Progressives implemented by far the most radical economic program that this country has ever seen. Many Democrats of that day were to the left of today's "liberals" that Miller is now so keen to castigate. Yet he finds no fault with FDR. How inconsistent can one get? Miller is especially disingenuous in his explanations for the demise of national Democrats in the South. The national Democratic Party accommodated the racist, Southern wing of the party until the mid-1960s. After Johnson's Great Society initiative, it was first Goldwater, then the Nixon Republicans, who began to capture the old-South vote with subtle racist appeals. More recently, Southern suburbanites have been captured by the free-market mantra and tax-cuts of the right. Republicans have also tried to capture the "values" argument. The relatively greater affluence of Republican supporters helps them to avoid some of the social dysfunctions of poorer people, who are scapegoated as having poor character. Democrats, by association with their lower income support base, get labeled as lacking "values." But it is an insidious conceit to claim moral superiority. In a real stretch, Miller accuses national Democrats as simply writing off Southerners, regarding them as back-woods ignoramuses. Furthermore, he attaches disproportionate importance to national Democrats not being intimately familiar with details of Southern culture. They are supposed to know how to eat catfish correctly, and indulge in all other arcane Southern habits. Of course, none of that has any connection to politics. One wonders if a conservative from Montana, who is just as likely to violate Southern protocol, would be subject to the same criticism as a liberal. There are many long-time supporters of the Democratic Party, who feel that the Democrats have lost their way. But their analysis is completely opposite that of Miller's. It would be their contention that Democrats have lost sight of their core issues, those of FDR and Johnson, and that they have been captured by the special interests of Wall Street and the corporate PACs, just like the Republicans. In their view, the Democratic Party needs to move leftward, not to the right. Miller's book is a self-congratulatory autobiography combined with very simplistic political commentary. It really does little to advance understanding of today's world and the Democratic Party. Frankly, more was expected of this author than was delivered. Miller remains more "old-South" than he realizes, and he stands starkly exposed because his Southern Democratic Party has long since disintegrated.
Rating:
Summary: A Complete Misnomer
Review: If you like reading tales from a 'good ole boy,' this book's for you. If you want to read about how the Democratic Party has lost its way, or why it may be moving away from the mainstream of American politics, or if you are looking to discover virtually any other stance taken by the national Democratic leadership, you'll need to find another book because, unfortunately, Zell Miller doesn't say much about Democratic policies on a national scale. Zell Miller likes to talk about himself and his accomplishments from growing up in podunk Georgia to becoming Governor of the State; while that alone is a significant triumph it hardly forms the basis for naming his book "A National Party No More." Sure, we get a lot of conservative rhetoric - but in virtually every chapter, Miller writes about his own personal views but completely ignores the views of the national Democratic Party. Is the reader to assume that the Party is diametrically opposed to every stance Miller possesses? If so, then: a) that assumption is not well articulated; and b) perhaps that's a talisman in disguise, because Miller isn't right on every issue - he's human - and he's fallible...just like this reviewer...just like all of us. Miller relates the alienation of the South to the Democratic Party losing its national scope. (Hmm, President Truman - Missouri; President Johnson - Texas; President Carter - Georgia; President Clinton - Arkansas; and Vice President Gore (who won the popular vote in 2000) - Tennessee; doesn't seem alienated.) Miller muses that the Republicans have somehow mystically taken over the bastions of Democratic strongholds through the sheer ignorance of the Democratic Party's leadership or via their progressive ideas. Well that may be true, but I believe the author has missed the side of the barn completely...as Miller would say. The old history professor should go back and delve into why the South is, at present, so Republican. If you're a Zell Miller fan and have read many of his prior writings, then you probably won't want to miss this. However, if you're looking for substantive viewpoints on issues upon which to judge the national Democratic Party and where it resides on those issues as compared to the Republicans, you'd be better off just downloading the national Democratic platform from the last election from the internet.
Rating: 
Summary: Conservatives must love this
Review: A 'democrat' who sounds just like a republican. He says that none of the candidates are good, and he'll be voting for Bush. Miller should follow Jefford's lead and switch parties. Even though this book seems like a democrat book, it's far from it.
Rating:
Summary: True conservatives
Review: .
What Zell Miller says about Democrats is true. What is missing, however, is the fact that the Republicans are no different. For example, although the Republicans have control of both houses of congress and the White House, we still have... • The National Endowment for the Arts • The Department of Education • Income taxation Add to these • the Republican's so-called "Patriot Act" - a big government power grab that makes Hillary's failed socialized medicine plot look like a romp in the park • and feeble tax breaks that are like an armed robber giving his victim change. The net result is that Mr. Miller would be well advised to offer a sequel entitle, "A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative REPUBLICAN." Meanwhile, true conservatives - those who wish to conserve the Bill of Rights and the spirit of liberty they represent - would be well advised to join with the true, Barry Goldwater Republicans; otherwise known as the Libertarians. Read "The conscience of a Conservative" by Barry M. Goldwater and kiss the compromising Republican Party goodbye!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A leader of truth, morality and justice!!
Review: Finally, someone stands up for what is right in Washington! In an unprecedented and completely selfless political maneuver, Zell Miller has stepped outside the security of his party membership in order to be an example for others to look at what it is that we stand for.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but there is a better read out there
Review: I thought the book was informing, I like to know both sides before I move on a position. I feel that the best book in revealing OUR nation currently is "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" by Greg Palast. The first chapter is worth its weight in GOLD! It will simply shock you what has been uncovered. I am a Republican and a Christian but I will no longer be a spineless mindless cow following the blind heard led by masters of deception. Thanks to Zen and Greg I am truely informed!
Rating:
Summary: Common sense from a man with wide experience
Review: Part autobiography, and part political commentary, Senator Miller's book is well worth the time and the money. His style of writing is conversational, and underlying the "down to earth" delivery is a philosophy of life that is both principled, and based on common sense. Some readers may not necessarily agree with everything that Senator Miller has to say, but all should enjoy his candor, and manner of delivery. Although obviously a man of firm convictions, Senator Miller also recognizes that having firm convictions need not prevent those (political) compromises upon which the health of our democracy depends. That alone makes the book worth the price. Its a pity that we don't have more men like him working inside the beltway.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, thought provoking and witty
Review: After reading his book I really understand why so many people from both political parties respect Zell Miller. He is honest and witty. We need people with such integrity like Mr. Miller in government.
This is truly an enjoyable book to read.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, Truth is told!
Review: This is how the Democrats used to be. They had class, style, and direction. And then as Ronald Reagan said, "I did not leave the democrat party, the democrat party left me." This book is truth told from a man that knows truth, who has character, and who dosen't toe the line. He has recieved threats from the DNC because he strayed from their lies. This book is a breath of fresh air coming from a dying political party.
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