Rating: 
Summary: Modern Day Horatio Alger
Review: "Rough Edges" is a wonderfully engaging biography. Going in, all I knew about Jim Rogan was that he lost his Congressional seat because of his role in the Clinton impeachment. I found out that Rogan's life is a quintessential American success story -- a modern day Horatio Alger.
This book has nothing to do with the Clinton impeachment, and barely touches at all on Rogan's legislative career. Instead, its focus is Rogan's hardscrabble youth -- out of wedlock birth to a welfare-dependent Mother, high school dropout, etc -- and his determined, up-from-the-bootstraps ascent to law school graduate, assistant DA, judgeship and an improbable California assembly seat.
Along the way, Rogan, a lifelong political junkie, converts from Democrat to Republican -- the true "party of the little guy" -- finds his faith, reconciles with his biological Dad and discovers the blessings of family life.
This book is sprinkled with colorful -- often hilarious -- anecdotes, especially his wayward teenage years, bartender gigs and courtroom experiences.
You don't have to be interested in politics to appreciate Rogan's indefatigable spirit and admire his lifestory.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!!!
Review: As a resident of Burbank, California I have personally been affected by Jim Rogan's outstanding and honest service. This book is a MUST read for all walks of life, rich or poor, black or white, political or non political, conservative or liberal; I was hooked before finishing the inside flap of the book jacket. His mesmerizing life story takes us on a journey of hardship, courage and determination in overcoming obstacles and tragedy, all while maintaining integrity. Surprise! Even white guys struggle to achieve the American dream. As a conservative Republican I praise God that he is on the "right" side. My only regret is that there is no surprise ending--hopefully if it is God's will, he'll be back!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I can't put this book down. Despite his circumstances and some failures, he never blamed anyone but continue to work hard towards his goal. He was blessed with the people who took care of him when his parents were not around. I highly recommend this book
Rating:
Summary: Best Book of the Year!
Review: I couldn't put this book down! An incredible story that made me laugh, cry, and feel like I can achieve anything. Very inspirational. Read this book...you'll be glad you did.
Rating: 
Summary: Growing soft around the edges
Review: I used to live in what was James Rogan's district, and I had written publicly on his behalf during the impeachment of Arkansas's most famous pig. His political courage briefly cemented my ever-wavering loyalty to the Republican Party.
But I knew that it was all over for him on Election Day 2000, when I saw long lines outside my precinct and observed who was waiting to vote.
It's a shame that, with the exception of Willie Brown, the only favorable commentary on this book's jacket cover, is from people on (what was) Rogan's side of the aisle.
Everyone "learned" what Republicans and Clinton opponents were like during the impeachment struggle when Democrats and Clinton partisans used their control of the mainstream media to portray their opponents: rich, white male right-wing extremists, cynically using traditional morality and Judeo-Christian ethos as a means of trying to unseat a popularly-elected advocate for the less-fortunate - and blinded by their "hatred" of him.
So no one on the Clinton Left is likely to read this autobiography by the House impeachment manager because it would smash such lovingly-treasured stereotypes.
This is the story of a young man who grew up James Baroni in a working-class family in San Francisco's Mission District, suffered through a great deal of family tragedy, and ended up living with his estranged mother in the even more-deprived area of Pinole.
For the most part, he plays the juvenile delinquent in order to get "in" with the rough element in his neighborhood - and it's only a box-top interest in politics that fills him with any ambition to get an education as a means of uplifting himself. At this point, Rogan's politics, as one might expect, to the extent they are formulated, are pro-union Democrat, but a political celebrity is a political celebrity, and he's not too partisan to rub elbows with Republicans such as Gerald Ford.
After finally getting his primary and secondary education, he tries to put himself through law school by circulating as a bartender in some of the grungier bars of Southern California.
It's all for the purpose of ultimately establishing himself in politics, during which, in 1978, amazingly enough, Rogan meets a certain governor of Arkansas who urges him to follow his dream.
And while Rogan's story is largely an inspirational tale with a number of other interesting passages, it disappoints in certain ways. The promotion of this book doesn't indicate that it's going to be a rags-to-riches story, and if you're not prepared for an extraordinary amount of poverty and grunge, you might not fully enjoy it.
You definitely aren't going to enjoy it if you are looking for a lowdown on what life was like on the impeachment battlefront. The book teases you with that by starting out with Rogan about to address the Senate in his role as impeachment manager, and then in true Hollywood fashion flashing back to San Francisco and Pinole.
That's it. Rogan never really flashes forward to impeachment again, thereby cheating the readers who wanted to learn more about it. At the end of this narrative, Rogan is taking Newt Gingrich's advice to write what amounts to a picaresque autobiography while saving impeachment for a later book.
The trouble is that academia is as liberal and leftist as is media, and the Clintonistas are already working in the historical sphere to "spin" the history of their master's administration. Douglas Brinkley, who sought a Schlesinger-like role as court historian for a Kerry Administration, has already written a book about the American presidency, in which he allows Clinton to completely define his own term in office.
No one connected with impeachment has written his own book about it, as far as I know, and a contribution from someone like Rogan would be a valuable counterweight. He should have started on such a contribution sooner rather than later.
Then too, it would be interesting to learn how Rogan, who appears to have broken every rule (including "honesty is the best policy") as a means of surviving the mean streets of Pinole and the bars of the San Fernando Valley came to represent the forces of forthrightness in 1998 - since "hatred" of Bill Clinton was obviously not a factor (in addition to the 1978 meeting, the book contains a Rogan family portrait with the President from 1997).
Is Rogan even being completely forthright in this book? I have a hard time believing the story of a friend who came back from the Navy with the biggest Afro that Rogan ever saw (presumably somehow avoiding a naval regulation haircut) or a political science teacher in 1968 ignorant enough to insist that Harry Truman died twenty years ago ("I saw his funeral on TV" - but in 1948, the rest of the country saw Truman upsetting Dewey).
Finally, where's the bitterness? Perhaps Rogan was not so much a victim of impeachment backlash in 2000 as he was a victim of the district's changing demographics. Considering the district's large Democrat advantage in registration, Rogan might well have been turned out anyway, and I don't remember Adam Schiff raising impeachment as an issue.
But to the extent that Rogan WAS a victim of impeachment backlash, where's the bitterness? For doing his duty under the Constitution, Rogan might have been a victim of tag-rag voters manipulated by Antonian rhetoric into tearing apart those would liberate them from Bill Clinton's Caesarian hegemony.
Rogan's defeat exemplifies the flaws inherent in a democracy where the depredations of the many are allowed to outweigh the courage and superiority of the exceptional. Rather than sugarcoat, as he does, the upshot of an election that terminated a career that Rogan had worked a lifetime to achieve, he should have ended his book by shaking his fist at the voters of the 29th and waxing lyrical in Irish fashion: "Oh, me name it is Sam Hall, and I've robbed both great and small. And I hate you one and all - damn your eyes!"
Rating:
Summary: If like me you read one book every 5 years, read this one.
Review: It's true. Is this is Jim's first book? For sure not his last. Reads easy, fast, and fun. Laugh & cry. Worth your time, and if you care about the future of the USA, could really matter! I hope his next book is done soon so my book reading average will go up! This is a great chance for all of us to get-in-on- the-ground-floor, getting to know the man who should lead this country and the free world could be a good thing. Rogan for President in ... um, 2012?
Rating:
Summary: A Rags-to-Riches Story for the 21st Century!
Review: James Rogan's recollections of his rise from high-school dropout (actually he was kicked out) to DA, judge, and Congressman is one of the most entertaining books I've ever read. His stories of preparing for the bar while tending bar in LA clubs are some that I will remember for a long time! Democrats shouldn't shy away from the book as his political views are really a small part of the story. I can't wait for the movie!
Rating:
Summary: Like Saul of Tarsus
Review: Mr. Rogan like Saul of Tarsus, undergoes an remarkable and intriguing transformation into a great American and moral patriot. This story is a must read and remarkable as a contrast to many of the milquetoast characters in current American politics.
Rating:
Summary: Only In America!
Review: Rogan is a fabulous story teller. I don't usually read autobiographies, but I couldn't put this one down. A sometimes sad, often funny and always optimistic look at the American Dream. Regardless of your political affiliation, this man's story is well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Story of a life lived with can-do American spirit
Review: Rough Edges: My Unlikely Road From Welfare To Washington by James E. Rogan (a conservative Republican elected to office in the House of Representatives from 1997 to 2001 by a liberal Democratic California district and who recently served the Bush administration in the capacity of Undersecretary of Commerce and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office before leaving government service for a private law practice) provides readers with an unusually informed and informative read which is personal, candid, and occasional humorous. Advised to enter law and politics by none other than Bill Clinton, his determination lead him to serve as Los Angeles County DA and aggressively prosecute members of the notorious Crips and Bloods gangs; then a judge, a state legislator, and finally a congressman from Southern California. In 1998, as a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, he took upon the task of prosecuting the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, as a surprise twist of fate. Rogan's down-to-earth candor and straight-shot attitude reveal the extent of his fighting spirit and determination to see through all the unexpected curveballs life dares to throw and much more. An engaging, entertaining, insightful, story of a life lived with can-do American spirit.
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