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Rating: 
Summary: Stay away!
Review: Brady ignores the statistics and the US Constitution (except her own first amendment rights)in her lockstep quest to rid the world of guns. She apparently believes that the opposing side is not allowed their first amendment rights (let alone their second amendment rights) while she should be able to fully exercise hers.
Avoid this book at all costs.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring Personal Journey
Review: Sarah Brady describes herself as a college goof-off, never quite the prettiest girl, and a happy housewife. She was delighted in 1981 when Ronald Reagan selected her husband, Jim Brady, as his Press Secretary. But she admits she was in over her head, wearing the wrong clothes and star-gazing at Washington's elite. Within three months, the dream was over. Jim Brady was gravely injured during the March 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan. Sarah Brady's life changed and she became a passionate advocate for sensible gun laws. Her hard work and common sense were instrumental in passing two laws over the objections of the NRA: the Brady Law that mandated a waiting period for handgun purchases, and the Assault Rifle Ban. For those interested in the give-and-take of the firearms battles in Washington, the book may drift a bit too often into asides about Jim's medical difficulties or the doings of a family maid or longtime friend, while not revealing all you might wish to know about the legislative battles. Fair enough, you can flip ahead. In the end, the personal material reveals Mrs. Brady as a compassionate, strong woman who struggles with family, trauma, and self-doubt, and earns her every victory. She's not quite a hero, in some ways she's more interesting than that. An every-Jane who outworks her opponents. Brady was a dedicated Republican who felt the firearms issue need not be partisan, but rather one of common sense. While she has become something of a bogeywoman for the right-wing gun nuts (just read some of the other reviews on this page), she states her position clearly, "I believe that law-abiding citizens should be able to buy and keep firearms. And I believe there are sensible standards that we can and should insist upon when it comes to gun ownership." (p.104). Her long years of work in Washington, as a director of Handgun Control Inc., give her access and insights into the corridors of power. Thus her unflattering portraits of Charlton Heston ("phony") and Dick Cheney, who unconscionably was on the losing side of a 413-4 House vote in 1988 to ban plastic handguns that terrorists could use to sneak through metal detectors. One wonders if 9-11 has made Cheney revisit his position. Brady's greatest legacy may not be the two key bills that she shepherded into law. It may be that she showed the country that the majority of Americans who favor sensible gun regulations can be heard, and that their wishes need not be trampled by the extremists who have hijacked the NRA. She showed us that one hard-working housewife can make a difference. This is a story of American democracy, how one brave citizen can change the law.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring
Review: This book was a remarkable story of a woman's strength. As I recall the shooting of over 20 years ago, I remember how eventually we all went on with our lives and didn't think about the ways in which one young man with a gun changed so many lives forever that day at the Hilton Hotel in DC. Sarah Brady made it her personal mission to put the NRA out of business to keep us all safe from the senseless gun violence that changed her life forever. I would recommend this book to anyone who is inspired by the dedication and will of others and would like to change the world for the better.
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