Bob Graham Popular Books

Bob Graham Biography & Facts

Daniel Robert Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Coral Gables, Florida, Graham won election to the Florida Legislature after graduating from Harvard Law School. After serving in both houses of the Florida Legislature, Graham won the 1978 Florida gubernatorial election, and was reelected in 1982. In the 1986 Senate elections, Graham defeated incumbent Republican Senator Paula Hawkins. He helped found the Democratic Leadership Council and eventually became Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Graham ran for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, but dropped out before the first primaries. He declined to seek reelection in 2004 and retired from the Senate. Graham served as co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling and as a member of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the CIA External Advisory Board. He works at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Florida. He also served as Chairman of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism. Through the WMD policy center he advocates for the recommendations in the Commission's report, "World at Risk." In 2011, Graham published his first novel, the thriller The Keys to the Kingdom. He has also written four nonfiction books, Workdays: Finding Florida on the Job, Intelligence Matters, World at Risk, and America: The Owner's Manual, and an illustrated children's book, Rhoda the Alligator. Personal background Graham was born in Coral Gables, Florida, to Hilda Elizabeth (née Simmons), a schoolteacher, and Ernest R. Graham, a Florida state senator, mining engineer, and dairy/cattleman. He is the youngest of four children. His older half-brother, Phil Graham, was publisher and co-owner of The Washington Post. He married Adele Khoury, of Miami Shores, in 1959. One of their daughters, Gwen Graham, was a U.S. Representative from Florida from 2015 to 2017. In 2021, Gwen was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.Bob Graham attended Miami Senior High School from 1952 to 1955; he was student body president his senior year. He was International Trustee of the Key Club, the Kiwanis service organization. While at Miami High Graham was the recipient of the Sigma Chi Award, the school's highest honor. He received a bachelor's degree in 1959 in political science from the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Epsilon Zeta chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the University of Florida Hall of Fame and Florida Blue Key. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1962. Political career He was elected to the Florida Senate in 1970, also from Dade County. Redistricted into a seat encompassing portions of northern Dade and southern Broward County, Graham was reelected to District 33 in 1972 and 1976. Workdays Graham's campaign trademark was to work full 8-hour days at various jobs representing Florida's constituents. The idea arose in 1974. Graham was on the Education Committee when it traveled to local Florida jurisdictions. After a public meeting in Miami, a frustrated English teacher, M. Sue Riley, said to Graham, "The main problem with the Education Committee is no one has any experience in education." Taken aback, Graham responded, "Well, what can I do about that?" Riley then arranged for Graham to teach a semester of civics at Miami Carol City Senior High. Three years later, Graham used his "workday" idea to kickstart his gubernatorial campaign. Throughout 1977 and into 1978, Graham conducted 100 workdays, including bellhop, tomato picker, and road construction paver. To stay legitimate, he worked an entire day, kept the press at a distance, and performed all aspects of the job. Graham performed more than 400 workdays during his political career. Governor of Florida Graham was elected to the governorship of Florida in 1978 after a seven-way Democratic primary race in which he initially placed second to Robert L. Shevin. His supporters at the time dubbed themselves "Graham crackers." Graham emphasized education, and focused improving the state's public universities. By the end of his second term, the state university system was among the top quartile in the country. In addition, Graham's administration focused on economic diversification and environmental policies. During his tenure as governor, the state added 1.2 million jobs, and for the first time in state history, Floridians' per capita income exceeded the U.S. average. Graham also launched the most extensive environmental protection program in Florida history, focused on preserving endangered lands. During his tenure, thousands of acres of threatened and environmentally important lands were brought into state ownership for permanent protection. His keystone accomplishment was the establishment of the Save the Everglades program, which has now been joined by the federal government in a commitment to restore the Everglades. Graham left the governorship with an 83% approval rating. According to The New York Times, he was one of Florida's most popular politicians. U.S. Senator Graham was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, defeating incumbent Senator Paula Hawkins, 55% to 45%. He was reelected in 1992 (over Bill Grant, 66%–34%) and 1998 (over Charlie Crist, 63%–37%) and chose not to seek reelection in 2004. Upon retiring from the Senate in January 2005, Graham had served 38 consecutive years in public office. Graham served 10 years on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which he chaired during and after 9/11 and the run-up to the Iraq war. He led the joint congressional investigation into 9/11. As chair of the Intelligence Committee, Graham opposed the War in Iraq and was one of the 23 senators to vote against President George W. Bush's request for authorization of the use of military force. After meeting with military leaders in February 2002 and requesting and reviewing a National Intelligence Estimate, he said he "felt we were being manipulated and that the result was going to distract us from where our real enemies were". He continued to oppose the Iraq War, saying in 2008: "I'm afraid I never wavered from my belief that this was a distraction that was going to come to a bad end in Iraq and an even worse end in Afghanistan".In 2004, Graham published Intelligence Matters: The CIA, the FBI, Saudi Arabia and the Failure of America's War on Terror. In September 2008 the book was released in paperback with a new preface and postscript. Graham has a well-known habit of meticulously logging his daily activities (some as mundane as when he ate a tuna sandwich or rewound a tape of Ace Ventura) on color-coded notebooks, which some say may .... Discover the Bob Graham popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Bob Graham books.

Best Seller Bob Graham Books of 2024

  • The Charlatans We Are Rock synopsis, comments

    The Charlatans We Are Rock

    John Robb

    In the crazed aftermath of the late '80s northern pop explosion there have been few survivors. The Charlatans, however, still prosper despite once being perceived as runts of t...

  • A Friend for Christmas synopsis, comments

    A Friend for Christmas

    Gloria Stewart

    Yorkshire, Christmas, 1953. They'd had a cold and hungry winter but Gloria's mother had scrimped and saved to ensure the fire was lit and her five children each had a plate full of...

  • All About the Story synopsis, comments

    All About the Story

    Leonard Downie, Jr.

    At a time when the role of journalism is especially critical, the former executive editor of the Washington Post writes about his nearly fifty years at the newspaper and the import...

  • Watch Me synopsis, comments

    Watch Me

    Anjelica Huston

    Academy Awardwinning actress Huston’s “tireless fascination with the world is thrilling…” (Elle), and Watch Me is an “elegant and entertaining” (Chicago Tribune) account of her sev...

  • Leading Lines synopsis, comments

    Leading Lines

    Lucinda Holdforth

    How to make speeches that seize the moment, advance your cause and lead the way.'Exhilarating, illuminating, and absolutely captivating, this book made me want to rush out and give...

  • And Then We Danced synopsis, comments

    And Then We Danced

    Henry Alford

    “Captivating…equal parts memoir and cultural history, Henry Alford seamlessly interweaves heartwarming and hilarious anecdotes about his deep dive into all things dance” (Misty Cop...

  • The Children Of Dynmouth synopsis, comments

    The Children Of Dynmouth

    William Trevor

    The Children Of Dynmouth a classic prizewinning novel by William TrevorPenguin Decades bring you the novels that helped shape modern Britain. The 1970s was a decade of anger and d...

  • The Impeachment Report synopsis, comments

    The Impeachment Report

    U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary & Alan Dershowitz

    The Official Report of the House Judiciary Committee on the ImpeachmentPlus the Dissenting Views from Republicans, the full Impeachment Inquiry Report on The Results of The TrumpUk...

  • Yours in Truth synopsis, comments

    Yours in Truth

    Jeff Himmelman

    An intimate profile of the legendary Washington Post editor whose life and career encompassed Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, and the Kennedysas portrayed by Tom Hanks in the Steve...

  • The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories synopsis, comments

    The Penguin Book of Modern British Short Stories

    Malcolm Bradbury

    This anthology is in many was a ‘best of the best’, containing gems from thirtyfour of Britain's outstanding contemporary writers. It is a book to dip into, to read from cover to c...

  • CSNY synopsis, comments

    CSNY

    Peter Doggett

    An engaging and illuminating biography focused on the formative and highly influential early years of “rock’s first supergroup” (Rolling Stone) Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Youngwhen ...

  • Scattershot synopsis, comments

    Scattershot

    Bernie Taupin

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An evocative, cleareyed, and revealing memoir by Bernie Taupin, the lyrical master and longtime collaborator of Elton John“I loved writing, I loved chroni...

  • Mummy, Take Me Home synopsis, comments

    Mummy, Take Me Home

    David Leslie

    'Mummy, take me home,' sobbed little Jasmine Chapman as she was ripped from her mother's arms. But there was nothing that Morag could do . . . except continue to fight for custody ...

  • Joe Dolan synopsis, comments

    Joe Dolan

    Ronan Casey

    Growing up in poor circumstances in the midlands town of Mullingar might seem an unlikely start for a musical superstar, but that's exactly the journey Joe Dolan travelled in his a...

  • Rigged synopsis, comments

    Rigged

    Mollie Hemingway

    FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER JUSTICE ON TRIALStunned by the turbulence of the 2020 election, millions of Americans are asking the forbidden question: what really h...

  • The Pentagon Papers synopsis, comments

    The Pentagon Papers

    Katharine Graham

    Drawn from Katharine Graham’s Pulitzer Prizewinning memoir Personal History, a dramatic account of how she piloted the Washington Post through the Pentagon Papers an...

  • The Round synopsis, comments

    The Round

    Steve Chilton

    The Round is not only a history of the Bob Graham Round, but also an exploration of the what, why and how of this classic fell endurance challenge. After covering the genesis of th...

  • Writing for the Public Good synopsis, comments

    Writing for the Public Good

    Steven Noll

    Insights into modern American politics and society from two of Florida’s most influential public figures Writing for the Public Good presents a selection of over 100 impo...

  • Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt synopsis, comments

    Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt

    Rosalie David

    The ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile their life source was a divine gift. Religion and magic permeated their civilization, and this book provides a unique insight into th...

  • Finding Home with the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Billy Graham synopsis, comments

    Finding Home with the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Billy Graham

    Jess Archer

    One was the greatest rock band of all time, another was a misunderstood poet and Christian convert, and the latter is called, Americas Pastor. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Billy Gra...

  • November 22, 1963 synopsis, comments

    November 22, 1963

    Helen Thomas & Dean R. Owen

    Gripping, personal stories about the life and death of President Kennedy.In November 22, 1963, Dean Owen curates a fascinating collection of interviews and thoughtprovoking comment...

  • 80s Chart-Toppers synopsis, comments

    80s Chart-Toppers

    Sharon Davis

    The '80s were a decade of musical change. As the '70s disco stranglehold was broken, rock, gay, dance and pop music competed with funk and soul, romantic ballads and political prot...

  • Friends of Dorothy synopsis, comments

    Friends of Dorothy

    Sandi Toksvig

    The funny, wise and brilliant new novel from the star of QI and the author of Between the StopsAfter much searching, Amber and Stevie find the perfect house a bit shabby but with ...

  • Knowing Is Loving, The Similarities of Raja Yoga and Art synopsis, comments

    Knowing Is Loving, The Similarities of Raja Yoga and Art

    Bob Graham

    Becoming a yogi is probably a good example for any role of life, except the criminal, but the parallels with becoming a painter are particularly fun. Yoga, literally ‘union with Go...

  • The Mueller Report synopsis, comments

    The Mueller Report

    Robert S. Mueller, Special Counsel's Office U.S. Department of Justice & Alan Dershowitz

    NOW A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER. There has never been a more important political investigation tha...

  • Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Operations synopsis, comments

    Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Operations

    Department of the Army Headquarters

    This book, issued by the Department of the Army Headquarters, gives an overview of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Operations or CBRN Operations. It tells about the...

  • Human Intelligence Collector Operations synopsis, comments

    Human Intelligence Collector Operations

    Department of the Army Headquarters

    This is an official work by the US Department of the Army Headquarters. It gives information on what Human Intelligence is and what role the department has in the US army. A reader...