Book review: An American Son by Senator Marco Rubio

I was returning some books to the library and looking for something new. I happened to see the autobiography of Marco Rubio: An American Son. I am glad I did. Over the last couple years I’ve heard frequent mention of him. I’ve watched a couple his speeches over the internet. I really enjoyed reading the book and getting to know him better. He writes about four main areas of his life: his personal life, his thoughts on politics, his campaigning and his relationship with God.

Marco starts the book by introducing us to his ancestors. He tells us about his grandparents and then parents. How they struggled and how eventually his family moved to America in the late 1950s. He writes about his childhood. His gives us the backdrop of life in Cuba and Florida. I learned a bit of history.

Marco frequently shares his thoughts on politics. He tells us what he thinks the role of government is. He comes across as a very principled person. He felt drawn to politics largely because of the influence of one of his grandfathers who lived with him when he was growing up. This resolve deepens after Obama was elected president.

Marco is a young man, in his early 40s. He has only held a few political offices. He writes about how he ran for a few offices and what he accomplished in each office. The last quarter or so of the book is about his run for US Senator. The race was a nail bitter. When he first started it seemed like he didn’t have a chance against the older Charlie Crist who had the support of the state Republican Party. Marco shared his vision and his concern about the direction government was heading. As more and more people supported him it became clear he was going to win the Republican nomination and so Charlie Crist ran as an independent. Marco tells us about all the ups and downs of almost two years of running for US Senate.

This is not the story of a super-human who makes no mistakes. Marco admit to some of his personal weaknesses. He explains the lessons he has learned and how he tries to do better.

If you want to know more about Marco Rubio, this is a good book to read. It is also hard to put down. I asked my 18-year-old daughter to read it the morning after Christmas. She finished it that day.