Written in lucid, vigorous prose, La Follette's Autobiography is the famous Wisconsin senator's own account of his political life and philosophy. Both memoir and a history of the Progressive cause in the United States, it charts La Follette's formative years in politics, his attempts to abolish entrenched, ruthless state and corporate influences, and his embattled efforts to advance Progressive policies as Wisconsin governor and U.S. senator. With a new foreword by Matthew Rothschild, editor of The Progressive—the magazine that La Follette himself founded—the Autobiography remains a powerful reminder of the legacies of Progressivism and reform and the enduring voice of the man who fought for them.

Robert M. La Follette (1855–1925) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, served as governor of Wisconsin, and was elected to the U.S. Senate, a position he held from 1906 to 1925. He was a founding father of American Progressivism and ran as the U.S. Progressive Party's presidential candidate in 1924, winning one-sixth of the total national vote.