ABOUT THIS BOOK

Frank Lautenberg was the embodiment of the American dream. The son of Eastern European immigrants who toiled in the factories of northern New Jersey, he rose to become a Fortune 500 CEO and eventually a five-term US senator. Yet his is not a simple rags-to-riches tale, but is rather the story of someone who used his newfound affluence and influence to improve the lives of ordinary Americans.

Told by one of the people who knew him best, his widow Bonnie, Frankly Speaking reveals the political strategies that made Lautenberg one of the Senate’s most powerful advocates for the health and safety of America’s citizens. He championed seemingly minor, unglamorous reforms that made a big difference to everyday lives, from raising the national drinking age to preventing domestic abusers from purchasing guns. These campaigns earned him powerful enemies in the alcohol, tobacco, and firearms industries, and he was subjected to some of the most brutal campaign mudslinging in American history. Yet, as this inspiring biography reveals, New Jersey’s longest-serving senator was not afraid to take big political risks if it meant standing up for his principles, whether that meant opposing the Iraq War or protecting LGBTQ and women’s rights.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

BONNIE LAUTENBERG is a photographer and conceptual artist whose work hangs in eight museums including the Library of Congress, the African American Museum of History and Culture, and the New York Historical Society. She spent 25 years with Senator Frank Lautenberg and was so proud to be married to him.

DIRK OLIN is a writer and editor, focusing on law, politics, and business. The co-author of Rebuilding Justice: Civil Courts in Jeopardy, he is formerly the editor and publisher of Corporate Responsibility magazine, director of the Institute for Judicial Studies, and national editor of The American Lawyer.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN is the 46th President of the United States of America.
HILLARY CLINTON served as the 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 to 2013; as a U.S. senator representing New York State from 2001 to 2009; and as the first lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

REVIEWS

“Frank had great character, exceptional character. We saw that not only in how he lived his life, but how he died: serving the people of New Jersey till the very end.”
— Joseph R. Biden, 46th President of the United States of America

“Frank Lautenberg was such a leader. He dared greatly, and he led boldly, and we are safer, stronger, and more prosperous because he did.”
— Hillary Clinton, 67th United States secretary of state from 2009 to 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s
Eulogy for Frank Lautenberg
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Frank and Me
How we met, how we courted, how we married.
A Capitalist to the Capitol
Frank’s rags-to-riches story backdrops an improbable entry into politics and a second-term Senatevictory that at first appeared hopeless.
The Formative Years
From Paterson to the frontlines of World War to the helm of a Fortune 500 company.
Alcohol
Prevailing against entrenched corporate powers, Frank becomes one of the greatest lifesavers in Senate history.
Tobacco
Again facing powerful special interests and another lion of the Senate, Frank pioneers a norm that today would create zero controversy.
Firearms
One of the few successful champions of gun safety laws during the past generation, Frank wins restrictions on perpetrators of domestic violence.
The Humanitarian
The senator helps refuseniks to escape the USSR, South African womento dig a trench, and a father to reunite with his abducted son.
“Chickenhawks!”
Frank returns from a premature retirement in such a fullthroated cry against the Iraq War that his colleagues are sure he won’t run for reelection. Wrong.
An Honorary Woman
Overcoming preconceptions as few of his generation did, Frank becomes one of the Senate’s champions of rights for both women and the LGBTQ community.
Toxic Politics
Frank’s greatest passion, next to transportation and infrastructure, was toxins generally and carcinogens specifically. After forging consensus on a toxic right-to-know bill, he would end up legislating from the great beyond.
Sick Transit
The legacy of Frank’s passion for infrastructure lives on.
Afterword: Vice President Joe Biden’s Eulogy for Frank Lautenberg
Coda: Joe Biden, the Senator from South Jersey, by Dan Katz
Notes
Index
Photo Gallery