As a United States senator since 1973, Joe Biden has been an intimate witness to the major events of the past four decades, from the Vietnam War, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. In this autobiography he movingly recounts growing up in a staunchly Catholic multigenerational household in Wilmington, Delaware; marriage, fatherhood, success and failure in the Senate and on the campaign trail; and his leadership of powerful Senate committees. This is the story of a man who faced down personal challenges and tragedy, to become a public servant who refuses to be cynical about political leadership. Here he reveals what these experiences taught him about himself, his colleagues, and the institutions of government. He shows how the guiding principles he learned early in life, the obligation to work to make people's lives better, to honor family and faith, to get up and do the right thing no matter how hard you've been knocked down, to be honest and straightforward, and, above all, to keep your promises, are the foundations on which he has based his life's work as husband, father, and public servant.