NEW YORK (AP) — Former Sen. Joe Manchin has a memoir coming out in September, what the self-styled maverick from West Virginia calls his “declaration of independence from the extremes on both sides.”
St. Martin’s Press announced Tuesday that Manchin’s “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense” will be released Sept. 16.
Manchin, 77, announced last year he wouldn’t seek re-election after serving in the Senate since 2010 and becoming the rare Democrat to win in a state which otherwise votes for Republicans by wide margins. Manchin had long branded himself as a moderate beholden to no ideology and would often chastise Democrats or upend legislation when Senate Democrats held a tiny majority during the presidency of fellow party member Joe Biden.
Last summer, Manchin left the Democrats altogether and identified as an independent, although he continued to caucus with his former party. In a statement issued through St. Martin’s, he said that “Dead Center” was a “declaration of independence” and a handbook for governing.
“I believe successful leadership in any arena is about understanding the art and science of collaboration and compromise, civility and respect, negotiations and solutions,” he said. “Leaders should be positive change agents and bring people and organizations together rather than drive them apart.”
Manchin’s book will include a foreword by longtime friend Nick Saban, the former coach who is to be inducted this year into the College Football Hall of Fame.
According to St. Martin’s, Manchin will track his rise from the coal fields of Farmington, West Virginia, to the heights of power in the Senate. The publisher is calling his book a “revealing and entertaining memoir” in which Manchin “reflects on the pivotal moments, tough decisions, and core values that have shaped him as a person and a public servant.”
“Senator Manchin combines eyebrow-raising, never-before-told stories from inside the Senate and the White House with insights into how government does — or doesn’t — work,” the statement reads.