Former governor of Puerto Rico Rosselló offers a practical, ultimately hopeful look at what it takes to make real reform possible, as seen through the lens of his own experiences pushing for change, advocating for Puerto Rico statehood, and striving to rebuild in the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The governor frankly acknowledges the controversy, involving an unfiltered series of messages never intended for public view, that led to his early resignation, offering a persuasive mea culpa for some insensitive language while also pushing back against accusations of misogyny, homophobia, and corruption. The incident serves as a case study in a broader argument about key impediments to reform in the U.S., including extreme polarization and a tendency toward dehumanization of political opponents.

Blending lessons learned while fighting for change with a diagnosis of why the American system seems stubbornly stagnant, The Reformer’s Dilemma explores the challenges and political costs of making change, with clear eyes and an emphasis on the practical. The “dilemma” of the title refers to the Catch-22 of those with political power daring to implement novel solutions to entrenched problems: politically, there’s a “crisis if you do, crisis if you don’t,” he notes. With illuminating accounts of a life spent pushing for change in a colonial territory facing rampant debt, a pension crisis, and the no-longer-hypothetical impacts of climate change, Rosselló proves a clear, engaging storyteller, building to a host of takeaways to help other reform-minded politicians maximize their potentially fleeting time with power. (He even draws lessons about crafting a narrative from friendly if frustrating encounters with President Trump.)

Rosselló calls for organizing and empowering a “disjointed middle” into a movement for “rationality, clarity, dialogue, fact-driven approaches, and innovative thinking.” Steps he suggests for making that happen are less convincingly pragmatic than the advice for achieving reform, but he’s convincing in arguing that accepting the status quo only makes things worse.

Takeaway: A Puerto Rico governor’s pragmatic lessons for effective changemaking.

Comparable Titles: Robert B. Reich’s The System, María Padilla and Nancy Rosado’s Tossed to the Wind.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A