"While the details of the governor's life and career are well known, this book is an invaluable addition to what has been written about him. McFadden's account of his lifelong intellectual and spiritual growth is detailed and perceptive. As the author points out, this combination of the intellectual, spiritual and political has shaped Brown's life and explains the contradictions that have long intrigued America."--Bill Boyarsky, author of Ronald Reagan, His Life and Rise to the Presidency "A thoughtful and enlightening contribution to the literature on one of California's "most idiosyncratic politicians," this book perceptively analyzes the tensions between the spiritual and the pragmatic that have shaped Jerry Brown's approach to, and philosophy of, governance and politics. McFadden vibrantly and accurately portrays the parallel evolution of California's "new/old governor" and the political system which defines him and which he helped define."--Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Sol Price School of Public Policy "If you still wonder if Jerry Brown was born on another planet, Chuck McFadden will set you straight, firmly grounding this political enigma in California's peculiar, 20th century realities."--Joe Mathews, California editor, Zócalo Public Square "What makes Jerry run? Trailblazer offers a new generation of Californians a fresh and up-to-date look at the many lives, campaigns, and contradictions of their once-was and now-again governor, Jerry Brown--reckless and cautious, spiritual and pragmatic, reformer and status-quo stalwart--in all their chameleon glory."--Mark Paul, co-author, California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It