Raised in northern New Jersey, Cory Booker went to Stanford University on a football scholarship, accepted a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, then studied at Yale Law School. Upon graduation, his options were limitless.

He chose public service. And in 2013, after more than seven years as mayor of Newark, he became the first Black man elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate.

In United, Booker draws on personal experience to issue a stirring call to reorient our nation and our politics around the principles of compassion and solidarity. He speaks of rising above despair to engage with hope, pursuing our shared mission, and embracing our common destiny. Here is his account of his own political education, the moments--some entertaining, some heartbreaking, all of them enlightening--that have shaped his civic vision. Booker shares the lessons he learned from the remarkable men and women who inspired him to serve and whose example fueled his desire to create opportunities for others. Here also are his observations on the issues he cares about most deeply, from race and the crisis of mass incarceration to economic and environmental justice.

In a world where we too easily lose touch with our neighbors, he argues, we must remember that we all rise or fall together--and that we must move beyond mere tolerance for one another toward a deeper connection: love.