About the Event
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WisPolitics and the Wisconsin Historical Society welcome Senator Fred Risser to the Madison Club for a special Author Happy Hour to discuss his new book, Forward for the People: The Autobiography of America’s Longest Serving Legislator, published by Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
Please register for this free event by calling The Madison Club at (608) 255-4861 or emailing reception@madisonclub.org
Following a welcome and opening remarks by WHS Asst. Deputy Director & Chief Program Officer Angela Titus, Risser will be joined by coauthor Doug Moe and WisPolitics President Jeff Mayers for a discussion about the book and his perspectives on Wisconsin government over his 64-year career. A book signing will follow the program, and appetizers and a cash bar will be available courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
About Forward for the People: A legendary senator shares his insider’s view of the people and events that shaped Wisconsin and the nation over the past century. When Fred Risser retired from the Wisconsin Senate in 2021, his sixty-four years in state government made him the longest serving legislator in US history. Now, in this candid and illuminating autobiography, Risser shares his singular perspective on events that transformed the state and the nation over the course of his remarkable career. From his role in the “Joe Must Go” drive to recall US Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s to his position as the senior senator among the “Fab Fourteen” Wisconsin Democrats who opposed Governor Scott Walker’s Act 10 legislation against collective bargaining in 2011, Risser was a leader in state politics for decades, always maintaining an unwavering belief that political action can change people’s lives for the better.
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Senator Fred A. Risser retired in 2021 after sixty-four years in the Wisconsin legislature, making him the country’s longest serving legislator. He authored more than 240 bills that became law and is regarded as a legendary champion of numerous causes including public health and environmental protection.
Doug Moe has worked for more than four decades as a magazine editor, newspaper columnist, and freelance writer. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Moments of Happiness: A Wisconsin Band Story, with Mike Leckrone, and Tommy: My Journey of a Lifetime, with Tommy G. Thompson. Moe lives in Madison.
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