Ed Garvey was always eager to take on the biggest guys in the room. He was the attorney who coached the NFL players’ strikes that changed pro-football’s lineup, but he also challenged mining and tobacco companies and the monied interests behind elections. Although the Wisconsin activist lost his bids for public office, as Rob Zaleski reveals in Unvarnished, Bernie Sanders and Tammy Baldwin were inspired by his example. A longtime reporter for Madison’s The Capitol Times, Zaleski closely observed his subject for many years and concludes, “there was no one I came to respect more than Ed Garvey.” Zaleski acknowledges mistakes but finds “a kind, compassionate man and a fierce, uncompromising fighter for the have-nots.” Few people who knew him would disagree. Full disclosure: I sat on the board of the Shepherd Express’ parent company with Garvey in the 1990s and can vouch for Zaleski’s impressions.
