Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics (released in 2007) is a memoir chronicling Joe Biden's life and career in the United States senate (where he represented Delaware from 1973 until he became Vice President in 2009). The book chronicles Biden's thoughts and feelings on some major historical events which he played witness too: the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Iran-Contra scandal, and the fall of the Soviet Union for example. More importantly, though, the book details Biden's personal life. His early life in Pennsylvania and Delaware in a staunchly Catholic household. Biden also tells readers about the death of his wife and daughter and some of the values which he holds so dear.
Upon release, Promises to Keep became a New York Times Best Seller. The books reviews reflect as much. The Christian Science Monitor called the book “A ripping good read . . . Biden is a master storyteller and has stories worth telling.” Salon said that the book was “Moving." Similarly, The New York Times said that the book was "a compelling personal story.
