by Molly Ball
First published 2020
Molly Ball examines Nancy Pelosi's journey from Italian grandmother to the most powerful woman in American political history. Ball draws on exclusive interviews with Pelosi and extensive background reporting to trace her subject's evolution into a strategic master who led Democratic opposition after the 2018 midterm victories. The book reveals how Pelosi overcame years of demonization from Republicans and dismissal from her own party members. Ball documents Pelosi's legislative achievements during the Obama presidency, including universal health care access, economic recovery measures, Wall Street reform, and military service equality for gay Americans. The author places Pelosi's recent confrontations with Donald Trump within the broader context of her decades-long career. Ball argues that Pelosi deserves recognition as the greatest legislator since Lyndon Johnson, explaining how her political skills prepared her for this historic moment in American democracy.
Genres: biography, american, political-science, politics, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: rise-to-power, underdog-story
Setting: United States
Period: 21st Century
368 pages · Hardcover · Henry Holt & Company