A shrewd portrait of political leadership, offering invaluable insights into wielding power effectively in Congress.
The former Speaker of the House offers a front-row perspective on landmark legislation, showcasing her pivotal role across decades in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Pelosi frames her bracing yet keenly instructive political memoir around key tenets of leadership, illustrating how she has effectively navigated global, domestic, and career challenges throughout her extensive tenure in the U.S. House. Setting the stage, Pelosi recounts the harrowing ordeal when an intruder, targeting her, brutally attacked her husband Paul in their San Francisco home. This incident starkly exemplifies the violent polarization that has intensified under Donald Trump’s influence. And Pelosi has much to say about Trump, addressing not only his erratic and disreputable behavior during his presidency and the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, but perhaps most consequentially his role in undermining constructive bipartisan legislation within both congressional chambers. She writes, “While some of us may have frequently disagreed over the years, there’s generally far more mutual respect in our chamber than the public is aware of. That is, there was until recently, when Trump eroded that spirit and diminished bipartisanship.” Distinguishing her narrative from typical political memoirs, Pelosi illuminates the intricacies of lawmaking and the diplomatic leadership required for legislative success. She details her experiences under six presidential administrations, from George H.W. Bush to Joe Biden, as one of the most powerful women holding government office, bravely confronting misogyny and Republican demonization throughout her career. She reflects on various seminal moments, from her opposition to the Iraq War—“the most destabilizing mistake in recent American history”—to her instrumental role in passing landmark reforms like the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank Act, tenaciously asserting, “I have won nearly all of the legislative battles that I started—and those that I haven’t I characterize simply as ‘not yet achieved.’”
A shrewd portrait of political leadership, offering invaluable insights into wielding power effectively in Congress.Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781668048047
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
IN THE NEWS
PERSPECTIVES
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