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A review by rtwilliams16
Pelosi by Molly Ball
4.0
When Nancy Pelosi was a young girl she was groomed to be a nun, not a politician, politics was meant for the boys in her family. She wanted to be a priest. Her family told her that only men could be priests, so she resolved on that day to go against what was expected of her, she decided to go into politics. No one knew back then that she would become the Speaker of the House (not once but twice) and third in line of presidential succession making her the most powerful woman in America, as of this date. Molly Ball’s political biography of Pelosi tells the story of how one figure attained political power and rose up the ranks to become the first woman Speaker of the House.
Ball’s biography of Pelosi begins in her childhood and ends with the beginning stages of the impeachment inquiry of President Trump. Ball tells a compelling story of how both of her parents were political animals in their own right who taught Pelosi important political lessons. Her father was mayor of Baltimore, MD and her mother was his chief strategist. Pelosi later learned how to managed a group of people with different agendas and personalities when she became a mother of 5 children, Ball effectively makes a comparison that the Members of Congress she would later lead sometimes acted like children.
If you are looking for a one sided, positive portrayal of Pelosi then this book is not it. Ball provides examples in Pelosi’s career that were positive and not so flatteringly. There were a few instances where she lashed out at fellow colleagues calling them “insignificant”. As a leader, Ball recounts time and time again when she was able to make deals and broker agreements between members of her own party and with Republicans.
Readers may find Pelosi’s relationship with presidents of her party interesting. She had differences of opinion with both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama on policy and tactics. But it will be her relationships with George W. Bush and Donald Trump that may become the most memorable, especially as it relates to the Iraq War and 2008 financial crisis with Bush and budget negotiations and impeachment with Trump.
Ball also does a great job explaining the delicate balance Pelosi had to play as a female politician when she first came to Congress. Pelosi made it a habit to not discuss about her kids with male colleagues and she made an effort to be placed on “hard” congressional committees such as those that dealt with foreign policy and money, all of this was done in an effort to not be perceived as soft. It was in this section of the book that I think Ball essentially gets into Pelosi’s head and makes her more relatable to the reader.
Pelosi is not without her faults. Ball explains how she was turned into a boogeyman by Republicans in campaigns especially in 2010. Midterm elections are essentially referendums on the president’s party, this was definitely true in 2010, but rhetorically the GOP made it a referendum on Pelosi when they ran more anti-Pelosi ads tying her to Democrats running for Congress and in non-congressional races. Ball also mentions that Pelosi was mentioned more times than Obama in the last week of that election.
Finally, the period between 2011–2018 when Democrats were in the minority, should have been a time where Pelosi’s star faded but Ball tells a story of the leverage she maintained especially during instances when Speaker Boehner had trouble leading his caucus or when Chuck Schumer and Pelosi were able to gain budget concessions from President Trump in his first two years in office.
When the Democrats regained control of the House in 2018, many prognosticators did not believe Pelosi could become Speaker again because she had become such a divisive figure, thanks to effective Republican ads, that swing district Democrats had campaigned that they would not support her Speakership bid. She again proved them wrong by picking off potential challengers one by one.
Ball’s book ends prematurely because Pelosi is currently in power and is still an important force alongside McConnell and Trump in deciding how to solve the current public health and economic crisis that we are now faced with. This is not the last book that will be written on Pelosi but it will be an important first draft of this leader, how she attained power, how she kept it, and how she used it. Pelosi may not be a universally likeable figure but once you read Ball’s book you will definitely come to respect and appreciate her more.
Thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Molly Ball for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review is also found on Medium: https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-mind/review-pelosi-by-molly-ball-f6eb4c8a3c62?source=friends_link&sk=4c54f431fee2be820221a78a4660f37b
Ball’s biography of Pelosi begins in her childhood and ends with the beginning stages of the impeachment inquiry of President Trump. Ball tells a compelling story of how both of her parents were political animals in their own right who taught Pelosi important political lessons. Her father was mayor of Baltimore, MD and her mother was his chief strategist. Pelosi later learned how to managed a group of people with different agendas and personalities when she became a mother of 5 children, Ball effectively makes a comparison that the Members of Congress she would later lead sometimes acted like children.
If you are looking for a one sided, positive portrayal of Pelosi then this book is not it. Ball provides examples in Pelosi’s career that were positive and not so flatteringly. There were a few instances where she lashed out at fellow colleagues calling them “insignificant”. As a leader, Ball recounts time and time again when she was able to make deals and broker agreements between members of her own party and with Republicans.
Readers may find Pelosi’s relationship with presidents of her party interesting. She had differences of opinion with both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama on policy and tactics. But it will be her relationships with George W. Bush and Donald Trump that may become the most memorable, especially as it relates to the Iraq War and 2008 financial crisis with Bush and budget negotiations and impeachment with Trump.
Ball also does a great job explaining the delicate balance Pelosi had to play as a female politician when she first came to Congress. Pelosi made it a habit to not discuss about her kids with male colleagues and she made an effort to be placed on “hard” congressional committees such as those that dealt with foreign policy and money, all of this was done in an effort to not be perceived as soft. It was in this section of the book that I think Ball essentially gets into Pelosi’s head and makes her more relatable to the reader.
Pelosi is not without her faults. Ball explains how she was turned into a boogeyman by Republicans in campaigns especially in 2010. Midterm elections are essentially referendums on the president’s party, this was definitely true in 2010, but rhetorically the GOP made it a referendum on Pelosi when they ran more anti-Pelosi ads tying her to Democrats running for Congress and in non-congressional races. Ball also mentions that Pelosi was mentioned more times than Obama in the last week of that election.
Finally, the period between 2011–2018 when Democrats were in the minority, should have been a time where Pelosi’s star faded but Ball tells a story of the leverage she maintained especially during instances when Speaker Boehner had trouble leading his caucus or when Chuck Schumer and Pelosi were able to gain budget concessions from President Trump in his first two years in office.
When the Democrats regained control of the House in 2018, many prognosticators did not believe Pelosi could become Speaker again because she had become such a divisive figure, thanks to effective Republican ads, that swing district Democrats had campaigned that they would not support her Speakership bid. She again proved them wrong by picking off potential challengers one by one.
Ball’s book ends prematurely because Pelosi is currently in power and is still an important force alongside McConnell and Trump in deciding how to solve the current public health and economic crisis that we are now faced with. This is not the last book that will be written on Pelosi but it will be an important first draft of this leader, how she attained power, how she kept it, and how she used it. Pelosi may not be a universally likeable figure but once you read Ball’s book you will definitely come to respect and appreciate her more.
Thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Molly Ball for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review is also found on Medium: https://medium.com/ballasts-for-the-mind/review-pelosi-by-molly-ball-f6eb4c8a3c62?source=friends_link&sk=4c54f431fee2be820221a78a4660f37b