THE GAME CHANGER

Life of Harry Reid, the small-town power broker who cast a long shadow over national government.

Reid grew up in a crossroads hamlet in southern Nevada where not much happened, his father a taciturn hard-rock miner who took to drink, his father figure a brothel keeper who taught him a valuable lesson early in life: “You’ve got a future ahead of you. Always be honest in everything you do.” Reid took the lesson well, although, as Nevada journalist and sometime antagonist Ralston notes, he had a few quirks, including a penchant for vindictive politics, telling a staffer, “vengeance is in my soul.” After rising through local politics, including a stint on Nevada’s influential all-powerful gaming commission, Reid was elected to Congress and began a steady climb to power, albeit with a few setbacks, as when he broke with Democratic Party leaders to support Al Gore over Michael Dukakis. Reid also formulated strategies for building big-tent coalitions in states such as Nevada, where the voters might favor a Republican candidate but would often vote for Democratic candidates down the ticket, even if the polity didn’t always appreciate Reid’s legislative accomplishments—for one, forging a water compact in his arid state that was hailed as “an accomplishment that remains amazing to this day.” By Ralston’s account, Reid was unhurried, deliberate, and persuasive in his dealmaking. He voted against the confirmation of Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court, a politically risky move; the upshot, though, on reaching the pinnacle of power in the Senate, was to have a big say in judicial appointments, which he insisted be made more diverse than the usual white men. (He also had a knack for disarming political opponents by appointing them to the bench.) Ralston’s biography capably proves what Reid’s House counterpart, John Boehner, said of him: “he was one tough son of a bitch.”

A critical but appreciative biography that explores how a quietly persistent politician got things done.