Anyone who watched the inauguration already knows the outline of Kamala Harris’s life story. A former California senator, she’s the first person of Afro-Caribbean and East Indian descent to be elected to the office of vice president. This audiobook seeks to fill in some of the details. Soneela Nankani offers an even narration. Her tone suits the material, and her pace is good, making the material easy to follow. However, the author, a West Coast newspaper reporter, includes numerous anecdotes and backstories about tangential figures and California politics that slow the narrative, especially for listeners from other states. Overall, though, listeners will come away with a deeper understanding of this groundbreaking political figure. R.G.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kamala's Way: An American Life
Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Dan MorainUnabridged — 10 hours, 37 minutes
Kamala's Way: An American Life
Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Dan MorainUnabridged — 10 hours, 37 minutes
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Overview
There's very little that's conventional about Kamala Harris, and yet her personal story also represents the best of America. She grew up the eldest daughter of a single mother, a no-nonsense cancer researcher who emigrated from India at the age of nineteen in search of a better education. She and her husband, an accomplished economist from Jamaica, split up when Kamala was only five.
The Kamala Harris the public knows today is tough, smart, quick-witted, and demanding. She's a prosecutor-her one-liners are legendary-but she's more reticent when it comes to sharing much about herself, even in her memoirs. Fortunately, former Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Morain has been there from the start.
In Kamala's Way, he charts her career from its beginnings handling child molestation cases and homicides for the Alameda County District Attorney's office and her relationship as a twenty-nine-year-old with the most powerful man in the state: married Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, a relationship that would prove life-changing. Morain takes readers through Harris's years in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, explores her audacious embrace of the little-known Barack Obama, and shows the sharp elbows she deployed to make it to the US Senate. He analyzes her failure as a presidential candidate and the behind-the-scenes campaign she waged to land the Vice President spot. Along the way, he paints a vivid picture of her values and priorities, the kind of people she brings into her orbit, the sorts of problems she's good at solving, and the missteps, risks, and bold moves she's made on her way to the top.
Kamala's Way is essential reading for all Americans curious about the woman standing by Joe Biden's side.
Editorial Reviews
01/25/2021
Journalist Morain delivers a well-informed yet somewhat impersonal look at Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s journey to the White House. The daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants who met as UC Berkeley graduate students and were active in the civil rights movement, Harris was “wheeled to demonstrations in a stroller.” After graduating from UC Hastings College of the Law, she became an Alameda County prosecutor in 1990 and quickly established connections with powerful people, including California assemblyman and future San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, whom she dated in the mid-1990s (the couple attended the Academy Awards together and once flew on Donald Trump’s private jet, Morain reveals). As San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, Harris became known for her anti–death penalty stance and support for a controversial anti-truancy law. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016, Harris gained national attention for her tough questioning of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during congressional hearings. Morain stuffs his account with details of California politics and skillfully mines Harris’s public comments for information, but doesn’t get far beyond her public persona. Still, this is a brisk and evenhanded account of Harris’s trailblazing career. (Jan.)
"Detailed and dutiful...Ms. Harris—as is her prerogative—omitted much detail from her own autobiography. Mr. Morain has filled in many of those blanks." – The Wall Street Journal
"An essential road map to understand the life and groundbreaking political journey of the former California prosecutor who next week will become the country’s first female vice president." – Politico
"A revealing portrait of the people and events surrounding Harris’s rise to political stardom." – New York Times Book Review
"The author... shares stories of the Harris that exists when the cameras are gone, and does it in a way that's not sensational or tabloid-ish. Instead, it's thorough, honest and a quick-to-read education about our new second in command, so if you think you don't know enough about her, add it to your must-read pile, because Kamala's Way is a great next step.” – Miami Times
"Morain brings deep familiarity with California politics to an admiring, yet balanced, biography of Harris... A brisk, well-informed narrative of political ascendancy." – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This is a brisk and evenhanded account of Harris’s trailblazing career." – Publisher's Weekly
“Morain’s deep-rooted reporting experience covering California politics is evident on every page... This is a great read for anyone interested in a richly contextualized account of Harris' political evolution.” – Booklist
Anyone who watched the inauguration already knows the outline of Kamala Harris’s life story. A former California senator, she’s the first person of Afro-Caribbean and East Indian descent to be elected to the office of vice president. This audiobook seeks to fill in some of the details. Soneela Nankani offers an even narration. Her tone suits the material, and her pace is good, making the material easy to follow. However, the author, a West Coast newspaper reporter, includes numerous anecdotes and backstories about tangential figures and California politics that slow the narrative, especially for listeners from other states. Overall, though, listeners will come away with a deeper understanding of this groundbreaking political figure. R.G.C. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2020-12-15
A look at a talented politician's rise to national prominence.
As longtime journalist at the Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee, Morain brings deep familiarity with California politics to an admiring, yet balanced, biography of Harris (b. 1964). As has become well known, Harris is the biracial daughter of immigrants: Her Indian mother became a breast cancer researcher; her Jamaican father was a respected economist. The author traces Harris’ career in California, from Alameda County deputy district attorney to U.S. senator to vice president–elect. From the first, Morain writes, she exhibited traits that he calls “Kamala’s way”—“energetic, willing to take tough cases, laser focused, driven to be successful.” She became increasingly visible in the Bay Area, where “high society and Democratic politics blend.” She drew on generous donors in her run for San Francisco district attorney in 2003 and for California attorney general in 2010, becoming “the first woman, the first Black person, and the first person of Indian descent to become California’s top cop.” Although Harris could demur from taking stands when not politically necessary, she strongly supported same-sex marriage and gun control, consistently opposed the death penalty, defended victims of human trafficking, and pursued predatory lenders and for-profit colleges in a series of civil actions, positions that raised her profile nationally. Many saw Harris as a potential California governor, but in 2015, when Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her decision to retire, Harris decided to run for her seat. She arrived in Washington, D.C., “having been briefed by the best political minds in Washington and California on how to succeed in the Senate.” Assigned to key committees, Harris earned a reputation as a “tough inquisitor”: sharp, informed, and aggressive when questioning the likes of Jeff Sessions, Brett Kavanaugh, and Mike Pompeo. Morain also examines why her bid for the presidency failed and why she became Joe Biden’s historic choice for VP.
A brisk, well-informed narrative of political ascendancy.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940177799230 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | 01/12/2021 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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