If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. Nancy Pelosi may no longer be the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, but there’s little doubt that she still wields enormous influence in the party. It’s widely believed that she played a key role in President Biden dropping his reelection bid , and her behind-the-scenes push to get Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to choose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate may have tipped the scales in his favor.
Her latest book, The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House provides a behind-the-scenes look at instrumental moments in her nearly four decades in Congress, with a focus on the legislative accomplishments she achieved as Speaker of The House. It was published on August 6 by Simon & Schuster, and it’s already the #1 Best Seller in Women’s Biographies on Amazon and in the top 10 bestsellers on Amazon overall . In addition to instrumental legislative achievements, the book details the horrific moments of political violence Pelosi experienced.
She details her account of the January 6 insurrection from inside the Capitol, which Donald Trump has incredulously blamed Pelosi for . She also discusses her family’s experience following the brutal attack on her husband in their San Francisco home in 2022. Ever cautious and calculated, Pelosi has disputed the characterization of The Art of Power as a memoir.
But the book does detail bookend moments in Pelosi’s life, including her decision to get into politics in the first place at the urging of her daughter. It also discusses what she sees as her signature legislative accomplishment, the passing of the Affordable Care Act, and she recounts Senator John McCain’s admission to her that he would cast the deciding vote against its repeal. The book does not discuss any possible role Pelosi may have played in Biden ending his reelection bid , and in a recent interview with NPR , she insisted that “I didn’t call one person, people called me,” to dispute the idea that she was actively pushing for Biden to drop out.
The Art of Power is rapidly climbing up the book charts, including landing in the top 10 on Amazon’s bestseller list and the top 10 on Barnes & Noble’s bestseller list . It’s available in hardcover, Kindle, audio CD, and audiobook formats ..
