User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Summary (01-20-2021) Congratulations, Kamala Harris, for becoming the 49th Vice President of the USA.Kamala Harris is an American politician and attorney who is the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to become the USA's vice president.
What did I learn from this book? 1) The importance of books in a human beings life 
Kamala is a person who knew the importance of books and reading right from childhood. That might be the thing which helped her to develop her greatest quality- empathy. The eclectic and undogmatic nature we acquire due to continuous reading makes us develop a gratifying personality.
"When they (Kamala's parents) divorced, they didn't fight about money. The only thing they fought about was who got the books" She also believes that education is the essential thing needed to make our future safe.
"Like it or not, most people prioritize their own safety over the education of someone else's child. I wanted to make them see that if we didn't prioritize education now, it would be a public safety matter later." 2) The biggest gift that a human being can get is to have an amazing mother Kamala knows and mentions everywhere that her mother is the greatest gift that God gave her. She is very proud of her and says about her whenever she achieves something in her life (including the victory speech when she became the Vice President-elect of the USA.) Her mother's potential to edify her was exemplary. The next two sentences vividly show how much her mother has influenced Kamala.
"My mother pushed us hard and with high expectations as she nurtured us. And all the while, she made Maya and me feel special like we could do anything we wanted to if we put in the work." "From my grandparents, my mother learned that it was service to others that gave life purpose and meaning. And from my mother, Maya, and I learned the same." Kamala says that every time she mentions her mother's name when she achieves something in her life, she finds it extremely difficult to hold her tears and maintain her composure. It shows how much she loves her mother and how her mother was a driving force for Kamala's success
" On January 3, 2011, I walked down the stairs of California Museum for Women, History, and the Arts, in Sacramento for my Inaugural ceremony as an attorney general. But what I remember most vividly about the day was the worry I felt about saying my mother's name in my address while keeping my composure. I'd practiced over and over again and choked up every time. But it was important to me that her name be spoken in that room, because none of what I had achieved would have been possible without her." Kamala Harris said in her first address to the nation as Vice President-Elect, "I'm grateful to the woman most responsible for my presence here today, my mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris. When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn't imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in America where a moment like this is possible," 3) How can we make a child creative and confident The passage where Kamala describes Regina Shelton, who ran a nursery school below Kamala's apartment, shows us how one single small act of kindness by a person can strongly influence a child. Let's see that passage in Kamala's own words.
"I will never forget the time I made lemon bars to share. I had spent one afternoon making a lemon bar recipe that I'd found in one of my mother's cookbooks. They had turned out beautifully, and I was excited to show them off. I put them on a plate, covered them with Saran Wrap, and walked over to Mrs. Shelton's house, where she was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping tea and laughing with her sister, Aunt Bea, and my mother. I proudly showed off my creation to them, and Mrs. Shelton took a big bite. It turned out I had used salt instead of sugar, but, not having tasted them myself, I didn't know.
"Mmmm, honey," Mrs. Shelton responded in her graceful southern accent, her lips slightly puckered from the taste. "That's delicious... maybe a little too much salt... but really delicious." I didn't walk away thinking I was a failure. I walked away, thinking I had done a great job, and just made one small mistake. It was little moments like those that helped me build a natural sense of confidence. I believed I was capable of anything." If Mrs. Shelton had made fun of Kamala or projected her fault of putting salt instead of sugar more than appreciating her creativity, Kamala's confidence and creativity would have taken severe hampering.
This simple act of kindness shown by Mrs. Shelton is the most important thing that we should learn to do while raising our kids. It will surely make them a good human being. It will even help them to develop into a great leader like Kamala Harris in the future. 4) The importance of meeting great personalities when we are young This is the one common thing I observed in the biographies of great personalities. If we read the Encyclopedia of Biography and other multiple memoirs, we will notice a striking similarity that almost everyone had an opportunity to meet great personalities when they were young. In my opinion, all the schools should provide multiple opportunities for the students to interact with great leaders and personalities who are considered to be the best in their sphere of life. One single conversation or even a single handshake might change the kids' future in the best possible way. Kamala also shares her similar experiences in this book. She describes her meeting some amazing people in Rainbow Sign, which was a black cultural center.
"In 1971, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm paid a visit while she was exploring a run for President. Talk about strength! "U bought and Unbossed," just as her campaign slogan promised. Alice Walker, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for The Color Purple, did a reading at Rainbow Sign. So did Maya Angelou, the first black female best-selling author, thanks to her autobiography, I know why the caged bird sings. Nina Simone performed at Rainbow Sign when I was seven years old. I would later learn that Warren Widener, Berkeley's first black mayor, proclaimed March 31, 1972, Nina Simone Day, to commemorate her two-day appearance.
I loved the electric atmosphere at Rainbow Sign- the laughter, the food, the energy. I loved the powerful orations from the stage and the witty, sometimes unruly audience banter. It was where I learned that artistic expression, ambition, and intelligence were cool. It was where I came to understand that there is no better way to feed someone's brain than by bringing together food, poetry, politics, music, dance, and art." 
If you are a person who read My life by Bill Clinton there is no need to explain the above photo as the photo speaks for itself. But I will still explain for the people who don't know about it yet.
In 1963 Students of Boys Nation, including the young Bill Clinton, gathered in the White House Rose Garden. John F. Kennedy then moved into the crowd to meet the students. Clinton later recalled the moment, saying, "I was about the third or fourth person in, and…I sort of muscled my way up (to the front)." Their interaction was brief, a firm handshake before Kennedy moved on to the next student. But video and photos capturing the event show Clinton's admiration and near disbelief that he was meeting one of his political idols.
The impact of that moment was obvious almost immediately. According to several of his fellow delegates, Clinton spent the bus ride back to the Boys Nation dorms talking about the event. As future Minnesota Congressman Jim Ramstad recalled, Clinton said to him,
"Someday, I'm going to have that job." 5) Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation You don't have to be a biological mother to be a great mother. Kamala is a great mother to Cole and Ella and considers them as her own children. The following paragraph from this book shows her sublime opinion of being a parent.
"Nothing makes a child feel more secure than being tucked in by a parent at the end of a day, getting a kiss and a hug, a good-night story, falling asleep to the sound of their voice. Nothing is more important to a parent than talking with tethering child at night before the child goes to sleep, answering their questions, comforting and reassuring them in the face of any fears, making sure they know that everything will be okay. Parents and children everywhere relate to these rituals. They are part of the human experience." 
6) Failing doesn’t make you a failure “What defines us is how well we rise after falling” It is impossible to live a life only filled with success. Everyone will fail at least once in their life. Some people can't handle the chagrin that might be associated with failing and consider themselves a failure and chastise themselves by even ending their lives. Through her own life, Kamala shows how to deal with such a situation. She shows us that the way we respond when we fail in our life determines how successful we become in the future.
"I finished law school in the spring of 1989 and took the bar exam in July. In the waning weeks of summer, my future seemed so bright and so clear. The countdown to the life I imagined had begun
And then, with a jolt, I was stopped in my tracks. In November, the state bar sent letters out to those who had taken the exam, and, to my utter devastation, I had failed. I couldn't get my head around it. It was almost too much to bear. My mother had always told me, "Don't do anything half-assed," and I had always taken that to heart. I was a hard worker. A perfectionist. Someone who didn't take things for granted. But there I was, letter in hand, realizing that in studying for the bar, I had put forward the most half-assed performance of my life.
Fortunately, I still had a job in the district attorney's office. They were going to keep me on, with clerk duties, and gave me space to study to retake the exam in February, I was grateful for that, but it was hard to go into the office, feeling inadequate and incompetent. Just about everyone else who had been hired along with me had passed, and they were going to move on with their training without me. I remember walking by someone's office and hearing them say to someone else, "But she's so smart. How could she have not passed?" I felt miserable and embarrassed. I wondered if people thought I was a fraud. But I held my head up and kept going to work every day- and I passed on my second attempt. I was so proud, and so honored the day I was sworn in as an officer of the court, and I showed up at the courthouse ready to start the work." 
7) Duality of immigrant experience in America Kamala explains something vital that immigrants might face when they start living in the USA
"On the one hand, it is an experience characterized by an extraordinary sense of hopefulness and purpose, a deep belief in the power of the American Dream- an experience of possibility. At the same time, it is an experience too often scarred by stereotyping scapegoating, in which discrimination, both explicit and implicit, is part of everyday life." Even though it is a feeling felt by many immigrants, they won't publicly acknowledge it. Even after being a public figure and knowing that her every word will be scrutinized very severely, Kamala is fearless to express her true feelings. She is not ready to project an image telling only the things that the public might love. This shows us that Kamala is unique and genuine, unlike many other politicians.
My favourite lines from this book "There is something that my (Kamala's) mother used to say that I always held close. "You may be the first. Don't be the last." My mother had gotten to where she was because of the help of mentors. I had gotten to where I was because of mentors, too. And I intended to be a mentor to as many people as I could during the course of my career." "Black men use drugs at the same rate as white men, but they are arrested twice as often for it. And then they pay more than a third more than their counterparts, on average, in bail. Black men are six times as likely as white men to be incarcerated. And when they are convicted, black men get sentences nearly 20 percent longer than those given to their white counterparts. Latino men don't fare much better. It is truly appalling." "Tomorrow's generations will suffer as a result of yesterday's folly and greed. We cannot change what has already happened. But we can make sure it never happens again." "If you want our children to have cures for humanity's most terrible diseases, we should invest in our national medical researches, instead of relying on companies that would rather funnel money to their shareholders." "The American people have not given up on the American Dream. I know this to be true. But when you can't sleep at night, how can you dream." Rating 5/5. I loved the experience of reading this book, and I recommend this book to everyone. I want to conclude this review with the lines that inspired me the most in this book.
"Years from now, our children and our grandchildren will look up and lock eyes with us. They will ask us where we were when the stakes were so high. They will ask us what it was like. I don't want us to just tell them how we felt. I want us to tell them what we did.
Rating: really liked it
Congrats to Kamala Harris ....
Vice President running mate with Joe Biden.
Doing the happy dance!!! I’m pleased!!!
Audiobook...read by Kamala Harris
After listening to Pete Buttigieg’s book,
“The Shortest Way Home”....STILL IMPRESSED and in ‘aw’ of him....
...I consider him a strong important viable candidate for President....
I wasn’t planning on listening to the other major contenders’ books....
But here I am again...
....with many thanks to *Connie* for being an inspiration.... ( who is doing her research and homework learning all she can about our major presidential contenders)...
With so many people running for President,
I, too, am trying to learn all I can.
I respect Kamala Harris....formerly Attorney General of California....and United States Senator from California...
Born in Oakland ... a local girl - like me.
...The very beginning - a personal family/ dinner true story the night of the last election...almost had me in tears within the first 5 minutes. I was really moved.
I doubt anyone would doubt Kamala’s sincerity of what her life is about:
SERVICE and CONTRIBUTING gives her life purpose and meaning....
and Kamala speaks from her heart.
Her life story is absolutely interesting to learn. ‘Mommy’ really did do right by Kamala and her sister.
Their mother was one heck of an inspiring woman.
Yet....
I came away with Questions about Kamala: The big one...
Do I feel she is the best candidate to run against Trump?
After listening to the entire Audiobook....
I’ve concluded - that I like her as a person. I love her compassion - desire - and drive - I’d stand behind her if elected- SHE’S VERY INSPIRING....
but I’m such a fan of Pete Buttigieg....
It’s who I ‘most’ wish would win.
Yikes... was I supposed to share my favorite?
It’s not easy to review a memoir/political book and not have political opinions.
Overall, I’m left feeling Kamala Harris’s intentions are great - especially her perspectives on the current political climate - and core beliefs regarding humanity.
This book itself was listening enjoyment!!!
Rating: really liked it
There was an expectation of this book to be more of a personal life memoir, but the content was less personal and more of political achievements and issues on which America, as a nation, will need to focus. It can be said the focus of this book is more on the American voters than the regular Global readers (like me!).
The content does show and highlight the credibility, integrity, personal character and also clarity of Kamala Harris as an individual.
I will surely look forward to a more focussed memoir from Kamala Harris - a book that can go into the literary shelves and not the campaign counters.
About the book:
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey is a memoir by Kamala Harris. Harris details her life as the daughter of immigrants. She describes her childhood and the neighbourhood she grew up in. Harris mentions about her time and achievements as the San Francisco district attorney. The book discusses her time as California Attorney General, the election to the U.S. Senate in 2016, and her few fights against the Trump administration.
Rating: really liked it
Update 11/08/20:
Congratualations to Kamala Harris, the US' first female, first Black, first Asian-American Vice-President!
____________________________
Original review 3/25/19:
Not being from California, I hadn't heard of Senator Kamala Harris until recently. Because she has entered the Democrat presidential race, I wanted to learn more about her. The first thing I learned in this book was that I was pronouncing her name wrong. It's "Comma-la" not "Kah-MAL-uh. This is what happens when you don't watch tv and get your news by reading it -- you don't know how to pronounce names correctly and when you realise you've been saying it wrong feel rather dumb! Oh well, now I know so that's what is important.
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey is a political memoir but it also talks some about Ms. Harris' childhood, growing up poor with a single mother. I really enjoyed learning about her childhood, but her adult political life is very interesting as well. She started out working for the DA as a prosecutor, then served as the District Attorney for San Francisco. This was followed by being elected Attorney General of California and more recently, elected the 3rd female senator of California (and first of Indian or Jamaican descent).
Senator Harris highlights her career achievements, discusses many of the issues facing America today, and details what she has done and plans to do to fix these issues. Ms. Harris comes across as a woman of deep intellect and compassion and I have a lot of respect for her having read this book. Whether or not I will vote for her remains to be seen, as I weigh her against the others who run for the Democratic nomination. She is certainly someone I will be watching, and I recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn more about a brilliant woman who hopes to be the US' next president. (Update 11/8/20 -- Kamala Harris #47!)
Rating: really liked it
I bought
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey because I'm settling on a U.S. presidential candidate to volunteer for. My mom's experience volunteering for Beto O'Rourke's Senate campaign showed me how rewarding that experience can be (and also got me a rad T-shirt). With California bumping its primary up to March 2020, the Golden State will finally help decide who the Democratic nominee will be and I want to help the candidate who best represents my interests win. Twenty-three have entered the race and I've settled on my top three.
I've voted for Kamala Harris in every election she's been on a ballot--for California Attorney General in 2010 and 2014 and U.S Senate in 2016, all races she won--but there was much about her background that I learned from this spirited memoir, which is as straight-forward and minces few words as most campaign year books do, but takes the reader through Harris's personal, educational and professional life up to her candidacy for U.S. president in January 2019. Her main ideas are there in the title: the value of truth from our public office holders and her unique journey there.
Say It Right
--
First, my name is pronounced "comma-la," like the punctuation mark. It means "lotus flower," which is a symbol of significance in Indian culture. A lotus grows underwater, its flower rising above the surface while its roots are planted firmly in the river bottom.Second Generation
--
My mother had been raised in a household where political activism and civic leadership came naturally. Her mother, my grandmother Rajam Gopalan, had never attended high school, but she was a skilled community organizer. She would take in women who were being abused by their husbands, and then she'd call the husbands and tell them they'd better shape up or she would take care of them. She used to gather the village women together, educating them about contraception. My grandfather P.V. Gopalan had been part of the movement to win India's independence. Eventually, as a senior diplomat in the Indian government, he and my grandmother had spent time living in Zambia after it gained independence, helping settle refugees.Rainbow Sign
--
The Bay Area was home to so many extraordinary black leaders and was bursting with black pride in some places. People had migrated there from all over the country. This meant that kids like me who spent time at Rainbow Sign were exposed to dozens of extraordinary men and women who showed us what we could become. In 1971, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm paid a visit while she was exploring a run for president. Talk about strength! "Unbought and Unbossed," just as her campaign slogan promised. Alice Walker, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for The Color Purple,
did a reading at Rainbow Sign. So did Maya Angelou, the first black female bestselling author, thanks to her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Nina Simone performed at Rainbow Sign when I was seven years old.Career Day
--
Though the seed was planted very early on, I'm not sure, exactly, when I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Some of my greatest heroes were lawyers: Thurgood Marshall, Charles Hamilton Houston, Constance Baker Motley--giants of the civil rights movement. I cared a lot about fairness, and I saw the law as a tool that can help make things fair. But I think what drew me to the profession was the way people around me trusted and relied on lawyers. Uncle Sherman and our close friend Henry were lawyers, and any time someone had a problem, within the family or neighborhood, the first thing you'd hear was "Call Henry. Call Sherman. They'll know what to do. They'll know how to make sense of this." I wanted to be able to do that. I wanted to be one of the people called. I wanted to be the one who could help.Harris tees off on criminal justice reform first, particularly her efforts to reform the nation's bail system, as well as need to rethink the war on drugs and how we address police brutality. She considers herself a progressive prosecutor, representing the people and using discretion to dismiss cases as well as put criminals behind bars. Her contentious negotiations with Bank of America and phone duel with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over a settlement award for California is a highlight of the book. Immigration reform, protecting DACA recipients and her opposition to a border wall in the Senate comes in next.
But there is a bigger reason to oppose the border wall. A useless wall on the southern border would be nothing more than a symbol, a monument standing in opposition to not just everything I value, but the fundamental values upon which this country was built. The Statue of Liberty is the monument that defines to the world who we are. Emma Lazarus's words--"Give me your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"--speak to our true character: a generous country that respects and embraces those who have made the difficult journey to our shores, often fleeing harm; that sees our quintessentially optimistic, can-do spirit in those who aspire to make the American Dream their own. How could I vote to build what would be little more than a monument, designed to send the cold, hard message "KEEP OUT"?
The immigration debate is so often defined by false choices. I remember a town hall I held in Sacramento, where a group of the president's supporters showed up. One man said he thought I cared more about undocumented immigrants than I cared about the American people. It was a false choice. I care deeply about them both. Similarly, the budget debate was offering a false choice: fund the government or oppose the wall. I believed we could do both.Harris writes what she would do to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, expand Medicare for all and leverage the bargaining power of the federal government to lower prescription drug prices. Without mentioning the acting president by name, she attacks his policy agenda as well as his controversial appointments, which as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Homeland Security Committee, Harris has questioned in public hearings. Her differences with the regime are made very clear.
What's the result of all this? It's been great for the richest 1 percent of American households, who now own 40 percent of the nation's wealth, which adds up to roughly $40 trillion. But it's been a financial nightmare for the middle class. According to research done by United Way, 43 percent of households can't afford basic expenses: a roof over their head, food on the table, child care, transportation, and a cell phone.
And yet with millions of Americans hanging by a thread, the White House reached for scissors. In 2017, the administration cut taxes for people who didn't need it and raised taxes on people who can't afford it. They sabotaged the Affordable Care Act, driving up premiums. They ignited a trade war that could lead to higher prices on things we all buy, from groceries to cars. They nominated judges intent on destroying organized labor. They cancelled a pay raise for federal civil servants--everyone from transportation security officers to food inspectors, park rangers, medical personnel, and more. They even halted the debt relief policy that we put in place to help Corinthian Colleges' victims. And for good measure, they did away with net neutrality, which will allow internet companies to charge a premium for popular websites for the first time, adding an unacceptable new bill to the stack.If, like me, you're looking for information about the candidates running for U.S. president in 2020, without the media playing gatekeeper, I highly recommend this memoir. Harris offers a progressive public policy agenda, albeit one lacking in details, and her personal history strongly contrasts with the background of the current president. I believe she'd make a tough campaigner and excellent chief executive. Harris would not only be the first female president of the United States, but the first in an interracial marriage. She has two stepchildren from her husband's previous marriage but like me, no lineal descendants, which is also rare for politicians.
Here's a college photo, graduating from Howard University in 1986, with Harris in the center.
Rating: really liked it
A solid memoir from the junior U.S. Senator for California,
The Truths We Hold sketches the author’s early life, political career, and 2020 campaign platform. Over the course of ten short chapters Kamala Harris alternates between recounting her personal history and outlining her vision for the nation; the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, Harris positions herself as a bold liberal capable of building an expansive coalition of voters and achieving wide-ranging reforms once in office. The memoir tests out potential slogans and reads as fairly cautious, in that Harris shies away from advocating democratic socialism, qualifies many of her bolder proposals, and takes great pains to defend her past as a prosecutor. The work's cloaked in progressive rhetoric but unfortunately scant on policy explanations, and it's easy to see why; from her watering down of Medicare for All to her half-hearted plan for student loan forgiveness, the candidate's actual platform is far from radical and hardly interested in structural change.
Rating: really liked it
It was wonderful to listen to this in Kamala's own voice. Her voice is nice and clear, engaging. Her views on criminal justice reform, banks, immigration and other issues, seem somewhat to align with mine. A fairer, more just country for all. Sounds good in theory but socioeconomic problems are so hard to solve. An ongoing struggle of many, many years and many, many people, aid packages, etc. Greed and the wealthy, well good luck with that.
Her background is an interesting one, her career as District Attorney, her struggles in Congress, her personal life are all related. I've become very disenchanted politically, seriously feel that our government has lost its way. A government no longer for or by the people. Can she change this? Probably not, no one has yet though in the last baby steps were taken.
I just wonder if she is as caring and natural as she sounds. I sincerely hope we get the chance to find out.
Rating: really liked it
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Senator Kamala Harris takes a dive into the current state of American politics as well as the policies, legislation, and initiatives Harris has undertaken in her present and previous roles.
The book is a mix of memoir and political observations. I didn’t realize
how much Harris has accomplished prior to reading this book but will say the parts about her personal life were more interesting to me.
Harris’ intelligence is obvious and I appreciated her message throughout the book that so many of today’s issues don’t have to have an “either/or” solution:
”For too long, we’d been told there were only two options: to be either tough on crime or soft on crime—an oversimplification that ignored the realities of public safety. You can want the police to stop crime in your neighborhood and also want them to stop using excessive force. You can want them to hunt down a killer on your streets and also want them to stop using racial profiling. You can believe in the need for consequence and accountability, especially for serious criminals, and also oppose unjust incarceration. I believed it was essential to weave all these varied strands together.”3.5 stars (rounded up) and a book recommended for anyone frustrated with the state of American politics today.
Rating: really liked it
There are many ways to have a rich childhood. Having parents who are financially well-off is only one way. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary the second definition of rich is "having high value or quality". By this definition, Kamala Harris had a rich childhood.
Kamala was raised in a loving home by highly educated parents. From an early age they instilled in her the importance of working hard and fighting for her beliefs. She attended marches for justice while still in a stroller. Visiting her Mom's research lab as a young child she experienced the dedication to a belief and the importance of commitment. She also learned that a home is a place of support, shared meals, and most of all, love. The neighborhood where Kamala spent most of her childhood also reinforced this. A community center where neighbors shared meals and children developed skills also nurtured the young Kamala.
These early influences greatly affected her as she grew and accomplished so much. From law school to district attorney, attorney general of California, state senator, and Democratic candidate for vice-president, she has listened to her mother's words; follow what in your heart you know is right and never stop fighting for it.
This political memoir might be self-promoting, but most books of this genre are. I chose to read this book because I wanted to know more about this prominent Democrat. Her intelligence, integrity, compassion, and toughness are characteristics I admire. She should make all women proud.
Rating: really liked it
It is difficult to critique political memoirs without seeming to be critical the high-minded ideals these writers espouse. Kamala Harris appears outside the norm for the kind of Washington politician we’ve put up with these past twenty years. Formerly Attorney General of California, she had to find solutions to big thorny problems that plagued governance of that state. If she didn’t “solve” the problems for all time, she always came down fighting for the side of individuals against corporate entities, big business, or thoughtless, inadequate government.
Early on in this memoir Senator Harris speaks with some awe of the work of Maura Healy, current Attorney General of Massachusetts, who has been firm in defending statewide consumer protections in that state unlike any other. She mentions the work now-Senator and presidential-hopeful Elizabeth Warren has done to protect consumers from predatory lending practices and investment scams of big banks, or the greed of big pharma.
Harris’ own work is strictly in this vein. Criminal justice reform, racial justice, environmental protections, wage equality, regulation of banks and corporation, fair practices for consumers. For a woman who has never served in the military, no one could ever argue this woman doesn’t know what war looks like. She has investigated the heart of drug smuggling from Mexico, immigration, sex trafficking, and other rough criminal ventures that make our hair curl. She knows what government power means and when and how to use it. She’s tough. And disciplined. And principled.
After seeing how the country suffers when the presidency is filled by someone inadequate to the demands of the job, we should ever be grateful that someone of Harris’ gifts stands up to take on the brutality we’ve witnessed in Washington. Harris is the winged goddess Nemesis wielding a sword; she is implacable justice, avenger of crime. It will be bloody but it will be over when she’s done.
Until Donald Trump (and more and more I am convinced that election was not a fair demonstration of the national will), we’ve never elected someone with as little support from the major parties. Democrats now have very little patience left for what is the husk of a Republican Party, and Republicans appear to detest what Democrats stand for. Harris will not be a cross-over candidate. She will be vengeance.
This book is an introduction to Harris and is very good for that. Kamala was born in Oakland in the sixties of a Jamaican-economist father, and a Tamil Indian-endocrinologist mother who’d met at Berkeley during the civil rights movement. She and a sister, Maya, who is two years younger, were brought up by her single-parent mother after the breakup of her parents while she was still a child. She married Douglas Emhoff, a lawyer, in 2014. Emhoff had two children during a previous marriage.
Harris begins her book talking about her youth and the importance of recognizing that our nation has been enriched by immigration. She is proud of her black heritage and chose Howard University for her undergraduate degree and graduated University of CA Hastings College of Law in 1989. She admits to terrible embarrassment at failing the CA bar the first time, but her employers supported her next, successful attempt.
Harris began as Deputy District Attorney in San Francisco, then won the race for District Attorney in San Francisco in 2003. By 2004 she’d begun a program called Back on Track, to help youthful nonviolent offenders to get back into the community through work. The program was considered a success though it had a low graduation rate and was instituted in several other counties and eventually became state law.
When Harris won the election for CA State Attorney General in 2010, the race tally was so close the election results were not announced for three weeks. One of her first successes was against banks liable after the sub-prime mortgage crisis, winning $26 billion from the banks, including $12 million for homeowners. As AG, Harris initiated investigations into sex and drug trafficking, hate crimes, environmental degradation, predatory lending, school truancy and foster care, as well as prison conditions and sentencing reform.
Barbara Boxer announced she was going to retire as Senator to CA in 2016, and Harris was one of the first to announce her candidacy for Boxer’s seat. Harris is generally well-regarded at home in CA and among those who search for and vet candidates for high national office like Supreme Court and Attorney General of the U.S. There has been some grumbling that Harris defends misconduct by law enforcement, but overall these complaints have not hurt her popularity in the state. Harris won the congressional election against Loretta Sanchez with 62% of the vote, winning in all but four counties.
Since being in Washington, Senator Harris has been a hard-hitting and outspoken critic of Trump’s policies and the Democratic Party now considers her a front-runner for president. We learn that her name Kamala (COMMA-la) means lotus, a flower that blooms above the water while its roots are planted in mud. That’s quite a visual for a successful presidency.
I listened to the audio of this read by the author and produced by Penguin Audio. It is a successful sprint through the high points of a career not yet over. We get a sense of her personality, her drive, her family and friends. She is quite an opponent.
Rating: really liked it
Reading this I felt it was another unscrupulous politician lying all the way to the voting booth. Yet, among all the crap politicians with an unintelligent following, Harris seems to have by far the most aggressive bunch of bullies.
Original review: Another unscrupulous politician lying all the way to the voting booth.
The unpleasant is pushed under the rug, the presumed positive is inflated. Business as usual.
I clearly don't get the US politics. I get the mindless tribalism that make Harris good because she is "ours". But beyond that it's over me. One should not prize a generously paid government bureaucrat for doing their job, the same way I won't give a Senatorial job with all the perks to the dry cleaner JUST for not ruining my leather coat. And one should certainly not take into account "the intention" when people like Harris abuse their powers, the same way I would not be well impressed when the local busybody burns down the neighbor's house because they thought the mosquito they saw was carrying zika and used a blowtorch to hunt it down.
Rating: really liked it
I first noticed Kamala Harris during her questioning of a witness in the Trump impeachment hearing. She didn’t grand stand and she didn’t read a statement written by an aide. She searched for the facts and demanded direct answers to her questions. She was formidable.
Her book reveals her strong family values and her connection to the personal struggles and travails of her constituents. She stresses the importance of innovative ideas to solve problems, as in her criminal justice programs of California. She understands the importance of a fair immigration system, the threats of cyber security, and the devastating effects of untethered banking institutions.
I believe Ms. Harris is intelligent, moral, energetic, and the bright shining star in the 2021 White House. The book was written while promoting her presidential campaign and it isn’t a literary feat, but it gives solid information about her background and her political influences.
Rating: really liked it
Pleased to be finishing this one on MLK day and the day Harris announced her candidacy.
This was an interesting read, a little slow in the middle. The first and last chapters were my favorites, showcasing her origins and her exhortations for the future.
It gave me that little extra insight into a potential (when I started it) candidate that I was looking for.
The threshold question I’m holding for any candidate in the current cycle, beyond the basics of whether I find their values and track record acceptable, and what I think of their platform and agenda, is this: Can he or she go toe to toe with whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever, to get the job done?
If I can get behind what I think they stand for and accept their record of integrity and effectiveness, this will help set the candidates apart. Whatever gender, ethnicity, age or or other demographic, do they have the presence, personal power, displaying to the outside a depth of inner fortitude and grace, to do the job in deeply trying times and far from ideal or supportive circumstances.
Culturally, historically, it can be a tougher standard for some demographics than others to convincingly demonstrate publicly. I’m questioning it for everyone, of every demographic, whether minority or majority, in power suits or jeans, dresses or other cultural garb.
The traditional power signals our culture is used to responding to may be evolving or crumbling, but power signaling remains a reality in leadership. There were some interesting, sometimes unexpected, strong and weak signalers in the midterms. Who will signal clearly, with real strength, authentically and humanely, in this race?
This book didn’t rule out Harris for me in that regard, and made a good case for keeping her in mind as one to watch for having that particular right stuff.
Rating: really liked it
This genre often leaves a lot to be desired. I loved hear her talk about her life and the work she’s done but it lacks in vulnerability because it’s a companion piece for running for President not a tell all. It’s good for what it is and she’s a wonderful human. Hearing about her work as a prosecutor and her plans for the country was all good. But overall it’s nothing ground breaking or exciting.
Rating: really liked it
I have followed Kamala Harris’ career since she was the District Attorney of San Francisco. When she was Attorney General of California, I impressed with her prosecution of the banks during the mortgage crisis. She has done a good job as Senator representing California.
The book is well written. Harris reveals her early life and career. She also points out that she was tossed into the civil rights problems from the beginning because her mother is a Tamil Indian and her father is a black and both were active in the civil rights movement. Her mother immigrated from Madras, India and her father from Jamaica. Both her parents are highly educated: her mother as a breast cancer scientist and her father as an economics professor at Stanford University. The book follows the usual type of memoir of a new politician in that it is part personal memoir but mostly an outline of her beliefs, positions, and goals. Instead of being written in chronological order, the chapters follow various key topics. Harris is a young highly educated woman of color and fits the diversity requirements this country needs of its politicians to better represent the country. I plan on continuing to follow her career and her writings.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is nine hours and twenty-six minutes. Harris does a good job narrating the book.
