Kamala Harris

Seasoned journalist Dan Morain has followed Kamala Harris's professional and political development over twenty-five years of covering legal issues and the political situation in California, and now provides the first detailed account of her extraordinary life.

Kamala Harris and her younger sister were raised by a single mother who emigrated from India at the age of 19 in search of a better education. She and Kamala's father, a top economics professor from Jamaica, separated when Kamala was just five years old. Kamala inherited both her parents' sense of social justice. From his mother, he has a work ethic, an eye for detail, and above all a talent for walking through closed doors.

After humble beginnings in Oakland, she has grown into an indomitable, quick-witted, understanding and precise woman - a feared prosecutor renowned for her caustic parades and a politician capable of deftly navigating the pitfalls of California's fractious political scene.

The reader meets Kamala, an ambitious lawyer who, after persistent efforts, becomes the first dark-skinned attorney general in California history.

He meets Kamala, a gifted strategic thinker, who was not afraid to walk over dead bodies in the ruthless Californian politics, but could also run the gauntlet when the time was right. And he also discovers Kamala Gamble, who courageously ran for the United States Senate just five years after taking office as Attorney General - and endorsed Barack Obama's candidacy at a time when his victory was far from certain.

Morain continuously shows, what Harris is doing, when no one is looking - falling in love late in life, becomes a stepmother and cares for little-known members of her longtime informal political family, who always believed that her distinctive style would take her to the top.

Dan Morain is an American journalist and author. He has covered California state government, politics and judicial issues for more than four decades, including twenty-seven years at the Los Angeles Times and eight years at the Sacramento Bee, where he ran the commentary section. He published his first text on Kamala Harris in 1994. In 2010, as a journalist, he covered her journey to become Attorney General of California and later a U.S. Senator in Congress.

"Morain's long reporting experience covering California politics is evident on every page of the text...A terrific read for anyone interested in Kamala Harris's political journey set in a contemporary context."

Booklist

"The author ... shares with the reader stories that take place when no one is looking. In doing so, he does not resort to tabloidism and sensationalism, instead offering a careful, honest and readable account of our new second-in-command. So if you feel like you don't know enough about her yet, include Kamala Harris' biography. Own your way to the list of must-read books - it will be an excellent next step in getting to know this extraordinary person."

Miami Times