Date/Time
Date(s) - April 29, 2026
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Our next book selection is “The Game Changer: How Harry Reid Remade the Rules and Showed Democrats How to Fight“, By Jon Ralston
How did the son of a laundress for local brothels end up one of America’s most powerful politicians and the Senate’s most bare-knuckled Democrat? Political journalist Jon Ralston gives us the first full biography of Harry Reid, the five-time Senator from Nevada whose ruthlessness and tenacity produced the most groundbreaking legislation of the late 20th century, and who also invented the tactics that would keep his Democratic Party in control. For that, he inspired loyalty and derision, admiration and disdain. But his legacy of change speaks for itself.
“A critical but appreciative biography that explores how a quietly persistent politician got things done.”—Publishers Weekly
“The Game Changer is an achievement. Ralston reports Harry Reid’s story. Reports. Letters. Emails. Memos. Interviews. Witnesses. Hard, sturdy facts. These are the building blocks of a story that isn’t sanitized or stylized. Its significance can and will for years hence be found in its attention to detail – its keen eye for motivation, process, alliance, gamesmanship, and tactics—fundamentals of success at the highest strata of American political life. Reid ascended those heights. It took a tenacious and non-romantic journalist to make sense of the distance traveled and the switchbacks required.”—Major Garrett, Chief Washington Correspondent, CBS News
“Jon Ralston has brought us an invaluable study of how political power is amassed, wielded and maintained. With revealing interviews and never-before-seen documents, Ralston tells the singular story of how Harry Reid rose from desert poverty to the heights of Washington– building the modern Democratic Party and today’s Las Vegas along the way. If you enjoyed Robert Caro on LBJ, you’ll love this book.” —Jonathan Martin, Politico columnist and co-author of New York Times bestseller This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29th at 6:00 PM at the home of Fred and Millie May. If you would like to receive our monthly SWD Book Club Reminder Email, or to let us know if you are coming, please contact Fred & Millie May at fred.may@outlook.com.
