From Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s pick for his 2020 running mate, this book is about the core truths that unite American people, and the long struggle to discern what those truths are and how best to act upon them.

Harris’ commitment to speaking truth is informed by her upbringing. The daughter of immigrants, she was raised in an Oakland, California community that cared deeply about social justice; her parents — an economist from Jamaica and a cancer researcher from India — met as activists in the civil rights movement when they were graduate students at Berkeley.

Growing up, Harris herself never hid her passion for justice, and when she became a prosecutor out of law school, a deputy district attorney, she quickly established herself as one of the most innovative change agents in American law enforcement. She progressed rapidly to become the elected District Attorney for San Francisco, and then the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California. Known for bringing a voice to the voiceless, she took on the big banks during the foreclosure crisis, winning a historic settlement for California’s working families. Her hallmarks were applying a holistic, data-driven approach to many of California’s thorniest issues, always eschewing stale “tough on crime” rhetoric as presenting a series of false choices. Neither “tough” nor “soft” but smart on crime became her mantra. Being smart means learning the truths that can make a better community, and supporting them.

By reckoning with the big challenges Americans face together, drawing on the hard-won wisdom and insight from her own career and the work of those who have most inspired her, Harris offers in this book a master class in problem solving, in crisis management, and leadership in challenging times. (SD-Agencies)