Dianne Feinstein: Never Let Them See You Cry

by Jerry Roberts

An unauthorized biography of Dianne Feinstein portrays a childhood of pain and privilege, her rise to power as mayor of San Francisco, the tragic Milk and Moscone slayings, and her successful campaign for the Senate in 1992

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Kevin Hung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong. Powerful

[Walter Kawahara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a real joy to be able to read a biography of Feinstein who, though her career as a public servant was long-lasting and extremely influential, was often ignored by the media once the novelty of being one of the lone female politicians wore off and people started to forget the chaos she found herself managing as mayor of San Francisco. Roberts dives into Feinstein not just as a trailblazer and uniquely skilled politician, but as a person, and her inspiring life story is phenomenal. At the end of the book, Roberts speculates that California's first female senator may very well become the first female Commander-in-Chief, and it is interesting and somewhat melancholic to see the mini-mania that followed Feinstein upon her election to the Senate; since the immediate prelude to her passing it has seemed the world has forgotten the trailblazing lioness of the senate and iconic American mayor and instead sought to pigeonhole her with chattering class jargon; neoliberal (what neoliberal votes against NAFTA?), raging leftist (fat chance, Fox) or corrupt technocrat (some investments are suspect, but it seems like a complete nothing burger), but the case of Dianne Feinstein deserves no such verdicts in the court of public opinion, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about this admirable and endlessly fascinating American and how she shaped her country, her state and her beloved city.

[Rebecca McKinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspirational story of a woman to be admired.