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The Game Changer: How Harry Reid Remade the Rules and Showed Democrats How to Fight
Political journalist Jon Ralston gives us the first full biography of Harry Reid, the five-time senator whose game-changing leadership carved the path to the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and other groundbreaking legislation that changed the course of history.
Born in Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose from a hardscrabble childhood to become one of the more powerful Capitol Hill leaders in US history as the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, and the most consequential elected figure in Nevada. He was, in his own words, willing to do what no one else would do in his Machiavellian pursuit of what he thought was best for his country and his party. In The Game Changer, veteran Nevada journalist Jon Ralston gives us a compelling portrait of a politician who inspired loyalty and derision, admiration and disdain, a testament to his relentless drive.
Reid’s character was partly forged through his dynamic and sweeping career. From 1997 to 1981, he was made chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, where he was charged with exterminating mob influence. In 1982, he won a seat in Congress and a US Senate seat in 1986. In the Senate, Reid changed the course of history several times, including persuading a Republican senator to switch parties and thus partisan control; by partnering with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass Obamacare; and by changing the Senate filibuster rules to save President Obama’s lower court nominees, unknowingly opening the door for Republicans to later mimic his maneuver to cement three Supreme Court justices. Reid also became a formidable force at home, where he built a Nevada political machine that turned a red state blue and left a legacy on infrastructure and the environment—including squelching a planned nuclear waste dump—that is unmatched.
The duality of Harry Reid is reflected in the polarizing emotions he elicited and still does. His legacy of accomplishments, though, cannot be denied, nor can his role in the enduring dysfunction of what was once called the world’s greatest deliberative body.
Born in Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose from a hardscrabble childhood to become one of the more powerful Capitol Hill leaders in US history as the Democratic Senate Majority Leader, and the most consequential elected figure in Nevada. He was, in his own words, willing to do what no one else would do in his Machiavellian pursuit of what he thought was best for his country and his party. In The Game Changer, veteran Nevada journalist Jon Ralston gives us a compelling portrait of a politician who inspired loyalty and derision, admiration and disdain, a testament to his relentless drive.
Reid’s character was partly forged through his dynamic and sweeping career. From 1997 to 1981, he was made chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, where he was charged with exterminating mob influence. In 1982, he won a seat in Congress and a US Senate seat in 1986. In the Senate, Reid changed the course of history several times, including persuading a Republican senator to switch parties and thus partisan control; by partnering with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass Obamacare; and by changing the Senate filibuster rules to save President Obama’s lower court nominees, unknowingly opening the door for Republicans to later mimic his maneuver to cement three Supreme Court justices. Reid also became a formidable force at home, where he built a Nevada political machine that turned a red state blue and left a legacy on infrastructure and the environment—including squelching a planned nuclear waste dump—that is unmatched.
The duality of Harry Reid is reflected in the polarizing emotions he elicited and still does. His legacy of accomplishments, though, cannot be denied, nor can his role in the enduring dysfunction of what was once called the world’s greatest deliberative body.
- GenresBiography
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2026
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194 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 28, 2026
As good as it gets. A masterpiece of Senator Reid’s life and a masterclass on his political rise. I learned a lot about what influenced his methods and values. Bravo!
January 23, 2026
I pre-ordered this book because I am a fan of Jon Ralston and have followed his election coverage in particular in the last several elections. So, when I heard Nevada's premier political journalist wrote a book about Nevada's most prominent and influential politician, I was intrigued. Fortunately I was not let down, The Game Changer is a very engaging read, and having read many political memoirs, Harry Reid had a life more interesting than many of his politcal contemporaries. Nevada politics is a different beast than most places and Jon takes us on a journey through many of Nevada's most interesting political battles through the lense of one of its most intriguing figures. I did not know nearly as much as I thought I did about the man from Searchlight, and I am glad Jon has provided the world with such a thorough and candid biography.
February 3, 2026
Jon Ralston captures the essence of Harry Reid and his rise to power with honesty and candor. He fleshes out many myths, separates fact from fiction, and provides an accurate account of a paradoxical character. His chapter on Reid’s passage of the Affordable Care Act is told with the same deftness that Caro employs in his telling of Johnson’s passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in The Passage of Power, conveying all of the emotion and passion behind the antiseptic passage of a law. Ralston’s chapter on Reid’s final years- particularly his tribute to Landra on the floor of the US Senate- is a beautiful piece of writing, packing emotion without being cloying or sentimental.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews