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Jerry Roberts--political editor of the San Francisco Chronicle--offers a revealing portrait of California Senator Dianne Feinstein, the enigmatic woman and consummate political survivor whose rocky path to national prominence may well lead to the White House.

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Library Journal Review

In this generally favorable biography, Feinstein is portrayed as a complex, sometimes contradictory person, but the author fails to explore adequately the complexity or explain the reasons for the contradictions. Roberts, the political editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, quotes extensively from interviews with Feinstein's friends and family members, but he lacks the first-person interview material and access to her personal papers that might add insight to the controversial decisions Feinstein made as San Francisco's first female mayor. Roberts's reporting of Feinstein's career as a San Francisco supervisor and her two unsuccessful campaigns for mayor is sometimes tiresome. The writing improves when he describes the dramatic events that resulted in her becoming mayor-the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by former Supervisor Dan White. Feinstein's failed campaign for governor and her successful campaign for U.S. senator are described only briefly. Given the superficial nature of the coverage and the lack of supporting documentation such as references and notes, this book cannot be recommended.-Jill Ortner, Sch. of Information & Lib. Studies, SUNY at Buffalo (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Twice defeated in mayoral races, Feinstein became acting mayor of San Francisco in 1978 when George Moscone was assassinated, and was later sworn in as the city's first elected female mayor. Feinstein, ``a thrice-married Jewish woman from the kook capital of America,'' came close to being picked as Walter Mondale's running mate in the 1984 presidential election. In 1990, she became the first woman to win the gubernatorial nomination of a major party in California. Roberts's penetrating biography reveals Feinstein as a pragmatic, aggressive politician full of intriguing contradictions: a trailblazer for women but often at odds with feminists; ambitious but lacking in confidence at crucial moments in her career; cheerful and upbeat but lacking in humor and a sense of irony. Roberts, political editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, has covered Feinstein for nearly 20 years. Here he recounts her difficult childhood and her evolution from an aloof, calculating local appointee to the warmly engaging, highly visible leader on the national scene. Photos. $50,000 ad/promo; author tour. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

As one of the most prominent high-ranking female politicians of her day, Dianne Feinstein has always generated interest. But biographies of politicians rarely afford a glimpse behind the public persona, and this one is no exception. Although Roberts chronicles Feinstein's career and life events ably, he begs the question of what makes Dianne tick. To his credit, though, the San Francisco Chronicle's political editor, who has covered Feinstein for 20 years, provides insightful political analysis and timely observations on the nature of women in power as well as a well-crafted profile, instead of a rounded portrait, of a particular political career. Its failings notwithstanding, the book will find an audience as long as its subject can. ~--Mary Ellen Sullivan