Only 10 per cent of those who have sat at the cabinet table in Ireland in almost 100 years have been women, totalling just 19 female politicians. Along with the two former female presidents of Ireland, all of the living members of this exclusive club are interviewed here for the first time, collectively bringing together their voices to reveal the challenges and triumphs of getting to the top table of Irish political life.The interviewees are Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Gemma Hussey, Mary O'Rourke, Nora Owen, Niamh Bhreathnach, Mary Harney, Síle de Valera, Mary Coughlan, Mary Hanafin, Joan Burton, Frances Fitzgerald, Jan O'Sullivan, Heather Humphreys, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, Katherine Zappone, Regina Doherty and Josepha Madigan.From the battles to have their voices heard to balancing a career with family life, dealing with various levels of sexism and an enduring focus on appearance, their personal stories are dramatic, colourful and inspiring. In opening up about how they secured a place at the top table of political life, these women give us remarkable insights into a changing Ireland.'A fascinating and compelling read that couldn't be more timely.' Miriam O'Callaghan'A timely and important contribution to the contemporary reflection on women's historic and future place in Irish society and public life.' Emily O'Reilly, European Ombudsman

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! The definitive biography of Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful woman in American political history, written by New York Times bestselling author and USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page. Featuring more than 150 exclusive interviews with those who know her best—and a series of in-depth, news-making interviews with Pelosi herself—MADAM SPEAKER is unprecedented in the scope of its exploration of Nancy Pelosi’s remarkable life and of her indelible impact on American politics. Before she was Nancy Pelosi, she was Nancy D’Alesandro. Her father was a big-city mayor and her mother his political organizer; when she encour­aged her young daughter to become a nun, Nancy told her mother that being a priest sounded more appealing. She didn’t begin running for office until she was forty-six years old, her five children mostly out of the nest. With that, she found her calling. Nancy Pelosi has lived on the cutting edge of the revolution in both women’s roles and in the nation’s movement to a fiercer and more polarized politics. She has established herself as a crucial friend or for­midable foe to U.S. presidents, a master legislator, and an indefatigable political warrior. She took on the Democratic establishment to become the first female Speaker of the House, then battled rivals on the left and right to consolidate her power. She has soared in the sharp-edged inside game of politics, though she has struggled in the outside game—demonized by conservatives, second-guessed by progressives, and routinely underestimated by nearly everyone. All of this was preparation for the most historic challenge she would ever face, at a time she had been privately planning her retirement. When Donald Trump was elected to the White House, Nancy Pelosi became the Democratic counterpart best able to stand up to the disruptive president and to get under his skin. The battle between Trump and Pelosi, chronicled in this book with behind-the-scenes details and revelations, stands to be the titanic political struggle of our time.

The first English-language scholarly book to provide an overview of the Angela Merkel's career and influence.

A firsthand account of how public officials and other well-connected individuals have been compromised or blackmailed by their sexual improprieties, Confessions of a D.C. Madame relates the author’s time running the largest gay escort service in Washington, DC, and his interactions with VIPs from government, business, and the media who solicited the escorts he employed. The book details the federal government’s pernicious campaign waged against the author to ensure his silence and how he withstood relentless, fabricated attacks by the government, which included incarceration rooted in trumped up charges and outright lies. This fascinating and shocking facet of government malfeasance reveals the integral role blackmail plays in American politics and the unbelievable lengths the government perpetrates to silence those in the know.

BEST BOOKS of 2017 SELECTION by * THE WASHINGTON POST * NEW YORK POST * The harrowing, but triumphant story of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader of the Liberian women’s movement, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first democratically elected female president in African history. When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf won the 2005 Liberian presidential election, she demolished a barrier few thought possible, obliterating centuries of patriarchal rule to become the first female elected head of state in Africa’s history. Madame President is the inspiring, often heartbreaking story of Sirleaf’s evolution from an ordinary Liberian mother of four boys to international banking executive, from a victim of domestic violence to a political icon, from a post-war president to a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author Helene Cooper deftly weaves Sirleaf’s personal story into the larger narrative of the coming of age of Liberian women. The highs and lows of Sirleaf’s life are filled with indelible images; from imprisonment in a jail cell for standing up to Liberia’s military government to addressing the United States Congress, from reeling under the onslaught of the Ebola pandemic to signing a deal with Hillary Clinton when she was still Secretary of State that enshrined American support for Liberia’s future. Sirleaf’s personality shines throughout this riveting biography. Ultimately, Madame President is the story of Liberia’s greatest daughter, and the universal lessons we can all learn from this “Oracle” of African women.

Thomas Blood’s Madame Secretary is a riveting biography of the first woman U. S. Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, “the ultimate independent woman” (The New York Times Magazine). No American envoy has ever burst on the diplomatic scene and grabbed center stage in the theater of foreign relations like Madeleine Albright. Navigating difficult terrain as few can, Washington D. C. insider Thomas Blood provides exclusive interviews with, and revealing anecdotes from, politicians, friends, adversaries, and colleagues, including former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Senators Leahy, Mikulski, Kerrey, Helms, Reid, and Rockefeller, and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt. This unique biography reveals the dramatic story of the first woman U.S. Secretary of State. Rather than providing a simple chronology, Blood focuses on the defining moments in Madeleine Albright’s life, identifying the periods that best open a window on the Secretary of State’s uncanny ability to triumph over adversity, her unparalleled success in politics and her meteoric rise to dominance in the world of foreign policy. From her family’s thrilling escape from Czechoslovakia to her astounding rise to power to her victories and setbacks as the head of American foreign policy, Madeleine Albright’s life unfolds like a major motion picture. An immensely readable biography that illuminates key experiences in Albright’s career and personal life, Madam Secretary introduces us to Madeleine Albright the person, the politician, the policymaker.

“Jewelry isn’t ordinarily a tool of political persuasion, but in this beautiful book, Madeleine Albright, American ambassador to the United Nations and then the nation’s first female secretary of state, tells the compelling story of how these small objects became part of her ‘personal diplomatic arsenal.’” — The Chicago Tribune From New York Times bestselling author and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, Read My Pins is a story and celebration of how one woman’s jewelry collection was used to make diplomatic history. Part illustrated memoir, part social history, Read My Pins provides an intimate look at Albright's life through the brooches she wore. Her collection is both international and democratic—dime-store pins share pride of place with designer creations and family heirlooms. Included are the antique eagle purchased to celebrate Albright's appointment as secretary of state, the zebra pin she wore when meeting Nelson Mandela, and the Valentine's Day heart forged by Albright's five-year-old daughter. Read My Pins features more than 200 photographs, along with compelling and often humorous stories about jewelry, global politics, and the life of one of America's most accomplished and fascinating diplomats.

The National Book Award Finalist and New York Times bestseller that became a guide and balm for a country struggling to understand the election of Donald Trump "A generous but disconcerting look at the Tea Party. . . . This is a smart, respectful and compelling book." —Jason DeParle, The New York Times Book Review When Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, a bewildered nation turned to Strangers in Their Own Land to understand what Trump voters were thinking when they cast their ballots. Arlie Hochschild, one of the most influential sociologists of her generation, had spent the preceding five years immersed in the community around Lake Charles, Louisiana, a Tea Party stronghold. As Jedediah Purdy put it in the New Republic, "Hochschild is fascinated by how people make sense of their lives. . . . [Her] attentive, detailed portraits . . . reveal a gulf between Hochchild's 'strangers in their own land' and a new elite." Already a favorite common read book in communities and on campuses across the country and called "humble and important" by David Brooks and "masterly" by Atul Gawande, Hochschild's book has been lauded by Noam Chomsky, New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu, and countless others. The paperback edition features a new afterword by the author reflecting on the election of Donald Trump and the other events that have unfolded both in Louisiana and around the country since the hardcover edition was published, and also includes a readers' group guide at the back of the book.

“Drawing from rich behind-the-scenes knowledge,” a biography of the woman who led Germany for sixteen years (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Angela Merkel, who has held control of the European Union and successfully negotiated with Vladimir Putin, has been one of the most crucial and formidable fixtures in contemporary politics. This book weaves the personal story of the former German chancellor with the vivid history of post-World War II and post-Cold War Europe in a riveting account of the political titan’s ascent from obscurity to become one of the most influential leaders in the world, responsible for making Germany freer and more prosperous than it has ever been. This updated edition of the definitive biography follows Angela Merkel from her bleak childhood in East Germany through her meteoric rise to power, and includes up-to-date information on recent pressing concerns such as the refugee crisis. Offering an unprecedented look at how Merkel’s inimitable personality and perspective allowed her and her staff of mostly female advisors to repeatedly outmaneuver a network of conservative male politicians, Angela Merkel is essential reading for anyone interested in politics and current affairs, or simply in the story of a truly remarkable woman. “Well-written and informative.” —Booklist

Danika Cahill, is running for U.S. Senator from Washington State in the year 2020. Like Harry Truman, Danika speaks plainly and with none of the usual politician's double speak the public is used to hearing. She wants to tax the rich, reduce the military, and give medical care to everyone. The very ideas that may very will cause her trouble once in Washington D.C. Danika knows it and is prepared to fight for what she believes in. Sam McGibbon has been her body guard, on loan from the Washington State Patrol, during her campaign. After saving her life, Danika asks Sam to join her in D.C. to watch her back while she tends to her senator's duties and keep track of the political issues that define her term as senator. Together they head to Washington D.C. to change the landscape of the country's politics. Conrad Jansen, senior Republican senator and main opposition to Senator Cahill's political agenda, has other ideas. Ideas that can cause Danika harm if she doesn't heed his warnings. He'll stop at nothing to maintain his control on Washington. From made up stories of her divorce leaked to the press, to the attempts on her life, to break-ins, car crashes, and office bugging. It's a busy time for the senator and Sam in D.C. Not to mention an assassination attempt in her own state. Nothing says welcome home to Seattle like an attempt on your life.