The Joy of Politics: Surviving Cancer, a Campaign, an Insurrection, and Life’s Other Unexpected Curveballs

Three-term Minnesota senator Klobuchar (Antitrust) faces an onslaught of personal and political challenges with folksy candor in this entertaining memoir. Breaking down “the crazy ways of Washington” in breezy prose, Klobuchar peppers her narrative with personal stories, life lessons, and political pep talks for a despairing nation. She contemplates the consequences of Donald Trump’s “dark rhetoric,” the murder of George Floyd, and the January 6 insurrection with the same determined tone she uses to describe her experiences overcoming breast cancer, riding out her husband’s near-fatal case of Covid, and suffering defeat in the 2020 presidential primaries. Throughout, Klobuchar’s optimism never flags—she regularly invokes fellow Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone’s admonition to his staff after a defeat (“What happened to the joy?”) and addresses readers directly, spurring them to “make change” however they can. It’s the stuff of standard political memoirs, but Klobuchar’s faith in America and its processes lands as pragmatic and genuine. This offers a peek behind the curtain and a pat on the shoulder for the politically curious. (May)