Straight from the Heart: My Life in Politics and Other Places

A rising star in the Democratic Party leadership, Texas state treasurer Richards was propelled into national prominence by her performance as keynote speaker of the 1988 Democratic Convention, and is current frontrunner in the 1990 Texas race for governor. Writing with freelancer Knobler, she projects a folksy image flavored here with self-deprecating humor, which does not conceal an astute, disciplined mind, a resourceful politician. This anecdote-filled account of Richards's childhood in rural Texas and of her life as a wife, mother of four and grandmother, is so beguilingly candid, even about her divorce and bout with alcoholism, that readers will likely forget that this is also campaign literature intended to appeal to feminists, blacks and other minorities, as well as to Texas voters at large. (Oct.)