The good fight

by Harry Reid

We all know them: politicians' books that read as ifthey've been cobbled together from old speeches. TheGood Fight is as far from that as it is possible to get.In a voice that is flinty, real, and passion-filled, SenatorHarry Reid tells the tale of two places, intertwining his own story,particularly his early life of deep poverty in the tiny mining townof Searchlight, Nevada—"a place that boasted of thirteen brothelsand no churches"—with the cautionary tale of Washington,D.C.: "If I can do nothing greater in this book than explain thosetwo places to each other, then I will have done something important."Reid is inspired by obstacles. Brought up in a cabin withoutindoor plumbing, he hitchhiked forty-five miles across opendesert to high school. He worked full-time as a Capitol Hillpoliceman to get through law school, after the school refusedhim financial aid, telling him he wasn't cut out to be a lawyer. Ashead of the Nevada Gaming Commission, he led an unrelentingfight to clean up Las V