Big Daddy Jesse Unruh and the Art of Power Politics

Revealing and frank, this highly engaging biography tells the story of an American original, California's Big Daddy, Jesse Unruh (1922-1987), a charismatic man whose power reached far beyond the offices he held. Unruh, who was born into Texas sharecropper poverty, became a larger-than-life figure and a principal architect and builder of modern California. He dominated the California capitol and extended his influence to Washington and Wall Street. He was also a great character: a combination of intelligence, wit, idealism, cynicism, woman-chasing, vulgarity, charm, drunken excess, and political skill. The author is a veteran of 30 years with the Los Angeles Times and a member of reporting teams that won three Pulitzer Prizes.