The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House

The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House (2024) is a memoir by Nancy Pelosi. In it, Pelosi offers an account of her role in significant moments in US legislative and political history. Pelosi is a powerful political figure who became the first woman to ascend to the speakership of the US House of Representatives. The memoir offers lessons Pelosi has learned about wielding power during a career spanning decades. The book is her effort to cement her legacy. 

This guide uses the 2024 Simon & Schuster Kindle book edition.

Content Warning: The source text includes discussions of physical and political violence.

Summary

In the Preface, “Know Your Why,” Nancy Pelosi explains that her legislative work is rooted in her faith and sense of care for children. She acknowledges that she has encountered some challenges as a woman in politics.

In Part 1, Chapter 1: “Knock, Knock,” Pelosi describes the morning of a brutal attack on Paul Pelosi, her husband. Pelosi was shocked by the attack because it was politically motivated. Like many politicians, she thought family members were off-limits and that political discourse would never morph into physical violence. The attack on Paul taught her otherwise. The insensitive, sensational coverage of the attack injured her family even more. Pelosi laments the coarsening of political discourse and the harm it does, including preventing good people from running for political office.

In Part 2, Chapter 2: “We Have Made History, and Now We Must Make Progress,” Pelosi gives the inside view of her historic rise to speakership of the House of Representatives. She ran in the context of a culture that valued “waiting one’s turn,” and everyone who was waiting their turn was a man. Pelosi felt the weight of representing all the women who fought for women’s political rights, so she persevered and—using her legendary power of counting votes—won. Pelosi gives an account of the complicated dynamics a person in the speakership role must navigate and the constitutional duties of the House of Representatives. Beyond the powers enumerated in the Constitution, some protocols ease interactions between the legislative and executive branches of government. Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the United States, violated many of these protocols. Pelosi believes he is a sign of the corruption of the political process by power and money.

In Part 3, Chapter 3: “‘The Intelligence Does Not Support the Threat,’” Pelosi goes into detail about her opposition to the war in Iraq. She opposed the war because the intelligence information available to her showed that the impetus for the war—weapons of mass destruction in Iraq—was based in a misreading or willful manipulation of that intelligence. Pelosi contends that the events of 9/11, the Iraq War, and the war in Afghanistan were intertwined, and concludes that US actions were a strategic failure that damaged the country. Many of these failures were the result of failures of leadership, especially in the administration of George W. Bush.

In Part 3, Chapter 4: “From Tiananmen to Taiwan,” Pelosi describes her ongoing battle to hold China to account for its violation of human rights and to end US complacency over these violations. The root of US reluctance to impose penalties on China for its abuses is an interest in maintaining the country as a trade partner. Multiple administrations have been willing to overlook China’s actions as a result. With few checks on its actions, China has been emboldened to proceed with crackdowns on Hong Kong, threats against the People’s Republic of China (Taiwan), and abuse of the people of Tibet.

In Part 4, Chapter 5: “We Won’t Have an Economy on Monday,’” Pelosi describes the US recession that began in 2007 and what she and her peers in the House did to address the crisis. The George W. Bush administration proved to be a reluctant partner that only looked out for the interests of ordinary people over that of the big banks after later interventions by Democrats in the House. The recession can in large part be traced to corporate greed.

In Part 4, Chapter 6: “Healthcare Is a Right—Not a Privilege,” Pelosi draws a picture of the arduous process of passing the Affordable Care Act. It took all her legislative prowess and negotiating power to get the legislation through a lack of bipartisan spirit in the House and the conservative institution of the Senate. People power—activists, ordinary citizens, and people in the medical field—proved crucial in the passage of the bill. Pelosi sees the bill as the crowning achievement of her time in the House and speakership.

In Part 5, Chapter 7: “That Our Flag Was Still There,” Pelosi gives her impressions of the January 6th, 2021, attack on the US Capitol during the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election of 2020. Due to her experiences with Trump in the lead-up to the riots, Pelosi assumed that the president was a dangerous person who had little respect for the office he occupied. She took the lead in previous efforts to impeach him for withholding aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the Ukrainian president to dig up dirt on the son of Biden. By that point, Pelosi was accustomed to receiving death threats: She was the focus of political vitriol on the Republican side. The attack on the Capitol and specific efforts to attack or kill her showed the results of such discourse. In the aftermath of the attack, the House and Senate reconvened that night to certify the election. Pelosi’s staff and other young people working in the House are still traumatized. Pelosi feels pride and relief that US democracy survived on that day.

In Part 6, Chapter 8: “Why I Love the House.” Pelosi gives all the reasons she loves the House. It is diverse, allows rank-and-file members to make a difference, and is responsive to the needs of constituents. Pelosi hasn’t accomplished all her legislative goals, but she holds out hope that she will do so eventually.