How did the son of a laundress for local brothels end up one of America’s most powerful politicians and the Senate’s most bare-knuckled Democrat? Political journalist Jon Ralston gives us the first full biography of Harry Reid, the five-time Senator from Nevada whose ruthlessness and tenacity produced the most groundbreaking legislation of the late 20th century, and who also invented the tactics that would keep his Democratic Party in control. For that, he inspired loyalty and derision, admiration and disdain. But his legacy of change speaks for itself.

Born in tiny Searchlight, Nevada, Harry Reid rose from a childhood in a ramshackle home in the middle of nowhere to become the Democratic leader who ensured Obamacare became law, that the nation’s banks played by the rules, and who helped rescue the American economy by pushing through a stimulus bill.

His political instincts were forged in the take-no-prisoners culture of Nevada where he was once investigated by the FBI for his ties to the mob. He persuaded a Republican senator to switch parties to gain partisan control, and he changed the Senate filibuster rules to save President Obama’s lower court nominees. That maneuver later helped Republicans to cement the appointments of three Supreme Court justices. Reid also became a formidable force in Nevada, building a political machine that turned a red state blue and left an unmatched legacy on infrastructure and the environment—including squelching a planned nuclear waste dump.

In The Game Changer, Ralston shows the endurance of his accomplishments, but also his role in the enduring dysfunction of what was once called the world’s greatest deliberative body. It is a complicated portrait of a man who would not be denied.