Includes index

Introduction -- An outspoken voice at the White House table -- Bayonne born and bred -- A decade at Harvard with only a B.A. to show for it -- Moving seamlessly from political theory at Harvard to hardball politics at City Hall -- Coming to Washington -- Running for the legislature from Ward 5, where everybody knows your name -- The gentleman from the back bay -- Mr. Frank goes to Washington with help from Pope John Paul II and John Kerry -- Rookie of the year -- Running against heckler-Reaganomics -- Barney, we hardly recognize ye -- Subcommittee Chairman Frank -- A Frank that relishes the perfect job -- Accompanying Yelena Bonner back to the USSR -- Coming out -- In surviving a Washington sex scandal, the importance of being frank -- A frank compromise on gays in the military -- The most hated man in Gingrichdom -- Defending the President against impeachment -- The gay Washington monument -- Talking frankly about not beating around the bush -- A committee chairman at last

This book is a detailed biography of one of the nation's most distinctive and effective legislators, based on interviews with over 150 people, including more than 30 hours with Barney Frank himself. In a survey conducted by Washingtonian magazine, Barney Frank was rated the smartest, funniest, and most eloquent member of Congress. A mainstay in the House of Representatives since 1981, he has come to be known for his talent as a legislator, his zeal for verbal combat, his imposing intellect, and a quick wit that both disarms and entertains other lawmakers. Most recently, as chair of the Financial Services Committee, he was instrumental in crafting a compromise bill to stem the tide of home mortgage foreclosures, as well as the subsequent $700 billion "rescue plan." Based on interviews with over 150 people, including more than thirty hours with Frank himself, this biography reconstructs his life and career, from his working class childhood in Bayonne, New Jersey, to his years at Harvard and in Boston politics, through his rise to national prominence. The author captures Frank in all his quirkiness, irreverence, and complexity. He also examines his less appealing side, his gruff exterior, his legendary impatience, his aversion to wasting time. The author also reveals the pressure Frank has felt as the most prominent openly gay politician in the United States, one whose career was nearly derailed by a highly publicized sex scandal involving a male prostitute. Above all, this book shows Frank to be a superb legislator, a pragmatic politician who has dedicated his career to pursuing an unabashedly liberal agenda and whose depth of intellect and sense of humor have made him one of the most influential and colorful figures in Washington

American Library Association Stonewall Book Awards Honor Book, 2010

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