James Richardson 
Willie Brown 
A Biography

This is the first comprehensive biography of Willie Brown, one of California’s most enduring and controversial politicians. Audacious, driven, talented—Brown has dominated California politics longer and more completely than any other public figure. James Richardson, a senior writer for
The Sacramento Bee, takes us from Brown’s childhood, through his years as Speaker of the State Assembly, to his election as San Francisco’s mayor. Along the way we get a riveting, behind-the-scenes account of three decades of California politics.


This title is part of UC Press’s Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996.

This is the first comprehensive biography of Willie Brown, one of California’s most enduring and controversial politicians. Audacious, driven, talented—Brown has dominated California politics longer and more completely than any other public figure. James

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James Richardson is a former senior writer for The Sacramento Bee who has covered Willie Brown and the California Legislature for the past decade. Currently he is Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley.