It's a serviceable look at the life of the senator from Massachusetts, written by an author who doesn't disguise her love for the Democrat widely believed to be considering a presidential run ... Felix does an excellent job detailing Warren's work as an adviser to the National Bankruptcy Review Commission, and as a co-author of two academic books on bankruptcy and debt—it's an esoteric subject that Felix explains quite well. Felix also ably describes Warren's rise to fame, which coincided with her role as architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ... There's nothing in the biography that really resembles criticism of the senator or her politics. That said, Felix does make some intelligent observations about the cultural perception and media coverage of Warren ... it's a flattering portrait of the senator who many see as a front-runner for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. Still, it's a little better than it has to be: Felix is an excellent writer, and her book is, at its best, quite interesting.
Felix details Warren's political accomplishments up to the present and showcases her popularity. The appendixes include several key speeches by the senator ... A complem[i]ntary portrayal of a compelling political personality. Recommended for readers interested in Senator Warren, politics, and the lives of inspirational women.
In her biography of Elizabeth Warren, Antonia Felix recounts the moment the future U.S. senator went 'all in' in her 2012 bid to represent Massachusetts ... But if it sounds familiar, that’s because Warren wrote about it in her autobiography A Fighting Chance ... There are a lot of moments like that here for any reader who has kept up with Warren’s career as a law professor, author, crusader for consumers’ rights, senator and possible presidential candidate ... The source listings do not include any interview of Warren or her family ... Felix’s admiration for her subject creates a very rosy picture of Warren ... The book omits any reference to doubts, however faint, about Warren’s bankruptcy research conclusions. We hear nothing about those who contend that her estimate of the percentage of bankruptcies arising from medical bills is vastly overblown ... But the book provides a solid discussion of the most controversial aspect of Warren’s career: her claim to Native American ancestry ... the biography gives a robust representation of both sides. Would that this approach had been used more fully elsewhere in the book.
Hers was one of the few female faces in her 1973 law-school class. And, like so many women of her generation coming-of-age during feminism’s second wave, Warren juggled often-conflicting roles of wife and mother while building dual careers as a lawyer and professor. Defying odds, she emerged victorious over the popular incumbent Scott Brown in her campaign for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts ... Felix deftly brings the backstory of this progressive icon to life in a detailed and revelatory look at one of the country’s most admired and outspoken leaders.
Despite its obviously positive attitude toward its subject (the most controversial topic is Warren’s claim of Native American ancestry) and somewhat dull interludes of statistics on women in politics, this biography is thoroughly researched and accessibly written; Felix has a knack for translating the complexities of financial and legal issues into layperson’s terms. This is a worthy introduction to a prominent political figure.
Felix writes uncritically and sometimes breezily, addressing her subject as a familiar ... The book is best understood as a fan’s notes, though the author does a good job of digging evenhandedly into one of the central controversies surrounding Warren, the claim of Native American ancestry that has provided Donald Trump with the ugly slur 'Pocahontas' ... Admirers of Warren will find this a welcome exaltation.