I admittedly did not know very much about Mayor Moscone except for the fact that his and Supervisor Harvey Milk’s assassinations were horrible tragedies that still reverberates today in San Francisco’s politics. But I was really not expecting that Moscone was so ahead of his time and the positive effects of his legacy from when he was alive.

Intersecting Moscone’s life with the history and politics of the burgeoning modern San Francisco, the author weaves an interesting story about this progressive superstar who helped champion many causes in his political career that were not as popular as they are now such as gay rights, diversifying the government, and marijuana decriminalization. A good portion of the books is painting the election that Moscone won as one that was incredibly transformative for the city. It ends by showing his role in the future of progressive politics.

I do always feel an aversion to biographies because they very often can veer into hagiography BUT I do feel like it was able to address Moscone’s shortcomings, political and otherwise, such as his connections to the People’s Temple.

Ultimately, this was a really good biography about a mayor that to most people may seem like an afterthought. It’s definitely the premiere source on Moscone.