Rough Edges: My Unlikely Road from Welfare to Washington

by James E. Rogan

Jim Rogan was born to a single mother—a cocktail waitress who was later convicted of welfare fraud; his bartender-father abandoned them both before he was born. After a rough-and-tumble childhood in San Francisco's hardscrabble Mission District—where he was raised by his colorful extended family—he became a political junkie at the age of nine, and once received help with his homework from Harry Truman. But Rogan traveled with a tough circle of friends; after years of borderline delinquency he was expelled from high school, became a porn theater bouncer, and then a bartender at a strip joint and a Hell's Angels bar. Along the way, a young Arkansas politician advised him to study law and become a member of a different kind of bar. In time Rogan scrapped his way through college and law school. He was appointed a Los Angeles County DA, prosecuting members of the notorious Crips and Bloods gangs; then became a judge, a state legislator, and finally a congressman from Southern California. And in 1998, as a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, he found himself prosecuting the impeachment of the President of the United States—Bill Clinton, the same Arkansas politician who advised him to go into law and politics two decades earlier. Rough Edges is a rarity among Washington full of outrageous stories, wild humor, pull-no-punches candor, and downright fun. Replete with character and characters, and told in Rogan's engaging and unswervingly frank voice, Rogan's story is certainly the most freewheeling—and perhaps the most honest—political memoir ever written.

Genres: History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judge Rogan is a law professor of mine. He is literally one of the best, if not THE best professor I've ever had. The man is truly amazing. And the book is a great biography.

[Maria Pilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome and inspiring book, definitely looking forward to the next one he writes!

[Clint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story of rise of Jim Rohan from illegitimacy and welfare and high school dropout to California state Republican leader, congressman and judge. Has both touching and laugh-out-loud stories and feels like someone speaking from his heart, not in what will sell books. A few unexpected copy errors doesn’t take away from the inspirational final product.