Often, book readers will take the key idea the author wants them to. But sometimes a book is powerful enough to inspire new ideas not initially intended. In the case of Making Politics Work, most readers will learn the various strategies and contexts that have either supported or undermined the success of a reform initiative. Using the case of the “portfolio strategy” that combines school choice, autonomy, and pupil-based funding with performance-based accountability and alternative teacher pipelines, the book distills key lessons on using rather than ignoring politics. It highlights ideas about timing a reform, getting the support of key individuals, anticipating opposition, documenting progress, and embedding practices. While I did learn those, what I found ultimately exciting was how the book provided a twenty-year retrospective of education reforms from No Child Left Behind to the culture wars during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anyone who is familiar with the literature on policy windows, social movements, collective action, and organizational routines will find practical examples on how to apply them in education reform efforts. But what ultimately sets this book apart are the narratives of (1) how the portfolio strategy initially gained ground by framing the problems it sought to solve in a time of governance changes with state takeovers,