In Novem­ber 2018, the great­est num­ber of women in Amer­i­can his­to­ry entered Con­gress. From Alexan­dria Oca­sio-Cortez and ​“the Squad” to ​“the Badass­es” with nation­al secu­ri­ty back­grounds, from the first two Native Amer­i­cans in Con­gress to the first two Mus­lim women, all were swept into office on a wave of grass­roots sup­port diverse in back­ground, age, pro­fes­sion­al expe­ri­ence, and ide­ol­o­gy. In The Firsts, New York Times reporter Jen­nifer Stein­hauer fol­lows these women’s first year in the 116th Con­gress, chron­i­cling their tran­si­tion from run­ning trail­blaz­ing cam­paigns to the dai­ly work of gov­er­nance. In com­mit­tee rooms, offices, and con­ver­sa­tions on the run through the halls of the Capi­tol, she probed the ques­tion: Would Wash­ing­ton, with its hide­bound tra­di­tions, change the change­mak­ers or would this Con­gress, which looked a lit­tle more like today’s Amer­i­ca, tru­ly be the start of some­thing new? Vivid and smart, The Firsts deliv­ers fresh details, inside access, his­tor­i­cal per­spec­tive, and expert analy­sis as these women — inspir­ing, con­tro­ver­sial, tal­ent­ed, and rebel­lious — do some­thing tru­ly sur­pris­ing: make Con­gress essen­tial again.