Kamala Harris’ new memoir, 107 Days, has taken the political and literary worlds by storm, debuting at number one on the New York Times nonfiction book list and selling an astonishing 350,000 copies in its first week alone, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. The book, which details Harris’ whirlwind 2024 presidential campaign following President Joe Biden’s dramatic exit from the race, has captured public fascination with its raw honesty, behind-the-scenes revelations, and candid self-reflection.
Harris’ campaign—lasting just 107 days—was born out of political chaos. After a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, in which Biden appeared confused and slow to answer questions, the sitting president faced mounting pressure from within his own party to step aside. As reported by multiple outlets, including CNN and Fox News, Biden’s eventual withdrawal on July 21, 2024, left the Democratic Party scrambling. With little time before Election Day, Harris was thrust into the role of nominee, her campaign unfolding at breakneck speed.
The memoir’s brisk sales have made it the top political book of 2025, with Simon & Schuster already moving to a fifth printing, bringing the total number of hardcover copies in circulation to 500,000. Comparisons have been drawn to Michelle Obama’s Becoming, which sold over 8 million copies globally and set a high bar for political memoirs. According to Simon & Schuster, 107 Days is on track to become the year’s best-selling memoir, reflecting both the historic nature of Harris’ candidacy and the intense public interest in the tumultuous 2024 election.
So, what’s fueling the book’s runaway success? As one independent political journalist put it, “Interest in Harris—the history-making nature of her candidacy, her reflections on the 2024 campaign—is MUCH higher than I (or lots of other people) thought.” The journalist went on to note, “People are still super-interested in what went on with Joe Biden in the White House. And they love the drama.”
107 Days delivers on that hunger for inside information, offering unvarnished accounts of Harris’ experience at the heart of a campaign shaped by crisis, high-stakes decisions, and shifting alliances. Early excerpts signaled that Harris would be more forthright than many expected—an impression confirmed by the book’s willingness to air both personal doubts and political grievances.
Among the most headline-grabbing admissions is Harris’ frank assessment of Biden’s re-election bid. She writes that allowing Biden to run for a second term was “recklessness” by the Democratic Party and an act of “ego” by the president, according to CNN and the independent journalist’s reporting. Yet, Harris also insists in her memoir, “If I believed that [Biden was unfit to serve], I would have said so.” She adds, “But at eighty-one, Joe got tired. That’s when his age showed in physical and verbal stumbles.”
The book paints a vivid picture of the confusion and denial that gripped Biden’s inner circle after the ill-fated debate. Harris recounts being handed talking points that insisted “JOE BIDEN WON,” even as it was clear to her that the president was not at his best. She describes moments of tension with Biden’s team, including a private call before her own debate with Trump in which Biden, apparently agitated by rumors, made the conversation about himself. “I just couldn’t understand why he would call me, right now, and make it all about himself,” Harris writes.
Harris’ relationship with the Democratic establishment is another recurring theme. The memoir details her search for a running mate, revealing that she turned to Bill and Hillary Clinton for advice. “Very few people have ever made this decision. I called Hillary and Bill Clinton, because they knew what it was like and would give me candid and confidential advice,” Harris writes. The Clintons warned her against choosing a running mate who would be a “political marriage of convenience,” urging her to prioritize genuine chemistry and shared purpose. Bill Clinton, reflecting on his own partnership with Al Gore, told Harris, “You have to level with them and watch how they answer.”
Ultimately, Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, a decision that drew criticism from some quarters. Walz, a relative unknown on the national stage, faced scrutiny over “stolen valor” allegations and his handling of pandemic restrictions in Minnesota. His debate performance against then-Senator JD Vance was widely panned, with Harris herself admitting in the book that she was left “yelling at the television screen.”
The memoir doesn’t shy away from Harris’ own missteps. She recounts a damaging appearance on “The View,” where, when asked what she would have done differently than Biden, she blanked and replied, “There is not a thing that comes to mind.” Harris writes, “I had no idea I’d just pulled the pin on a hand grenade,” acknowledging how her answer became a “gift to the Trump campaign.”
Yet, the book’s most poignant moments come in the aftermath of defeat. Harris describes learning of her loss to Trump with a sense of disbelief: “I could barely breathe,” she writes. An aide quietly removed “Madame President” from celebratory cupcakes before serving them to her devastated staff. Harris admits, “I was ashamed to realize I was in the denial and bargaining stages of grief, a very long way from acceptance.” She repeatedly asked herself, “My God, my God, what will happen to our country?”
Despite the heartbreak, Harris’ memoir is not a political treatise or a roadmap for the future. Instead, it is a candid, often vulnerable chronicle of a historic campaign run at warp speed. The book’s structure, counting down the days to Election Day, adds to its sense of urgency and immediacy. Harris reveals not only her own doubts and mistakes but also the bizarre and surreal moments that come with life on the campaign trail—from warming up for her convention speech with animal noises to a post-assassination-attempt phone call from Trump, who suddenly turned on the charm and told her, “How do I say bad things about you now? I’m going to tone it down. You’re going to see.”
As the Democratic Party looks ahead to 2028, the popularity of 107 Days may signal a public appetite for a more open and authentic Harris. Whether or not she runs again, her memoir has already made its mark—offering a rare, unfiltered look at the highs and lows of American politics in a year unlike any other.
