Finding the Third Way is a fascinating political memoir with a much-needed message of cooperation.

Lanny Davis is a lawyer, political commentator (CNN, MSNBC), and former White House special counsel. His room-where-it-happened career gives cachet to his message: that “Civility and the ability to disagree agreeably…[and] find common ground” are the essence of democracy—and the titular “third way.”

The son of a Jewish dentist, Davis grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. He earned his bachelor and law degrees from Yale University, where he met future business and political leaders, including Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush. Davis rose through the ranks at major law firms like Patton Boggs and also became politically active, serving on the Democratic National Committee and later as treasurer for Senator Joe Lieberman’s Reuniting Our Country PAC. His friendship with the Clintons led to his appointment as President Clinton’s special counsel in 1996.

Never didactic or bombastic, Davis delivers his “third way” message through the narrative of his life, which is compelling in itself. In the opening pages, for instance, Davis recalls attending, at age 11, the final baseball game played by his idol Willie Mays—September 29, 1957. Five decades later, Davis met Mays at a Democratic Party fundraiser. Handing Mays his son’s school essay about the player, he asked Mays to autograph it, after which former President Clinton, also there, “leaned over and scrawled with his pen: ‘I’m a Willie Mays fan, too.’”

Davis sprinkles an abundance of anecdotes like this throughout the book, effectively humanizing politicians and other celebrities. More importantly, he doesn’t just talk about bipartisanship; he walks the walk. He served as the lone Democrat on President Bush’s Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. In 2018, he represented Donald Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen. Throughout, he describes political opponents with firm but fair opposition and gives praise where warranted.

Fans of coming-of-age stories as well as political texts will find this a captivating read.