LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new book about U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is hitting store shelves.

The book is called "The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell mastered the Senate, changed America, and lost his party." Associated Press reporter and author Michael Tackett said he was granted unprecedented access to the longtime senator from Kentucky.

Tackett said that 50 hours of interviews revealed a layered person not often seen in the public spotlight. The book also examines tumultuous relationships with former U.S. presidents Barrack Obama and Donald Trump. 

Tackett said McConnell's decision to take a step back from leadership next month was not as abrupt as it may have seemed.

"I think he had actually planned all of this very far in advance," Tackett said. "One thing that's a signature of his entire career is he plans ahead. When he was in high school he planned for two years before he ran for student body president. When he was in college, he did the same thing. When he was first elected county judge executive in Louisville in 1976, he was already looking toward the 1984 senate race."

The book draws upon thousands of pages of archived materials, letters and more than 100 interviews with associates, colleagues and McConnell. It includes McConnell's early life, a battle with polio as a child and his political career.

McConnell, a Republican, joined the U.S. Senate in 1985. Tackett is currently the Deputy Washington Bureau Chief for the Associated Press.

The book is now available online.

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