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Man of the House: The Life and Political Memoirs of Speaker Tip O'Neill

par Thomas P. O'Neill

Autres auteurs: William Novak

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403862,248 (3.5)4
Describes the political career of the politician from Massachusetts whose career spanned fifty years and who served as Speaker of the House for a decade.
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» Voir aussi les 4 mentions

Affichage de 1-5 de 8 (suivant | tout afficher)
Could not make it through this one. I really wanted to since I'm rather weak on political history.
The author's personality just came through too strongly and he was just a tad too full of himself. I wish this had been a biography instead of a memoir. ( )
  RuthInman123 | Mar 12, 2024 |
may be out of print
excellent ( )
  pollycallahan | Jul 1, 2023 |
Americans taking classes called "US Government" are all asked to memorize "HOW a BILL becomes a LAW." Throw out that textbook and read this one instead. While it really is like watching sausage being made, sometimes, at the end, its worth celebrating and enjoying. ( )
  Lace-Structures | Mar 14, 2015 |
Man of the House
Author: Tip O’Neill and William Novak
Publisher: Random House
Published In: New York City, NY
Date: 1987
Pgs: 387

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
50 years of American history from inside the Capitol Dome. From freshman Senator from Massachusetts to Speaker of the House, from Truman to Reagan. Tip O’Neill’s political career mirrored and followed the history of the middle 1900s.

Genre:
Autobiography and memoir
Behind the Scenes
Biography
Government
History
Non-fiction
Politics

Why this book:
Talking politics with Nancy and this was the second book that she pulled off her bookshelf for me to read. We don’t always agree on politics, but we agree more than we disagree.

Favorite Character:
Tip O’Neill comes across well in his own story, of course he should, though. He is such a political animal.

Least Favorite Character:
Nixon comes across as Nixon. He’s a poor loser at poker. And a controlling ass when his political world begins to fall apart.

The Feel:
This is a good anecdotal personal history of the House of Representatives in the twentieth century.

Favorite Scene:
JFK trying to get Tip to back him, but respecting him because he wouldn’t throw over a friend who he had known forever for political expediency.

When Jerry Ford called Tip to tell him that Nixon was going to resign, officially, and asked Tip for some advice and Tip gave it to him because they were friends. And at the end of the conversation, Tip tells Ford. “Jerry, isn’t this a wonderful country. Here we can talk like this and we can be friends, and eighteen months from now I’ll be going around the country kicking your ass in.”

And I bet afterward they went back to being friends or, more likely, never stopped even when they were battling on the election trails. Politics have become so personal on the national scale over the years since the end of the Clinton Presidency. Ridiculously. Everyone has their panties in a twist. Everyone wants to have a measuring contest, but won’t put it on the table.

Pacing:
The story is well paced without over focusing on any one aspect of O’Neill’s political history.

Hmm Moments:
“...no rancor or hatred...the energetic clash of conflicting ideas. Your views may be different from mine, but we can still respect each other and work together, which is what the Congress is all about”
Tip would be horrified by what Congress is today.

You can tell reading this that Tip wouldn’t have fit in with today’s backbiting “me first, me again, and then me some more” modern Washington political sensibility. Forging a consensus in his day meant working across party lines and trust in the good intentions of your opponent, whereas today it means agreeing with people who have the exact same opinions that you do and vilifying the opposition as evil bastards out to destroy the country.

In one chapter, he mentions Fishbait Miller’s book telling stories out of school and being disrespectful of the secrets that he was party to. But, ten pages later, he tells stories out of school too.

The stories about poker between the Congressmen. The comment about Nixon.
“You’re one of the worst poker players I’ve ever seen.”
...and in response to Nixon’s comment that he was pretty good back in the Navy.
“Those were kids you were playing with. What did they know about poker?”

There’s a telling quote in the book where O’Neill was at dinner with Kenny O’Donnell, JFK’s special assistant and appointments secretary, who was there that day in Dallas when Kennedy was shot. O’Donnell said he was sure that he had heard two shots from behind the fence. O’Neill challenged him saying that “that’s not what you told the Warren Commission.” O’Donnell’s response was that the FBI said that it couldn’t have happened that way and that he must have been imagining things. So, he testified the way they wanted him to rather than stir up any more pain and trouble for the family. Dave Powers, JFK’s special assistant and assistant appointments secretary, was at the dinner that night and in Dallas and he agreed with O’Donnell’s telling of events, but apparently his testimony reflected O’Donnell’s. Both men were riding in the follow-up car behind the President. How did they get these two to perjure themselves in a case where a President had been shot? And how much more was there to the conspiracy? This is why conspiracy theorists can’t let it go. This is why they can’t let it go and let the wounds on the American psyche heal. At the nadir of this chapter of the book, O’Neill commented that when ‘...Kennedy was president, people had trust in their government. I look forward to the day when that will once again be true.”

O’Neill having a conversation with the Senate Majority Leader, Mike Mansfield, about whether they should be concerned about Nixon’s finger being on the button as his political world fell apart around him.

Ford’s pardoning of Nixon as he explained it to O’Neill just prior to its announcement seemed to be more in line with a man trying to save another from committing suicide. He described Nixon in those days as seedy and unkempt. He also says that Nixon was sick. Reading this recollection of O’Neill’s casts the Nixon pardon by Ford in a new light for me. Can you imagine the scar that Nixon would have left on the American psyche if he would have committed suicide in the immediate aftermath of his leaving office?

O’Neill’s description of supply side/trickle down economics strikes home with me. O’Neill’s portraiture of the Reagan economic theory aka the Herbert Hoover economic theory aka whatever the Republicans are dressing it up as now as soaking the poor to subsidize the rich reflects my views closely.

Why isn’t there a screenplay?
If they can make a movie about the “You lie!” man, this wouldn’t be that much of a reach within reason, of course. Done ala Forest Gump, this could be cool.

Casting call:
George Wendt could totally play Tip O’Neill in a movie.

Last Page Sound:
Interesting.

Author Assessment:
Very anecdotal, told as if you were sitting with O’Neill having a beer in a drawing room as he told you the story of his life and times, reminiscing.

Editorial Assessment:
The book is well put together. At first, I wasn’t happy with the anecdotal style, but it grew on. I believe in large part what we are hearing/reading here is Tip O’Neill’s voice.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it

Disposition of Book:
Nancy’s bookshelf

Would recommend to:
friends, colleagues, genre fans ( )
  texascheeseman | Aug 31, 2014 |
Not that interesting, but fills in details from the Congress of the time and shows his relationship with the presidents he worked with. ( )
  carterchristian1 | Feb 19, 2012 |
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Nom de l'auteurRôleType d'auteurŒuvre ?Statut
Thomas P. O'Neillauteur principaltoutes les éditionscalculé
Novak, Williamauteur secondairetoutes les éditionsconfirmé
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Describes the political career of the politician from Massachusetts whose career spanned fifty years and who served as Speaker of the House for a decade.

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