Speech-less (Abridged): Tales of a White House Survivor Audiobook

" Funny, enlightening, quick easy read... Just wish Latimer had gotten into the Ron Paul Revolution :) "

" Interesting book about small town boy going to Washington DC. Different jobs along the way-I enjoyed his time in Congress...he is pretty frank about some of the senators. Ended up as a speech writer for Bush in the White House. He is a fun author to read if you like sarcasm and I do. Although, it might have made me just a tad bit more cynical than I was. But his sarcasm is not just across the board-there are some he respects and reveals those, too. "

" What did I learn from this book? That our legislature sounds more like junior high than a governing body. And the White House? Some crazy, competitive frat house. I almost didn't finish it because it made me so very sad. And it's naive to think the Obama White House is much different. Presidents put their buddies in positions of power...and we trust them because... they're the president's buddies? Really? "

" Very enjoyable, quick read by a former Rumsfeld and Bush speechwriter. Author has a quick wit and discerning eye for BS, which he seems to be able to separate from his dewy-eyed appreciation for Reaganesque conservatism. "

" It was funny and I was entertained--more by the personal story than by the politic insights. I'm not sure that Latimer was all that fair or insightful because I don't know enough about the individuals he wrote of (from other multiple sources that is), but I liked the self-deprecating humor, particularly the early portions of his book about his family and childhood. What the latter portions of the book lack is a real sense of humility or modesty and perhaps perspective. Almost all of the speech writing portions concern instances where his advice wasn't accepted and things turned out poorly as a result, or conversely his advice was accepted and things turned out great. He's still one smart and interesting dude though. "

" I was first introduced to this book by Matthew Latimer's interview on NPR. I liked the fact that he was a Republican but was still able to give perspective of working for such high powered people. The book chronicles his work on the Hill, the Pentagon (for Rumsfeld), and then in the George W. Bush White House. I would've been just as interested if it was a Democrat giving a critical view of a Democratic presidency. I really appreciated Latimer's favorable view of Rumsfeld, and it helped put him in a different light for me. Honestly, by the time he got to the White House, the book wasn't as interesting, and I feel that's because it was very anticlimatic for Latimer. "

" I never thought I would enjoy reading a book about a speechwriter in the Bush whitehouse...but this is a good and interesting read. The writing flows well and grabs you from the start and the path the writer took to realize his dream of being a speechwriter for the whitehouse was a long and winding path that had him working for some weird people in government. A nice insider view of DC "

" I have never read an "insider" book before, so it was verrrrry enlightening. I will have to read more like it. Well, maybe I'd better not as it is so darn depressing to see the state of our leadership! "

" A glimpse inside the dysfunction of gov't in general, last administration in particular... "

" This is the best staff memoir I have ever read. Unbelievably funny. "

" Easy-going and witty and a bit scary "

" Just started it and am already hooked. The author is exactly the same age as me, has many of the same memories of the 70s & 80s that I do (he only grew up a 2 hour drive from me) and remembers Ronald Regan with affection. More later. "

" READ 1/3 OF THIS. Didn't know most of the characters he was referring to in the campaign... "

" fun anecdotes, and really great way to learn some names/stories of people recently and even currently running the show! wish it was a little more positive, but i guess that's just the experience the author had. "

" A fast and light read. A not terribly surprising behind-the-scenes look at the internal workings of our government from the prospective of a former speech writer. "

" Despite the fact that the author's favorite politicians are the really heartless frightening conservatives, I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Especially since the author ended his political career by writing it so he needs all the help that he can get with his writing career. "

" The first 100 pages were very engaging and funny. Then it became more polemical, though I understand that if one is talking about the Iraq War, opportunities to be engaging and funny are limited. Still, I felt that I was reading a different book by pg. 150, so I stopped. "

" It was good at showing how stupid government really is. "

" Interesting to me more for the tales of how a political speech gets written than how much political dirt was dished. "

" This book made me happy because I was always secretly afraid that only the Democratic caucus acted like this. Enlightening but depressing. Worth the price if only for the description of W. preparing for the bank bailout speech. "

" This book tries so hard to be funny but it just comes out smug. "

" Most books written by political insiders take the form of either a hit piece on their colleagues or a fawning love note to them, but this is surprisingly subdued and nonjudgmental. Latimer's writing is good, but I expected a sharper wit from a professional speechwriter. I'd give it a B-. "

" Not at all what I had anticipated. Instead of an insider's view of working at the White House, it was chance for the conservative author to take shots at "liberals" and democrats. I didn't think it was very interesting, nor well-written. "

" Most books written by political insiders take the form of either a hit piece on their colleagues or a fawning love note to them, but this is surprisingly subdued and nonjudgmental. Latimer's writing is good, but I expected a sharper wit from a professional speechwriter. I'd give it a B-. "

" This book tries so hard to be funny but it just comes out smug. "

" The first 100 pages were very engaging and funny. Then it became more polemical, though I understand that if one is talking about the Iraq War, opportunities to be engaging and funny are limited. Still, I felt that I was reading a different book by pg. 150, so I stopped. "

" good look inside the life of a speech writer. interesting look at the last years of the GW Bush administration. Wonderful writing! "

" I have never read an "insider" book before, so it was verrrrry enlightening. I will have to read more like it. Well, maybe I'd better not as it is so darn depressing to see the state of our leadership! "

" This book made me happy because I was always secretly afraid that only the Democratic caucus acted like this. Enlightening but depressing. Worth the price if only for the description of W. preparing for the bank bailout speech. "