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Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor |  | Author: Matthew Latimer
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy New: $10.98
as of 11/27/2009 05:13 CST details
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Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 6830
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307463729
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931092
EAN: 9780307463722
ASIN: 0307463729
Publication Date: September 22, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
From a top speechwriter to President George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld, this may be the most deliciously candid memoir ever written about official Washington—a laugh-out-loud cri de coeur that shows what can happen to idealism in a town driven by self-interest.
Despite being raised by reliably liberal parents, Matt Latimer is, from an early age, lured by the upbeat themes of the Reagan Revolution and, in the tradition of Mary Tyler Moore, sets off from the Midwest for the big city, determined to "make it after all." In Matt's glory-filled daydreams, he will champion smaller government and greater self-sufficiency, lower taxes and stronger defense—and, by the force of his youthful passion, eradicate do-nothing boondoggleism and lead America to new heights of greatness.
But first he has to find a job.
Like an inside-the-Beltway Dante, Matt chronicles his descent into Washington, D.C., hell, as he snares a series of increasingly lofty—but unsatisfying—jobs with powerful figures on Capitol Hill. One boss can't remember basic facts. Another appears to hide from his own staff, barricading himself in his office. When Fate offers Matt a job as chief speechwriter for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Matt finds he actually admires the man (causing his liberal friends to shake their heads in dismay), his youthful passion is renewed. But Rummy soon becomes a piñata for the press, and the Department of Defense is revealed as alarmingly dysfunctional.
Eventually, Matt lands at the White House, his heart aflutter with the hope that, here at last, he can fulfill his dream of penning words that will become part of history—and maybe pick up some cool souvenirs. But reality intrudes once again. More like The Office than The West Wing, the nation's most storied office building is a place where the staffers who run the country are in way over their heads, and almost everything the public has been told about the major players—Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Rove—is wrong.
Both a rare behind-the-scenes account that boldly names the fools and scoundrels, and a poignant lament for the principled conservatism that disappeared during the Bush presidency, Speech-less will forever change the public's view of our nation's capital and the people who joust daily for its power.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 37
 Entertaining and very insightful November 27, 2009
Camilla L. (Florida)
"Speech-less" is one of the best "Washington insider" books I've ever read (and I've gone through a LOT of them). It is well-written, with a great mix of hilarious anecdotes and sober commentary. Having spent nearly 8 years working in Washington, I have to say that nearly all of Mr. Lattimer's observations about the city and Beltway culture are 100% correct. I too came to DC with aspirations of serving the common good and working my way up in the political world. Like him, I developed an increasingly critical opinion of Washington and the people in it. (Ideologically, I went in the opposite direction - I was an avowed Democrat, became a Republican, and am now happily somewhat right of center.) Basically, as Mr. Lattimer has detailed in his book, in Washington one observes a number of well-meaning and intelligent people struggling to accomplish true aims and goals against a majority of unqualified and/or self-centered individuals (including but not limited to the politicians). Ironically, many of the people who truly want to change the system for the better end up becoming disillusioned or burnt-out and leave Washington/political life, while the people who profit from the dysfunctional status quo stay and at times become more entrenched. Fortunately, sometimes the "good" guys do win. But there is still a lot of room for improvement.
If you are looking for a book that bashes one political party at the expense of another, you won't find it in "Speech-less". Mr. Lattimer makes observations (good and bad) about both Democrats and Republicans. I loved this about the book; it tells it like it is, without some sort of right- or left-wingnut agenda. Mr. Lattimer is still proudly Republican; he just wants to make the system better. And I for one can't fault him for that.
I rarely buy hardcovers but after reading the first few pages of "Speech-less", I knew this one would be a keeper. I only wish I hadn't blazed through the book so quickly. Here's hoping Matt Latimer writes another one soon!
 Conscience-less November 21, 2009
Catamaran'78
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Matt Latimer was a speech writer for Bush and Rumsfield. The first third of the book is a very dull recounting of his early life. After that he covers pathetic anecdotes and tales from his days in the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld administration. Latimer has a typically egocentric Republican world view. He can witness events like the the war and bloodshed in Iraq, a mismanaged Afghan war, the onslaught of hurricane Katrina, or the financial melt down and does not once consider the suffering of people affected by these tragedies spawned by, ignored, or made worse by his boss and the rubber stamp Republican Congress.
As a self centered narcissist he instead whines incessantly about the fools he works with and contemplates how he can get more out of life for himself. He has the emotional and intellectual inclinations of an immature 13 year old.
His references for life come from TV shows or movies, not history, philosophy or literature. Don't speech writers have some deeper understanding of life than network television? As the country and the Republican party sink into the morass Latimer never once considers that the intensely partisan, tax cutting, deregulating, fear mongering, war starting mentality that the GOP has sworn by might be a source for the profusion of crises and calamities. He must instead assume that things just fall apart for no reason, and it was just bad luck the sociopathic halfwit George W. Bush managed to rise to the top of the party, and wind up as President.
 Glad I didn't buy it November 19, 2009
Fred Nietzsche (San Francisco)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'm glad i waited to get this book from the library rather than buying it. If I were to create my stereotype of a whiny, white, right wing, little pr*ck it would be this author. He lives through major events like the Afghan and Iraq wars and never once does he consider the morality of the wars, the people effected, or anything else but how to spin things for Rumsfield and then Bush. His writing is sophomoric, I would expect a speech writer to have some command of the language and knowledge of history but whenever he wants to make a point the best he can do is to reference a TV show or movie e.g., "I felt like Hawkeye surrounded by a bunch of Frank Burns'" or a particular mentor is his "Obi Wan".
The book is filled with mean spirited swipes at almost everyone he ever worked with. I'm no fan of the Bush administration and that's why I gave this 3 stars instead of 2 or 1. Although I skipped about half the book (he pads it with tales about his childhood and early jobs -- YAWN) the parts on Rumsfield and Bush were very interesting, in a can't turn away from looking at a train wreck kind of way. Some of the inside stuff confirms pictures of Bush and Cheney drawn by others. Cheney is a control freak who keeps everyone constantly busy but barely gets anything done and Bush is a clown giving people on his staff stupid nick names and rewarding incompetent yes men and chronies. The author's arrogance, self centeredness, and willfull ignorance are also entertaining, although I had to read the book in small doses, too much of his writing was too hard to take. So if you are looking for some fun digs on the inner workings of one of the most incompetent administrations in history, get this book from the library or buy it used but don't put more money into this author's pocket.
Excellent & fun read November 9, 2009
C. Ward (Portland, OR)
I was worried that this would be a platform for criticising the Democrats but not so. The author spreads as much dirt on the Republicans (if not more because he knows more of them)as he does on the Democrats. It is an entertaining & insightful read showing how easily our elected officials forget why they have been send to Congress. I am three-quarters through the book. I hope I don't end up totally disillusioned by the end.
 Fascinating book November 6, 2009
B. Gunther (Los Alamos, NM)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I love books like this where someone tells what it is like in places where most of us can never go. Usually, such places are quite different than we expected. Washington politics as described by Matt Latimer is also not what we usually think it is.
I was fascinated to read Latimer's views of Rumsfeld, Chaney, Bush, Colin Powell, Condi Rice and many other of the big names in the Bush administration. The descriptions were always excellent and often humorous and Latimer almost convinced me that Rumsfeld and Cheney were really nice guys. But almost is the key word. The problem is that Latimer based his views of these people on personal attributes like the fact that they loved their wives and families and treated their staffers well. He doesn't seem to have the slightest objection to their promotion of torture and extraordinary rendition and all kinds of questionable and illegal practices that have shocked the country in the last few years.
I really enjoyed Latimer's insider portraits, both flattering and otherwise, of many insiders in the Bush administration, but in the end I am floored by his admiration of Cheney and Rumsfeld and total dislike of Colin Powell, Jimmy Carter, and all liberals without regard to race creed or color.
Latimer is very good at describing people and events that he witnessed. It was great to hear what it was like to ride on Air Force one with Bush and about Rove's bizarre personality and his amazing power behind the scenes in the Bush administration. It was fascinating to hear of the many forces that work on even the most insignificant presidential speech.
I was pleasantly surprised that Latimer held most Republicans to a high standard and I am not used to hearing Republicans so honestly analyze the powerful in their party. I was sorry that he could not think of anything good about any living Democrat, but I guess that would be asking too much of a former Bush speechwriter.
I also really admired his parents and their acceptance of Latimer's politics and support for his conservative beliefs which are not their own. It speaks well of Latimer that he so clearly loves and respects his parents in spite of the political differences. It was a nice touch that describes how he invited his father to meet President Bush, but his mother wasn't willing to take the day off work to do the same. It was a nice tidbit the first thing Latimer had to do when he got his first ride on Air Force One was call his mother and tell her where he was.
Though, I cannot agree with Latimer's political philosophy, I found the book a page turner and I found his portrait of his party brutally honest. Latimer's clearly has high expectations of those who serve in Washington and was frequently was sorely disappointed in many of the people he rubbed shoulders with. I hope he still has a few Republican friends after this book, because it sounds like Latimer is still a Republican in spite of it all. It is hard to believe that he will have much of a career in Republican politics after this book. But, I, a proud liberal, loved it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 37
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