Summary
Jack Germond is both respected and famous-respected as a political writer for several of the best newspapers, and famous as, for many years, a regular panelist on television's THE MCLAUGHLIN GROUP-where he was often a thorn in host McLaughlin's side. Here, Germond writes from the perspective of several decades, venting his spleen at what he sees as a sad decline in the quality of politics, politicians, and political coverage. He sees politicians as corrupted by polling, metrics, money, and fear, and the media cowed to the point where they trivialize both people and issues. The voters, too, have gotten, in his view, the leaders they deserve. While this may seem an obvious list of targets, Germond here takes the opportunity to think and write at length on these matters, and his views are eminently readable, as are his many insider anecdotes about the powerful and privileged.
Customer Reviews
Review this book!
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: Random House Inc Published date: 2005 Size: 5 x 7.75 inches Weight: 0.45 pounds Pages: 232
Publisher's Notes
The political columnist and panelist author of Fat Man in a Middle Street shares witty and insightful observations about the American election process, covering such topics as the misuse of polls, media misrepresentation and irresponsibility, and the role of racism in politics.
Other Editions
Similar books

Fat Man in a Middle Seat
by Jack Germond
For over four decades, the legendary reporter Jack W. Germond has made national politics his beat. He is a journalist whose incisive, honest, no-nonsense reporting--and tremendous wit--are hallmarks of a singular career in punditry. Germond is one of our best political writers, and in this hugely entertaining memoir he serves up his inimitable views on politicians and elections across the country and recounts the daily trials of being a political reporter on the road--including often returning home on a late-Friday-night standby flight, a fat man in a middle seat. Germond vividly recalls the races and personalities of the past forty years in politics: the great New York governors Averell Harriman and Nelson Rockefeller; the ever-present Richard Nixon; and Hubert Humphrey, Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He writes about the politics of race relations and how George Wallace "wrote the book on playing the race card." He discusses Watergate and what a nightmare it was for other reporters that two "unknown punks" had all the sources locked up. Germond is fascinating on the subject of reporting, notably on ethics and graft, and on the colleagues and bosses who didn't think he looked the part of a bureau chief. He writes about countless late nights in bars, rides on campaign planes, and off-the-record briefings and strategy sessions--the real stuff of politics. Germond is perceptive, honest, and bitingly funny (especially when writing about the enormous ego of John McLaughlin). In an age when the media have become their own worst enemy, Jack Germond reminds us what great reporting is. Fat Man in a Middle Seat is an essential book for political junkies, followers of current affairs and journalism, and anyone interested in how the country is really governed.

Hillary's Scheme
by Carl Limbacher
Can this country survive another Clinton presidency? Two terms of “Slick Willy” were bad enough. Now, numerous political experts and people close to the Clinton family hint that Hillary is plotting to retake the White House and ring in another four—or eight—years of a Clinton as commander in chief. She denies any presidential bid is in the works. But a few years before she entered the Senate race, Hillary claimed she would never run for any elective office whatsoever. In shocking detail, Hillary’s Scheme confirms the worst fear of tens of millions of Americans: that Hillary Clinton indeed plans to run for president within the next few years. This explosive, behind-the-scenes book by investigative journalist Carl Limbacher blows the lid off the New York senator’s plans for a grand political coup, something she has been carefully and quietly plotting for more than 20 years. Limbacher conducted extensive research into Hillary’s past and secured exclusive interviews with Clinton insiders—and even questioned Hillary herself—to bring you the real story. What he uncovers are the truly juicy morsels, the backroom deals, and the insider wrangling around Hillary’s presidential ambitions that aren’t being reported in the mainstream press. If you love to hate Hillary or are just curious about one of America’s most controversial figures, there’s plenty in this book to get your blood boiling. You’ll discover the answers to questions Hillary is unwilling to address in public, including: Why is she not likely to wait until 2008 to enter the race for president? How did she torpedo Al Gore’s chances for a rematch with President Bush? Where are the millions of dollars she’s supposedly raising for the Democratic Party really going? Why does she dodge tough questions about her husband’s abysmal record on fighting international terrorism? And many, many more! If you don’t think that Hillary Clinton has a fighting chance to win the presidency, you must read this book. With startling prescience, Limbacher draws parallels between today’s political environment and that which existed in 1992—the year George H. W. Bush lost the race to an upstart governor from Arkansas. You don’t need to be a member of the “vast right-wing conspiracy” or even a Republican to be concerned about what Hillary in the White House would mean for the presidency, the Constitution, and America as we know it.

The President's Assassin
by Brian Haig
Accepting a new posting within the CIA, military lawyer Sean Drummond oversees the investigation into the assassination of the White House chief of staff, whose killer has threatened to assassinate the president in three days, a situation complicated by a bounty on the president's head and a dangerous miscalculation on the part of law enforcement officials.

Soldiers of God
by Robert D. Kaplan
First time in paperback, with a new Introduction and final chapter World affairs expert and intrepid travel journalist Robert D. Kaplan braved the dangers of war-ravaged Afghanistan in the 1980s, living among the mujahidin—the “soldiers of god”—whose unwavering devotion to Islam fueled their mission to oust the formidable Soviet invaders. In Soldiers of God we follow Kaplan’s extraordinary journey and learn how the thwarted Soviet invasion gave rise to the ruthless Taliban and the defining international conflagration of the twenty-first century. Kaplan returns a decade later and brings to life a lawless frontier. What he reveals is astonishing: teeming refugee camps on the deeply contentious Pakistan-Afghanistan border; a war front that combines primitive fighters with the most technologically advanced weapons known to man; rigorous Islamic indoctrination academies; a land of minefields plagued by drought, fierce tribalism, insurmountable ethnic and religious divisions, an abysmal literacy rate, and legions of war orphans who seek stability in military brotherhood. Traveling alongside Islamic guerrilla fighters, sharing their food, observing their piety in the face of deprivation, and witnessing their determination, Kaplan offers a unique opportunity to increase our understanding of a people and a country that are at the center of world events.

The Exception to the Rulers
by David Goodman
The acclaimed host of Pacifica Network's Democracy Now! challenges the corporate and political hypocrisy that has silenced America. Bill Clinton called her, "Hostile, combative, and even disrespectful." Newt Gingrich told her that it was because of "people like you" that he warned his mother not to speak to reporters. The New York Times says she's a "reporter who's not easy-listening." The Indonesian military banned her, calling her a "threat to national security." Amy Goodman's The Exception to the Rulers , written with her brother David Goodman, chronicles the tireless efforts of an unembedded journalist and her colleagues to get to the truth and expose the lies, corruption and crimes of the power elite-an elite that is bolstered by large media conglomerates. For years, award-winning journalist Amy Goodman has confronted the Washington establishment and its corporate cronies. She hosts the national radio and TV show Democracy Now! , now the largest public media collaboration in North America and a phenomenal grassroots movement. Her goal is "to go to where the silence is, to give voice to the silenced majority." Now, in her first book, Amy Goodman offers her no-holds-barred perspective on world events and the hidden motives behind those in power. On subjects ranging from the deceptions of the George W. Bush administration, war profiteering in Iraq, to the corruption of media monopolies and corporate influence over the government, Amy Goodman attacks and exposes the lies and hypocrisy that put democracy at risk.
|