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

by William Novak and Tip O'Neill

Book Overview

1987, Random House, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780394552019, Book Condition: UsedVeryGood, Tiny name on top back cover, 104032 10D This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394552016
• ISBN13: 9780394552019
• Release Date: August 1987
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 387 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Very enjoyable, anecdotal book by the late, great Tip O'Neill

I really enjoyed this book---it made me appreciate the late, great Tip O'Neill even more. The book is well written (and reads like the author speaks) and provides good, easy-to-understand information on political life in Boston and Washington. In particular, the info. on the Kennedys is first rate. Do yourself a favor: get this asap.

Tip O'Neill is the Speaker of the House and the Speaker of Random House

Tip O'Neill was a great politician and you can feel this though his writing. This book covers Kennedy, LBJ, Vietnam, Watergate, the Carter White House, and The Regan White House in one book. He is an amazing writer. He was a true peoples Democrat. I belive that the Democrats will never win congress back until they look back on his philosophy that "All politics is locale."

Excellent for Young Aspriring Politicians

I recently received this book as a gift from an older, wiser cousin after I asked for something to help me learn a bit more about the politics of our nation. It was superb. I found it difficult to put down and it has inspired me to seek out more political memoirs and learn more about the infamous politicans that have made their mark on Washington. Tip O'Neill is a magnificent story teller and his honest opinions make the book that much more true to life. I highly recommend it to anyone, young or old, looking for a good book with a lot of class.

The Best of the Lot in the master's own words

OK if you want tell all stuff this book isn't for you. Get Fishbait Millers book (doorman of the house). If you wan't some of the low down and nasty of politicts rough language and all get John Farrell's book. But if you want an enchanting story, The story of a people and a culture. A story painting all that is best in America this one is it. The stories of Curley and Rayburn and the early days in the Mass State House are a joy. The stories of Work Buttons and bricklayers make you remember that all wasn't always well or easy in America. More than in the latest volume you see WHY Thomas P "Tip" O'Neill believed what he believed and battled for what he battled. His inability to say no might not serve today, but his belief in what was right yet willingness to respect those against him would be a godsend today. This book like a Jimmy Stewart or John Wayne paints a picture of what is great in America, it's the picture the way we'd like it to be, the way I think O'Neill wanted people to strive for. Its a picture of looking out for the other guy and all the stories of all the regular people that come with it. It's portrait of the regular guy is its charm, and the stories THE STORIES mother's milk for the political junkie. If you want all of the rough edges Farrell's book is probally better, but if you want the essence of a great man this book should be your choice.

Entertaining and enlightening

MAN OF THE HOUSE reads more like a conversation with a favourite grandparent than the memoirs of someone with fifty years of experience in politics and the book is the better for it. The book is vaguely set up in chronological order starting from his childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts and ending with his retirement from his position as Speaker of the House. But Tip (one feels to be on a first-name basis after the familiar tone of the book) sprinkles many anecdotes and jokes throughout the text, giving it a conversational flavour instead of reading like a straight history.O'Neill does not try to hide the fact that he is a Democrat and an extremely partisan one at that. However, he does not let his philosophies blind him to what people really are. He remembers the flaws that were present in some of his Democratic colleagues and speaks about the good qualities in the Republicans in Congress. Partisanship never gets in the way of friendship and he recalls many stories of socializing with members of both parties after a day spent fighting legislative battles.It's fascinating to read about (what is now) history through the eyes of someone who was witnessing first-hand so much of it. An entire chapter is dedicated to the Watergate scandal of the Nixon years and we can see it unfolding as he saw it. Nixon can be seen through the eyes of someone who was not a part of his close inner-circle, but who was closer than the general public. He offers his thoughts on the pardon given by President Ford and his mixed feelings on the subject.All the Presidents that he worked with are given a chapter of their own where O'Neill offers praise, criticism and a few humourous anecdotes. As expected, fellow Bostonian Jack Kennedy receives the most attention, having one chapter dedicated to him and another to his family. O'Neill describes a man who surrounded himself by a team of people that were the best in the business when it came to getting someone elected, but who really did not have the first clue in how to deal with legislators.O'Neill describes many of the battles he had with Kennedy's successor, President Johnson, on the subject of Vietnam. O'Neill broke from the President's position and was quite vocal in his condemnation of the war. The deep division in the Congress and the conversations he had with the President are given a lot of attention. O'Neill details how, while agreeing with the sentiments of the protestors, he felt that they were distracting from the message. Every time someone would smash a window in anger during a gathering, instead of reports of general unrest, the story in the press would be that this was another action supported by Tip.The last two presidents that Tip served with were the two in office during his tenure as Speaker of the House. President Carter, the Democrat, and President Reagan, the Republican, are seen to Tip as being almost complete opposites. Where every conversation O'Neill had with Carter demonstrated the P