Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House

By Alyssa Mastromonaco

Book Overview

If your funny older sister were the former deputy chief of staff to President Barack Obama, her behind-the-scenes political memoir would look something like this...

Alyssa Mastromonaco worked for Barack Obama for almost a decade, and long before his run for president. From the then-senator's early days in Congress to his years in the Oval Office, she made Hope and Change happen through blood, sweat, tears, and lots of briefing binders.

But for every historic occasion-meeting the queen at Buckingham Palace, bursting in on secret climate talks, or nailing a campaign speech in a hailstorm-there were dozens of less-than-perfect moments when it was up to Alyssa to save the day. Like the time she learned the hard way that there aren't nearly enough bathrooms at the Vatican.

Full of hilarious, never-before-told stories, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? is an intimate portrait of a president, a book about how to get stuff done, and the story of how one woman challenged, again and again, what a "White House official" is supposed to look like. Here Alyssa shares the strategies that made her successful in politics and beyond, including the importance of confidence, the value of not being a jerk, and why ultimately everything comes down to hard work (and always carrying a spare tampon).

Told in a smart, original voice and topped off with a couple of really good cat stories, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? is a promising debut from a savvy political star.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1455588229
• ISBN13: 9781455588220
• Release Date: March 2017
• Publisher: Twelve
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 10.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Great Read

If you are interested on how it works on the inside this is the book for you. Very entertaining. Also, a great book to give to a young woman (or girl). Yes you can! Mastromonaco is a great role model.

This book was interesting and informative, but filled with gratuitous vulgar words

This book was entertaining and informative. And reasonably well written, except for the constant use of gratuitous vulgar words. She is no doubt a very intelligent young woman, but her constant use of sh_t made her sound immature and silly. For instance, she mentioned that they had a “sh_t load of BlackBerries.” It detracted from the book.