Although Mr Latimer and I may not always agree, ideologically, I can totally admire his views and opinions, as they were expressed in this book, “Speech-less, Tales of a White House Survivor”. He is an idealist, like myself. Therefore, I found this book refreshing. Matt Latimer pined from the time he was a teenager for the day when he would be a presidential speechwriter. After finishing law school, he set out for Washington and held a variety of jobs working for increasingly powerful politicians. With each job, Matt came with idealism and expectations, and repeatedly received what I like to call a proverbial slap in the face. Although he retained respect for many of his former employers, the system in which he and they operated was not at all what he had thought. Nevertheless, he persevered, and continued to work toward his goal of a White House job. Finally, his dream job presented itself. Writing for George W. Bush. At the White House. With all of the excitement of youth, and none of the jadedness he could have had by this time, Matt set out to change the world through his job of helping to craft speeches for his Republican president. Unfortunately, although he remained loyal to Bush, his faith in the Republican party and the conservative movement was greatly shaken over the years of his service. By the end of his tenure, he wasn’t even sure he considered himself to be a Republican anymore. Although I can greatly sympathize with the disillusionment that Matt faces by the end of his career in politics, I am refreshed to find someone willing to say it like it is. There are so many books that come from Washington insiders, and as someone who is more than a little jaded myself, I find it difficult to decide whom to believe. I tend to believe this author, not because I enjoyed his depiction of his own party, but because someone willing to recount what he did about his own party and the people in it, and still remain idealistic and hopeful and fair, seems more credible to me. Of course, as an idealist myself, I tend to be naive about these things. So, what do I know? I found this book to be easy and enjoyable, and the author very likable.
I give this book 4 out of 5 bookmarks.
Reviewed by: Anna