Rating: 
Summary: Bad book, written without knowledge of the history or facts
Review: I'm sorry to write this but this book is in my opinion the first candidate to be returned to the author with the request to give back spent money. Badly written, showing author's ignorance about themes she writes about, showing no wish to be close to the truth, showing 'me too' / 'I (pretend) I was there' or 'why not me' attitude. Pity is that there is no ZERO points in the scale - this book would be the first one that would get such note from me...
Rating: 
Summary: An "insider's" view of Washington
Review: Lesley Stahl does a very good job of combining her remembrances of the men who occupied the White House and her own career as a CBS News correspondent.Her descriptions of all the presidents, and those nearest and dearest to them (both personally and publicly) are exactly right - from the paranoia of Richard Nixon on down. She stops with George Bush, probably because she wasn't in the Washington press corps anymore when Bill Clinton moved into the White House. Combined with Ms Stahl's description of Washington's inner circles over the years is a somewhat detached description of her years with CBS News and with her family. Her personal story is not badly written, but I didn't really get a sense of her feelings toward her parents or her daughter, although her love for her husband comes shining through. On the other hand, her various friendships, battles, and other interactions with Dan Rather, Bill Plante, and others in front of and behind the camera at CBS News are very well done; I got a good sense of what these people are actually like - more than what I see of them when I watch the news. It's truly a shame that Ms Stahl's description of her family life isn't as natural as the rest of her book. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few times when I was working behind the counter of the now-defunct Crown Books store a block away from the White House. I found her to be a warm, friendly person who spoke very naturally and lovingly about her daughter and other personal (but not TOO personal) topics - quite at odds with the impression I got reading her descriptions of them in her book. Even with all that I've mentioned here, I would still recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: absorbing, entertaining, humorous, smooth read
Review: Leslie Stahl has proven her writing abilities in this book. I breezed through it in one weekend. I particularly enjoyed the trip back in time and all the humorous political and personal stories. Her road to the top is similar to many women of her age group ( myself included) who had to scratch and claw our way up. It's nice to know that. Her storytelling is absorbing. I was disappointed when I got to the end. This was a great read if you like to know about behind the scenes in politics and journalism. She is refreshing when it comes to stories about herself and her life. I recommend this book to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Abridgment of a Good Story
Review: Listening to this abridged audio has motivated me to want to read the book. Although I did enjoy listening to Stahl read the book herself (you could actually "hear" her smile !) I found that this abridgment was awkward and poorly done. It was choppy and many loose ends were never tied up (like Stahl's husband's bout with depression). I particularly disliked the way it did not segue gracefully from one topic to another but abruptly changed topics. I did like hearing about the minutae of her reporter's life and a lot of insider information about the presidents. I was fairly horrified to hear of Reagan's apparent mental decline during his years in office. Very scary.I also liked Stahl's honest opinions about many of the CBS brass. I am sure not all of them appreciated it. Looking forward to reading the book!
Rating:
Summary: Her put down of Reagan is pathetic and shows her true colors
Review: Ms. Stahl wants to make herself the most important person. A shame she couldn't take care of her child. I was very disappointed in this book and found her way of harping on all the negatives she could find very distressing. Too bad she couldn't have had a more positive experience in all those years. You gave a choice of 5 to 1 stars. I had to pick l but in reality would not give this book any stars.
Rating:
Summary: Soft, strong and thoroughly absorbent!
Review: No other words to describe that lefty rubbis
Rating: 
Summary: Popular not expert view, bigotry & ignorance present
Review: Overall the book is a nice & easy reading. But, IMO, it only presents Lesley's personal and popular rather than an expert view of the political matters. One should treat her opinions with limited confidence. I loved the warm touches when Lesley talks about her Aaron. I hated an instance of bigotry and ignorance that I encountered on page 346, line 35 (hardcover). Referring to Bush's visit in Poland (July, 1989) she concludes: "The Poles (with help from their friendly neighborhood Germans) had killed off their tradesmen, the Jews, in the 1940's." Well, I don't need to explain that it is a historical & political fallacy, do I? What is less obvious is that it is a potentially harmful revisionist statement, possibly triggered by some ethnic prejudice.
Rating:
Summary: I would like to read it
Review: Since I have not read this book yet, I will write just that in the last days in all Polish newspaper we have quotation from the p. 346. "The Poles (with help from their friendly neighborhood Germans) had killed off their tradesmen, the Jews, in 1940`s". It seems to me very significant this statemendt, I`m afraid that many people in the USA are thinking in this way but only fiew are writing. Hopfully this lapsus will help us to discover the truth on the Shoah - Holocaust.
Rating:
Summary: A no holds barred look at insider Washington.
Review: Stahl has written a fast-paced, engrossing look at Washington from the inside, from Nixon's Watergate through the Bushs' time in the White House. She's been there and seen it all! She weaves politics in with her personal struggle to succeed as a woman in a predominantly good old boys'world. Very enjoyable and informative.
Rating:
Summary: A total fix for political junkies
Review: The problem I had with Stahl's book is that I STOPPED WORKING. Luckily, I am a writer, so no one really noticed. But this is a book so rich in behind-the-scenes detail that you can hardly put it down. Here is the line I liked best in the book. At a ferocious briefing with press secretary Larry Speakes, he is saying "I'd like you to report...." Stahl interrupts: "We don't care what you'd like us to report." Get it? Finally, I was impressed with how much credit and space she gives her producers, even as they refer to her as "news babe in ridiculous heels."
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