Speaker: Lessons from Forty Years in Coaching and Politics

Rating:
Summary: A Speaker, Not A Writer
Review:
I tend to read a lot of political books from both sides of the political spectrum by both politicians and pundits. Due to this I find myself holding these books up against each other in comparison. This comparison process leads me to the less then perfect score I would give this book. The author admits in the first part of the book that he is not much of a reader nor author and tends to almost exclusively rely on verbal communication. Given that he is a politician that is probably not all that bad. Unfortunately for the reader, this lack of experience with the written word tends to lend its self to a somewhat bland and simple story. Just to be clear, I am not attacking the man, just the writing style he uses. And to give him credit, he did not employ a high profile ghost writer to basically write the book like so many of his cohorts tend to do. He states his story with a down home style that is simplistic in the word choice and is rather shallow in detail.

With this criticism said I did find one aspect of his book very pleasing. Unlike so many books of the type, he kept the personal attacks out of the book and remained above the nasty level of partisanship that is all the rage in Washington now. Admittedly this was a surprise to me, I half picked up the book just to read the assumed sniping and caustic shots he would take at the Democrats. This is not to say that he does not let you know how he feels about the leaders of the other party, in very respectful ways he lets you know that he disagrees with the Democratic platform and almost all of their standard bearers. He did liven it up a bit in the last chapter when he starts to lay out his plan for a GOP utopian dream. He throws some punches, but they are almost good natured considering what is said on any given Sunday morning via the talking head shows. He also did a bit of complaining at the end that rang hollow to me given the issues he was so concerned about happen on both sides of the political spectrum.

Overall I found the book average. It lacked real depth to offer anything more then a high level view of the last few years in the house. The book reminded me of an after work conversation with friends on how an average work day went. The author did not take the opportunity to fully explain or expand on his political views other then to let you know he was a Republican. I came away thinking that he was going to do whatever the President asked him to do instead of fighting for what was the best for the people of his state. I do give him some credit for putting out a most positive book, especially in today's political climate. It is easy to read and moves at a fast clip. If you are a GOP'er and are not looking for anything that digging too deep into the mundane inter working of the house, then you would probably enjoy this book.


Rating:
Summary: Comes across as a real person, not just a politician
Review: Denny Hastert is not a name most people would recognize in the world of politics. And he says that's the way he likes it. We had a chance to meet Speaker Hastert at the Reagan Library, and though we didn't get a chance to speak, he was extremely cordial. His book is a quick read--despite its 300 pages, I read it in just two nights--and his story is worthwhile. I appreciate the fact that he has not forgotten his roots, and I was amazed that his wife continued her teaching career despite her husband's rise to power. The Speaker's remembrance of his teaching and coaching career--he even mentions his wrestling team's state championship in 1976 on the book's dedication page--make it clear that politics was not what he ever intended to make a career in. In fact, this was a man who not only coached and taught but drove a school bus, for Pete's sake!

As a private school educator myself, I felt a special kinship to him; now that I know him better, I feel I will better understand the situation he faces in the dog-eat-dog political world of Washington, D.C. One final comment. If nothing else, this book confirmed to me that our national political system is filled with holes, especially in the colloboration between the two main parties. The tricks played by the parties--and I have to say, most of the blame appears to lie at the feet of the Democrats--just to make the other side look bad is, in reality, bad for America. What can we do? Vote those who are the rascals out and get some work done. Let's cooperate, people, and quit with the individual agendas that single out special interests.

Rating:
Summary: This is fascinating!!!!
Review: I bought this book after reading the review from Mark Hammil. Mark was right, this book is an amazingly fast read and WOW, the story about how he almost became President after the Gore v. Bush lawsuit is the most under reported and fascinating stories of all time. Definitely buy this one.

Rating:
Summary: Dignity Speaks
Review: I have an autographed copy of this book--Speaker Hastert signed it for me in a Kansas bookstore. As the Speaker is next in line after the Vice President to be President if--God forbid--something should happen to the President or Vice President, Speaker Hastert holds the third highest position in the federal government. I want to personally thank Jack DeWolfe and the others in the Speaker's security detail for letting us have time to talk.

Speaker Hastert and I grew up a short ride from each other (two of my cousins grew up just minutes from his childhood home). We were both wrestlers at one time in school. But, those are not the reasons why I like him so much.

Congressman Hastert is, unlike many of his peers, a man of integrity. He's also got a great deal of common sense and no delusions about himself. You can't help but respect him, and I would respect him if he were still working on a feed truck in a small Illinois town rather than holding the third highest position on Capitol Hill. He is that kind of man.

Talking to "Denny" (as he prefers to be called), you understand a few important things about the man:
*He's humble.
*He knows what he believes and why.
*He does not make excuses.

So, what about this book? Well, it's a very hard book to put down. You find yourself glancing at the clock and saying, "OK, just one more page."

Denny is candid and honest. Unlike Bill Clinton, he did not write a bloated, self-aggrandizing tome of excuses for failure and try to make it sound like success. Instead, he speaks from the heart and engages you. Oddly, though the book is about him, it isn't about him. And neither is the way he's conducted himself in public office.

He did not write an advertisement for the Republican Party or try to lay a foundation for a future Presidential bid. Instead, he gives credit where credit is due (regardless of party). He also tells you some of the negative--but he does so in a civil, calm, dignified way. He does not resort to name-calling or histrionics. He lays out the facts and lets you be the judge. As a reader, I like that.

He did not write an embarrassing book like Al Gore's "Earth in the Balance." This is not a book that the author will later wish he could get people not to read. It is a book that he can be proud of, and it's one that will probably be read and recommended decades after he's gone.

Denny starts out by telling us where he came from. No silver spoons in his background. He knows the value of work, and he knows nothing is free--which explains his political philosophies. His entering politics was almost accidental, as was his rise to Speaker. He had no aspirations or grand plan to get there. Things just kind of turned out that way, and he took the opportunities as they came along. Which turned out to be very, very good for the rest of us.

The book provides a fascinating view into the inner workings of government at the state and federal levels. In this book, you'll find information you won't find in the biased media such as our newspapers and television (which, by the way, are undergoing huge losses of audience because of that bias--mainstream America is sick of it). Denny is amazingly unbiased and fair, which is refreshing in this age of bias and blame.

You'll see an insider's view of what it's like to deal with the dirty tricks played by the various bipartisan politicians, and Denny makes it clear that there are good and honorable people in both major parties. But you'll also see why our Congress and Senate have (in my opinion) been such abject failures for the past half century or so.

On the upside, you'll see where there's new hope. In fact, in the last six or so years our Congress and Senate have departed from their previous "let's fail to do what we were elected to do" modus operandi--they have actually done some good. That hasn't been because there are now more Republicans than Democrats. No, something else is at work there and Denny explains what it is.

Anyone who wants a good understanding of how government works should read this book. If you pay taxes, you should consider this a "must read"--taxes are the single largest expense for nearly every citizen and this book helps you understand how that money is spent (or misspent). Denny was a high school history teacher at one time, so he knows his stuff from that angle as well as from being intimately involved in the legislative process.

Had I not met Denny, I probably would not have bought a book by "yet another politician." But, that's just it. He isn't just another politician. And this is no ordinary book.


Rating:
Summary: You really don't know all this man has accomplished
Review: It seems to me that we overweight the past with a significance it never had when it was the present. Certain events seem more to have a more straight line connection and they are remembered and most else is forgotten or temporarily put aside in our memories until needed to create a new explanation of how we arrived in the present. I bring this up because it is easy to remember the Tip O'Neill or the Sam Rayburn as significant Speakers of the House and to dismiss Denny Hastert, but I think that would be a real mistake.

Certainly, I was one of those who said, "Denny Who?" when Newt stepped down as Speaker (before he would have lost the vote) and Livingston at the last moment succumbed to scandal. In this terrific autobiography, Speaker Hastert shares his life with us in a compact narrative that always lets us know what he thought and felt without ever becoming maudlin or vicious.

Without recounting his life, the first chapter tells of his boyhood through beginning work as a teacher and coach. He shows us through his life experiences how he learned about hard work, developed his religious faith, and developed a love for athletics (especially wrestling). He never claims any special virtues except for his abilities to listen, coach, and help people come together.

I found his transition to politics very interesting and why it is really a fatal experience to underestimate Speaker Hastert. He is very sharp, is able to express his judgments clearly and concisely so you know exactly where he stands without ever sounding mean or vindictive. He knows how to play the games of politics well, but for him it is not the game, it is working towards the things he believes in that matter most.

Frankly, as I learned about his personal political views and what he has been working on in the Illinois State House, as a US Representative, and now as Speaker, I have to say I wish I could vote for him. The last chapter of the book is a quick review of the current issues of the day. There is a brief addendum where Mr. Hastert shares his thoughts on the death of Ronald Reagan.

This is neither a deeply philosophical tome nor a tell-all book to settle scores. It is a simple story of a life that is interesting and easy to read. There will be other histories written that will be more comprehensive. However, we should not dismiss what is happening in our present. It is always good to pay attention so that as the present fades into the past we have a better context for what really happened than the more artificial context dreamed up by historians who were never there or who carefully set up the lighting on the set of facts they present to better support their own agenda.

Good book, good read, good insight into what is going on in Washington today.

Rating:
Summary: Quite a book
Review: The position of Speaker if the House of Representatives is an interesting one. It's a position very close to the top of the American Political System (Third in line to be the President). But it's not a position on which the country votes. Instead, some state selects a Congressman, and the Congress selects its leader. And generally speaking most of us who live outside his home state have never heard of the man.

Such was the case when Denny Hastert was given the position. And unlike some of his predecessors, he has not become a nationally known, or perhaps reknown is a better word, figure.

In this book, he talks about how he got to where he is: sixteen years as a government and history teacher at the high school in Yorkville, Illinois. In addition he coached football and wrestling, and sometimes drove the school bus.

He writes that the best training to become speaker of the house is to drive a school bus. "You're got to (1) keep the bus on the road, (2) keep your eye on the kids in the rear-view mirror, and (3) watch your back." As he says, "Hearding cats."

The toughest job: "teaching sixteen-year-old kids the basics of economics" was his original answer, now he says: "Teaching economics to some Members of Congress."

This book reads like a novel. It's too easy to say to yourself, "I'll read one more page before turning out the light." It leaves you with a better understanding that Congress is just people. People who have different ideas perhaps, but who have to work together to get anything done. It's quite a book.

Rating:
Summary: Did you know he almost became President!?!?
Review: This was a fantastically fast read. I really enjoy learning about Washington and politics and Denny Hastert seems to be your every day kind of guy who has inside access to real power in Washington. His September 11 story is worth the price of the book alone but the story about how an average school teacher turned Speaker of the U.S. House almost became President of the United States is unreal. HOW COME NO ONE KNEW THIS?!!?!
Amazing. Gotta read this one.