Rating: 
Summary: The Party: A Guide Drinking with Lots of Famous People
Review: In many ways, "The Party" follows its own rules. Its main goal is for the reader to have a good time, and not get too stuffy. Quinn moves quickly through all the party essentials, in a conversational style that makes it an easy one-night read. Remember that she is culling from the Washington party circuit - if you get cranky from name dropping, this book isn't for you. What the names do is underscore how important the guest mix is when planning a great party. Certainly Quinn seems to gloss over the importance of full-time staff and caterers, but for the most part the suggestions are on target the anectdotes (real or imagninary) serve to illustrate the various topics. Miss Manners may certainly give you more precise formulae for parties, but Quinn's are realistic and fun to read. Remember - the point is to have a good time!
Rating: 
Summary: "Get Over It"
Review: Near the end of her book, "The Party: A Guide to Adventurous Entertaining," Washington "hostess" and Southern belle Sally Quinn discloses for whom she has written this book. Ms. Quinn says that ". . . many newcomers to Washington, whether they are members of Congress or administration types or diplomats or journalists, do find the whole notion of Washington and Georgetown dinner parties terribly intimidating." Through her outspoken and irreverent memoir-guide, she hopes to demystify "what goes on here."Ms. Quinn does mention "names"; she says she does so in order to level the playing field, to show that anyone can drop the ball when entertaining. Her book is filled with anecdotes as well as practical tips. She exhorts would-be hosts and hostesses to follow the Golden Rule: "Treat your guests the way you would like to be treated." Much of the book repeats commonsensical rules that those of us who entertain already know. However, I did pick up some pointers, such as ". . . no matter how bad the food is or what disaster befalls you in the kitchen, when all else fails, make sure you have plenty of booze on hand, and the party won't be a total bomb," and "[e]veryone in your home must be treated like a celebrity, must be made to feel wanted and special." "The Party" may not appeal much to experienced party-givers and party-goers. However, it is an amusing addition to more "serious" books on entertaining. For someone who is starting out as a host or hostess, I think he or she will find some good tips here. As Ms. Quinn says, "the point is to have a good time." If one cannot do so, then she says to "get over it." If you don't know what a "P.R.F." is, then that is reason enough to get this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A page turner
Review: OK, so it's not an etiquette book, nor is it a step-by-step party guide. The lessons are given via examples -- and what examples! The rich and famous -- including Sally herself -- are all grist for the mill. But the key factor is Sally's breezy writing style. It's good enough that I am back on Amazon looking for other books she has authored.
Rating:
Summary: This "Party" was very entertaining.
Review: Sure, Sally is a name dropper. But I would LOVE to be invited to one of those parties.....even if it WERE by computer mistake!
Rating: 
Summary: A collection of Sally Quinn's name-dropping stories
Review: The title of this book implies that it's a how-to-guide to throwing a great party. You do get a few tips here and there, but this book serves mainly for Sally Quinn to name drop, describe the fun parties she's hosted, and generally tell you how terrific she is. Sally Quinn was the style editor for the Washington Post; her husband is Ben Bradlee, the famous Washington Post editor during Watergate, the Pentagon Papers and a number of other significant historical events. The tone of this book is lighthearted, and many of the stories are quite funny. After a while, though, I got tired of reading about "when Hillary and Bill came over one time," or "when all these Senators and Representatives were at our house," or "when we hosted this fabulous dinner party and everyone in Washington was talking about it for weeks." The tone of this book was too self-congratulatory for me to fully enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Snobbery,name-dropping, gracious condescention Its all here.
Review: This book is not only bad, it's irratating. It's like sitting next to a fading social butterfly on a long flight and listening to stories of her life. At first it's sort of interesting-- I mean,lets face it, this dame's been around. But after a while the endless name dropping starts getting to you, till finally you just want to snap, "Will you just shut up already?" The world of Washington society-- a world filled with women named "Mitzi" and men named "Huntington"-- she describes is a hot house, in-bred world in the grips of a Versallies mentality. This is no where better seen then in one of the last stories of her book. She and her husband were giving a New Year's Party for a hundred or so of their "dearest friends". Suddenly an older, rather modest, couple show up, introduce themselves and are hesitiantly admitted. Neither Quin nor her husband nor any of their glittering friends have any idea who these...these "people" were. As a result, says our hostess with the mostest, "I was so annoyed that I ignored them all night." Turns out that due to a computer error Mr.& Mrs. Nobody actually had been invited. This elderly couple from the heartland weren't gate crashers. "I still haven't forgotten how rude I was,"sighs Quinn. Still, she reminds us brightly, "There is no such things as perfection."
Rating:
Summary: A Light-hearted Romp!
Review: This book was a hoot -- a light hearted romp through the dining rooms of the Quninn/Bradley's and other DC luminaries. Mrs. Quinn peppers the book with good ideas while not taking the topic (or herself) too seriously. It's nice to see that the hoitie-toitie aren't always perfect either!
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable book to read!
Review: This book was very entertaining to read, no pun intended. Sally Quinn had some interesting ideas about things you would never think of, but that can make a big difference when having a party. Her anecdotes and stories of experience were hillarious.
Rating:
Summary: An annoying waste of money
Review: This sounded like an interesting insider's view into the party habits of famous people in Washington, D.C. Instead, it is a frivious memoir of the wife of a famous man, Ben Bradlee, written mainly to brag on herself, her family and her home. I would caution the prospective buyer to save your money on this one!
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