Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Fantastic book. Highly readable, higly entertaining. Like his newspaper columns - and his TV show - this book centers much more on politics than policy. (Judging by the title that shouldn't be a shocker). Matthews is driven by a love of the game and if that is what you are looking for, this is a great book. It is filled with interesting stories, both from his own experiences where he learned things the hard way and of experiences other people had. You won't find any flowery prose or wordy explanations. Matthews is crisp and concise - saying more in these pages than Machivelli did in The Prince (and in a much more readable format). If you love politics, you will love this book. However, if you hate politics, this book will reinforce every sterotype you have about politicians.
Rating:
Summary: Good enough to teach from
Review: As a TV personality, Chris Matthews is annoying and borish. HARDBALL has nothing to do with that. It is a contemporary classic in tradition of Joe McGuiness' THE SELLING OF THE PRESIDENT 1968. I have found HARDBALL to be so insightful that I've assigned it to a class I'm teaching on practical politics. While re-reading the book for the class, I was delighted to discover that the current edition has been updated to include newer stories and examples. This makes HARDBALL worth buying and reading again for those who read it before when it first came out.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is an excellent book for anybody interested in politics, whether your new to the subject or a pro. Very easy to read, and written in laymens terms. This book really does explain "How the game is played."
Rating: 
Summary: How to win legislation and influence people
Review: Matthews, now known for screaming at people on CNBC, was originally the author (Way back in the late 1980s) of this timeless book about how legislation is crafted, and deals are done. After reading this book, you will agree that legislation is like sausage: You don't want to know how it is made or what goes into it. Hardball is a brutal insight for the naive into the power game, the relationship game, and the lobbying game. Legislation is not drafted to protect the poor and innocent. Rather, it is drafted to aid the rich and powerful, and to advance the careers of the sponsors. It is a fair characterization to say that this book is cynical, but it is also very accurate.
Rating: 
Summary: useful
Review: this is a useful, practical account of how to succeed in politics. Matthews concentrates on the practical, than the theoretical. Overall, the advice is could be summarised as follows. Concentrate on the common denominator, forget the big picture, and focus on delivery to your constituents. While all that has its usefulness, and probably explains why some politicians can overstay their welcome, it ignores the, what should be important - that is the 'vision thing'. What place does the big picture have if politics is left to only feeding re-election, and not doing anything important. A chicken and the egg question, I know. That's a hardball question
Rating:
Summary: You Must Add This To YOur Library Collection
Review: This book is a must buy for anyone interested in the art of obtaining power and dominance in America. If you have read the "Prince" by Machiavelli, you can definitely see the similarities. Personally, I feel it is a 21st century version of a classic. The stories are long enough to give you a clear understanding of the topic, but short enough so not to bore you with details. By itself, the chapter "It's Better To Receive Than To Give" is worth the price of the book. It breaks down the psychology of allowing people to live out their desires, to be apart of something important, through you. If you are serious about learning "The Rules", I highly recommend this book by Chris Matthews.
Rating:
Summary: A Handbook like no other.
Review: For anyone interested in politics, this is a must read. It outlines the basic strategies for any political enviroment and gives clear examples of their implementation. Want to win points at work? Read this book. Want to understand what politicians mean when they give cryptic answers? This is the secret decoder ring. Chris Matthews is one of the best political journalists out there and in this book, he makes the secret halls of Washinton, just a bit more accessible.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended by a McCain strategist
Review: I took a class on political strategy with a key aide on the John McCain campaign. Of the reading he assigned, the one book he said we MUST read was Hardball. This book is a classic political strategy manual. It is the best of its kind, it is timeless. A must read for anyone who wants to understand or be involved in the political world, and that comes not just from myself, but from one who "knows the game."
Rating:
Summary: How to Win Friends and Influence People in Politics
Review: There is no more practical, enjoyable guide to retail politics than Matthews' Hardball; it's well on its way to becoming a classic and the "ones who know the game" know that it's mandatory reading. Hardball vividly explains how figures like Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson got to where they were in politics -- using tactics like fighting for a seat at the table at any available forum and recognizing the value of rising stars who lost elections before they started winning. Hardball shows how the most unlikely politicians like Geraldine Ferraro and William Gray of Pennsylvania rose to surprising heights. You'll be delighted by the insights Matthews offers.
Rating:
Summary: Can be applied to life...
Review: Whether you are a politics wonk or you simply breathe on earth and not on an isolated island without others to fight with, this book means something to you. It's sort of an applied psychology of the way the human mind works in real life and how it can be influenced. As Matthews writes, politics pervades all of life. If there is a resource, politics is involved. So why not learn how to play the game from the best, all of those pols in the Beltway? Each chapter has a theme, and includes examples of the applied or not-so-well applied principle. Sometimes the examples are obscure or vague, and sometimes you could have written in your own and made it more interesting. But the idea is communicated nonetheless. What you do with it, is between you and your values system. But if it is doable, the application of even one prinicle may allow the book to more than pay for itself.
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