Hardball : How Politics Is Played Told By One Who Knows The Game

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading
Review: A friend of mine who is in politics suguested that I read this book. She termed it a primer for anyone who wants to get into the political field. Plus it is a hell of a book. The stories about such figures as LBJ and Nixon only prove that there are rules to the game and that they work time and time again. I enjoyed reading it and recomend it to anyone who enjoys the game of politics.

Rating:
Summary: Great book with practical advice.
Review: This is a great book, not just for those interested in politics but for anyone that deals with people on a daily basis.

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Summary: How to deal with people and hierarchies
Review: Although Hardball appears to be about politics, it really is a book about dealing with people and conflicts. Practical advice with vivid and entertaining examples from American politics make it a must-read for individuals working in business, academics, or bureaucracies. Important chapters include "Keep your enemies in front of you", "Don't get mad, don't get even, get ahead", and "Hang a lantern on your problem." If you have problems with your boss, co-workers, or competitors, positive and clever approaches are given in thought-provoking real-life anecdotes.

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly practical guide of how to survive in real life
Review: A series of recommendations for surviving in the jungle of politics that is applicable to business,academics,etc. Chapters include "Don't get mad, don't get even, get ahead" in how to deal with enemeies, It's not who know, it's who you get to know" in forming alliances. This short readable book is embellished with ancedotes from the American political scene 1970-80's.

Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: This book is a must read for any political professional. A great companion book is YOU WON - NOW WHAT? by Taegan Goddard and Christopher Riback.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a must-read for everyone, political or not.
Review: It's not just about politics, but about how we get ahead and get behind. Through a series of often humorous anecdotes about political figures, the reader gains insight into how people get what they want. Everyone I've recommended this book to has read it and loved it!

Rating:
Summary: Hardball
Review: I thought that hardball by Christopher Matthews was a book about real live politics in today's society. It explains the true facts about the inside of politics and talks about subjects that are not always expressed in every day conversations. But in the most part it was a book with material that was well researched and well defined to the public.

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Summary: Inside Politics
Review: Chris Matthews set out to write an honest rulebook on how the game of politics is played and he did just that. It is a nonpartisan guide. Matthews believes that the rules of politics apply to every human life, not just to senators and congressmen. Here are some of the rules of politics as put forth by Matthews:

1. It is not who you know, it is who you get to know. Washington is like working in a big Company where it is who you know is more important than what you know. The key to your success in life is based upon your personal relationships. Nearly everyone in Washington owes their job to a personal friend.

2. All politics is local.

3. It is better to receive than give. Ask for help. The more someone invests in you, the more committed they become to seeing you succeed. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "If you want to make a friend, let someone do you a favor."

4. Dance with the one that brung ya. It is about loyalty to your side. Think about the loyalty that Ronald Reagan had to the conservative movement.

5. Keep your ememies in front of you. Great politicians always stay on speaking terms with fierce opponents to show strength, obtain useful information and because they know that they may have to call on the opponent as an ally some day.

6. Don't get mad, don't get even, get ahead. Focus on getting past your adversaries.

7. Leave no shot unanswered. Always respond to attacks quickly and effectively by attacking the credibility of your opponent, ridicule your opponent, and reverse the attack so it backfires against your opponent.

8. Only talk when it improves the silence. Know when to speak and when to listen.

9. Always concede on principal. In many cases, the best way to achieve one's goal is to concede the argument. Great politicians often negotiate by telling their adversaries exactly what they want to hear. By conceding the principal at issue, they manipulate their critics into accepting their views.

10. Hang a lantern on your problem. When in doubt, get it out.

11. Spin, spin & spin. Always turn negatives into positives.

12. The press is the enemy.

13. Have the reputation of power. Political leaders become powerful by appearing powerful. There are six ways to appear powerful. They are: play your strengths, lowballing, sandbagging, creating new commandments, passing the buck, and put your opponent in a "put up or shut up" position.

14. Positioning yourself to the voters as they desire to see you.

Rating:
Summary: awesome book. great advice for any situation
Review: Do you have an interest in politics? Can political advice be successful in the business world? Hardball by Chris Matthews, addresses many different topics to help someone understand how to be successful in the political arena. This same advice can be used successfully in the business world.
This book does not focus on the ideology of any political affiliation. Chris Matthews uses real life examples of current and former politicians. He addresses how the politicians built their relationships through networking and strategic moves to acquire power.
For example, at the beginning of the book, it talks about former President Lydon B. Johnson during the time when he was elected to the Senate. He had formerly served in the House of Representatives. Before being sworn in as the new Senate, he called the young man who took the coats for all of the members of the Senate.
He found out who the key players were, where they ate, what activities and interest they had in terms of hobbies, as well as, political interest. This allowed him to get on the proper committees with certain powerful members of the Senate. He then could develop a personal relationship to help him acquire power without other members being threatened by the possibility of Johnson taking power from them.
He uses very relevant examples throughout the book. It tends to build on each concept as it progresses throughout. It is very well written. There are some really good lessons that will help you in life even if you do not decide to go into politics.
For example, he advises that you should not get mad, nor get even when controversy arises. You should instead strive ahead and anticipate any reaction that the competition may have. You can then repair a proper response and develop a proactive organization. This also goes into another chapter where it says to hang a lantern on your problem. This section basically talks about the public relations aspect, which continues on how to spin every situation to your advantage.
Another good section talks about how you should never forget who brought you here. Or in other words, who keeps you in business if it's related to the business aspect. All business as well as politics are based on the local area. You have a certain brand image that was developed.
Conversely, most business is about whom you get to know. It is about the personal relationships and the management of these relationships. Many people will go to a business because they feel as though they have developed a personal relationship and that business will properly help to satisfy the particular need or want successfully.
The most relevant chapter in my opinion is when this book uses a quote by Benjamin Franklin, "If you want to make a friend, let someone do you a favor." This quote has particular interest for me because this could be very vital advice when you are trying to build relationships in the business world.
If you could only read one book that would have the most positive effects on your life, this book is the book for you. It also addresses how to position in the mind of the voter. Which is extremely relevant to someone in the field of marketing. It is a good pre-requisite for reading the book by Al Ries and Jack Trout, Positioning.
By the end of the book, Chris Matthews will have you intrigued about playing the game of politics. It helps you become familiarized with many of the key political figures in this modern era and how they were successful in politics.
He talks about the rivalry between competing politicians. I was particularly interested in the rivalry between President Regan and Carter. There are just so many areas that he addresses successfully, its hard to single out what is the most important to address.
However, the best advice that Chris Matthews could give talks about the fact that the higher you go in business, the more you will be involved with the media. He talks about tactics that politicians use to manipulate the media and these tactics could be used successfully within the business realm. Because of my public relations training, I particularly enjoyed reading about political public relations and compared their tactics to what I have been trained. They are essentially the same type of strategies. If you do not know much about Public Relations, then this book would help to expand your knowledge. This could be particularly useful in the business world.
To conclude, Matthews has written a classic. If you have ever voted before, this book is a must read for future political considerations. It helps you to identify what is going on in the realm of politics and see through the smoke and mirrors per se. It allows you to make a better decision when it comes time to vote. It will also allow you to use many of these concepts within the business market to improve your general knowledge and thus improve the overall profitability of the firm.


Rating:
Summary: Helpful, depends on who you are and what you want
Review: I agree with some reviewers that this book is outstanding and is a must for politicians and their aides, particulary those who work in non profit making or governmental organisations. Higher their ranks, more applicable the strategies/tactics can be. However, I cant agree with some reviewers in that I think the book's principles are not that practical in business, bedroom or boardroom (I copied the 3"b"s from one of those reviewers). If you work in those "supposedly" non profit making organisations mentioned above or just want to read for fun, it's good. If you want to read a book that help you survive or thrive in profit making settings, you should better look somewhere else.