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White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters
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| List Price: | £10.92 |
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Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #520150 in Books
- Published on: 2008-12-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 592 pages
Customer Reviews
A Meticulous History
I work as a speechwriter, so I had a professional interest in this book. It's got a few gems in it. It is an exhaustive account of the different ways speechwriting has been managed at the White House. Actually, it seems often to have been a quite abusive and crude use they have made of them. There is evidence of high amounts of stress and little appreciation. I realised the notion that speechwriters in American politics are cherished and coddled was very wrong. Even the tenure of Ted Sorensen and Peggy Noonan was quite short. There is a high turnover.
It's not a bad book, if you want to be a Government speechwriter, it has useful insights into how a speech is put together and how policy and wordsmithery work together. I just found it quite ponderous, and lacking in drama. I don't think Schlesinger would make a good speechwriter himself!
