On the House: A Washington Memoir
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- Create Date：2021-04-17 12:30:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：John Boehner
- ISBN：1250752302
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Summary
This program is read by the author。
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner shares colorful tales from the halls of power， the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power， and his fabled tour bus。
John Boehner is the last of a breed。 At a time when the arbiters of American culture were obsessing over organic kale， cold-pressed juice， and SoulCycle， the man who stood second in line to the presidency was unapologetically smoking Camels， quaffing a glass of red， and hitting the golf course whenever he could。
There could hardly have been a more diametrically opposed figure to represent the opposition party in President Barack Obama's Washington。 But when Boehner announced his resignation， President Obama called to tell the outgoing Speaker that he'd miss him。 "Mr。 President，" Boehner replied， "yes you will。" He thought of himself as a "regular guy with a big job，" and he enjoyed it。
In addition to his own stories of life in the swamp city and of his comeback after getting knocked off the leadership ladder， Boehner offers his impressions of leaders he's met and what made them successes or failures， from Ford and reagan to Obama， Trump， and Biden。 He shares his views on how the Republican Party has become unrecognizable today; the advice--some harsh， some fatherly--he dished out to members of his own party， the opposition， the media， and others; and his often acid-tongued comments about his former colleagues。 And of course he talks about golfing with five presidents。
Through Speaker Boehner's honest and self-aware reflections， you'll be reminded of a time when the adults were firmly in charge。
A Macmillan Audio production from St。 Martin's Press
Former Speaker of the House John Boehner shares colorful tales from the halls of power， the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power， and his fabled tour bus。
John Boehner is the last of a breed。 At a time when the arbiters of American culture were obsessing over organic kale， cold-pressed juice， and SoulCycle， the man who stood second in line to the presidency was unapologetically smoking Camels， quaffing a glass of red， and hitting the golf course whenever he could。
There could hardly have been a more diametrically opposed figure to represent the opposition party in President Barack Obama's Washington。 But when Boehner announced his resignation， President Obama called to tell the outgoing Speaker that he'd miss him。 "Mr。 President，" Boehner replied， "yes you will。" He thought of himself as a "regular guy with a big job，" and he enjoyed it。
In addition to his own stories of life in the swamp city and of his comeback after getting knocked off the leadership ladder， Boehner offers his impressions of leaders he's met and what made them successes or failures， from Ford and reagan to Obama， Trump， and Biden。 He shares his views on how the Republican Party has become unrecognizable today; the advice--some harsh， some fatherly--he dished out to members of his own party， the opposition， the media， and others; and his often acid-tongued comments about his former colleagues。 And of course he talks about golfing with five presidents。
Through Speaker Boehner's honest and self-aware reflections， you'll be reminded of a time when the adults were firmly in charge。
A Macmillan Audio production from St。 Martin's Press
Reviews
Deirdre
，
I think this book has gotten a lot of attention for its cover and trash talking of Ted Cruz。 As a memoir， it’s very average and absolutely nothing special - I don’t find this guy particularly introspective。 I leave this memoir also feeling like he doesn’t even have personal beliefs or moral convictions of the sort。
Susan Long
，
A beyond timely memoir。 Boehner speaks his mind and we see the man behind the tears， cigarettes and red wine。 This makes you yearn for yesteryear。
Zachary
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I have mixed feelings about this book。 On the one hand， I worked in D。C。 part of the time Boehner was speaker and saw the direction a sizeable portion of the Republican party was headed， I appreciate the former speakers perspective on the issues and agree with him that it is not good or sustainable。On the other hand， a "Boehnerism" he discussed a lot in this book is this: "A leader without followers is just a man taking a walk。" On the one hand， this is self evident and important for any would-b I have mixed feelings about this book。 On the one hand， I worked in D。C。 part of the time Boehner was speaker and saw the direction a sizeable portion of the Republican party was headed， I appreciate the former speakers perspective on the issues and agree with him that it is not good or sustainable。On the other hand， a "Boehnerism" he discussed a lot in this book is this: "A leader without followers is just a man taking a walk。" On the one hand， this is self evident and important for any would-be leader to keep in mind， in the other hand Boehner uses it as an excuse to go along with some schemes promoted by members of Congress he describes as "knuckleheads。" Is it really leadership to jump in front of a people going the wrong way and leading the charge rather than turning them around？Overall， this book provodes interesting insight into someone who was a major player in Washington。 。。。more
Cynthia Carmona
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4。5 stars。 I don’t agree much with Boehner， but it sure is refreshing to hear from a Republican who is interested in finding common ground。 Funny， too， although I may have skimmed the nostalgic football coach part 😬
Betty
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Many Surprises。I enjoyed some of the inside workings and stories that Speaker Boehner had to share。 The policies that mattered most to him was surprising。 No matter what your politics are this is a great read。
Jacob Hilliker
，
An entertaining read for anyone who is into how the government and political process operates。 I was pleasantly surprised how non-partisan， Speaker Boehner tells his tale throughout he text。 I certainly don’t agree with his conservative political ideology on most things， but he’s a good story teller and is probably a fun golf partner。
Patricia Baker
，
not that exciting of a book。 feel there are more behind the scene stuff that goes on than the common unelected American will ever know。 do have to agree with him that social media and the constant news channel play into the living rooms every day helping form opinions that each voter should be researching on his/her own。 did enjoy the Boehnerisms at the end of the book。 think my favorite was "it doesn't cost anything to be nice。" good luck to Mr。 Boehner in his retirement。 may he always be watch not that exciting of a book。 feel there are more behind the scene stuff that goes on than the common unelected American will ever know。 do have to agree with him that social media and the constant news channel play into the living rooms every day helping form opinions that each voter should be researching on his/her own。 did enjoy the Boehnerisms at the end of the book。 think my favorite was "it doesn't cost anything to be nice。" good luck to Mr。 Boehner in his retirement。 may he always be watching the sunset from the condo in SW Florida drinking that red glass of wine。 。。。more
Sharon Nale
，
I heard on the news （TV） that Boehner called someone a s。o。b。 and I was disgusted that he used that kind of language。 Then I read his memoir， and I learned that "son-of-a-bitch" is a term of endearment for Mr。 Boehner。His view of Nancy Pelosi is interesting， to say the least。 I hesitate to say this， but he goes so softly on her that I wondered if he FEARS her， since he describes her as the MOST powerful speaker of the house in his lifetime。 Mr。 Boehner describes how Pelosi destroyed long-time co I heard on the news （TV） that Boehner called someone a s。o。b。 and I was disgusted that he used that kind of language。 Then I read his memoir， and I learned that "son-of-a-bitch" is a term of endearment for Mr。 Boehner。His view of Nancy Pelosi is interesting， to say the least。 I hesitate to say this， but he goes so softly on her that I wondered if he FEARS her， since he describes her as the MOST powerful speaker of the house in his lifetime。 Mr。 Boehner describes how Pelosi destroyed long-time congressman John Dingle。 She is not someone you want to mess with is the message I got。 So he does not mess with her。 I had to GOOGLE John Dingle， because he was a bit before my time。 John was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015， a record of some kind; his wife took his seat when he died， and his father had the seat before John。 A family affair。 If someone ever writes a memoir about the Dingle family dynasty in the House， I’d like to read that book。 The Dingels have represented their district for 89 consecutive years。Interesting book， John Boehner， but I think you left out an awful lot that would've made better reading。 。。。more
Adam Eversole
，
John was my first boss out of college。 Being a part of Boehnerland as a 22 year old while he was speaker with something pretty special。 I’ve since left the Republican Party， for all the reasons he talks about in the book。 I wish he could have done more， but he’s a great man and this book shows that。
Stephanie S
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Boehner shares his world viewBoehner’s book reflects his world view which is， in part， that America is exceptional and if you work hard enough and do the right thing， you’ll succeed。 But that just isn’t and hasn’t been the case for brown and black people。 It’s a bling spot many Republicans have。 Boehner， largely inadvertently， I believe， played a role in creating the conditions that created Trump and perpetuated the cruel system of racism that is the bain of our country。 That said， he seems like Boehner shares his world viewBoehner’s book reflects his world view which is， in part， that America is exceptional and if you work hard enough and do the right thing， you’ll succeed。 But that just isn’t and hasn’t been the case for brown and black people。 It’s a bling spot many Republicans have。 Boehner， largely inadvertently， I believe， played a role in creating the conditions that created Trump and perpetuated the cruel system of racism that is the bain of our country。 That said， he seems like a decent guy， albeit with a limited world view。 It’s an entertaining read especially for those of us who work in the trade。 。。。more
Alex O'Donnell
，
You Can Skip ItThis book is shockingly shallow， especially given the press coverage over the past couple months for it。 The pacing for the book is also erratic - it’s not your typical political memoir for sure。
John Bohnert
，
I've been interested in politics since my early years of college in Miami， Florida in the autumn of 1959。Therefore， I found John Boehner's memoir fascinating reading。 I've been interested in politics since my early years of college in Miami， Florida in the autumn of 1959。Therefore， I found John Boehner's memoir fascinating reading。 。。。more
Josh Friers
，
There is just something about this guy I like。
Hartley Nauss
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Decent prose， an interesting and entertaining series of anecdotes。 I wish this had been edited into a chronological order， the rambling nature makes it a bit hard to remember what year it is and how much influence he is supposed to have at any given point。 Further he basically completely skips both 9/11 and the Iraq War so really this is just a puff piece for the Speaker to dunk on his enemies and rivals without seriously reflecting on the difficult choices he had to make。
Diane Cato
，
Pretty Good An interesting read for the most part。 Towards the end he starts to wax philosophical。 The book is shorter than I expected。 Read it pretty much in a couple of hours。 It contains some new insights into his experience in Congress。 He’s a likable guy！
Susan Tunis
，
No one who knows me will be surprised to hear that I was not a fan of Speaker Boehner when he was in office。 But， damn， he sure is fun now！I'm joking， sort of。 No one shares more than they want to in a political memoir， but Mr。 Boehner must be well and truly retired， because he's calling 'em like he sees 'em。 For better or worse。 You've heard a lot of the more colorful tidbits on the news。 He's not holding back on his feelings about fellow Republicans like Sarah Palin， Ted Cruz and others。 But w No one who knows me will be surprised to hear that I was not a fan of Speaker Boehner when he was in office。 But， damn， he sure is fun now！I'm joking， sort of。 No one shares more than they want to in a political memoir， but Mr。 Boehner must be well and truly retired， because he's calling 'em like he sees 'em。 For better or worse。 You've heard a lot of the more colorful tidbits on the news。 He's not holding back on his feelings about fellow Republicans like Sarah Palin， Ted Cruz and others。 But who'd have guessed the depth of affection and admiration he had for Gerald Ford？ And while he doesn't go on at length， he speaks warmly and respectfully of Joe Biden。 Trump， not so much。 Though， my favorite assessment was his opinion of Bernie Sanders。 I won't spoil it for you。So， bridges are being burnt。 Axes are being ground。 And along the way， we get occasional glimpses of what it was like to legislate。 The deals， the horse trading， the rare， shiny instances of bi-partisan cooperation。 He shares his thoughts on issues present and past， and in some cases discusses choices that were made。 Looks back at some of the big wins and losses。He also talks about his personal life。 I was fascinated by stories of his childhood and family。 He's got eleven brothers and sisters！ I was significantly less interested in stories from his high school sports career。 This was the nadir， for me。 The rhapsodizing over the high school coach felt interminable。 High school sports aside， this was a lively read。 Oh， and speaking of which， Mr。 Boehner did an excellent job reading the audiobook。 He has a lot of personality， and curses like a sailor。 Truly， he's making it hard for me to hate him。There are few things in life that give me greater pleasure than watching old-school conservatives criticize this new breed of Republican。 I may need to revisit this book for an occasional pick-me-up。 。。。more
Kerry Sullivan
，
Good stories but poor excuses for failing to stand up to his caucus crazies。 And， um， sometimes the stodgy old white guy in him breaks through。 No girls on the bus。。。。Obama was haughty。。。。 Enjoy your Merlot and fade away， Mr。 Speaker。
Moses Yuriyvich Mikheyev
，
If you thought Washington was corrupt， you’d still be wrong—for even that would be an understatement。“One way the stamps were being ‘laundered，’ so the rumors went， was through late-night poker games where they [congressmen/women] would play in stamps。 Thousands of dollars’ worth of USPS stamps were apparently changing hands。 And you couldn’t just buy stamps at the House post office—apparently you could buy cocaine too。 You couldn’t make this stuff up” （p。11）。
Ryan
，
Not worth your time。
JerryDeanHalleck
，
Like Boehner himself， this is a rather dull book。 It does have plenty of gossipy stories but its hard to see who the audience for it is。 Mr。 Boehner isn't a liberal or a leftist， but doesn't like Ted Cruz， the Tea party， or Trump that much either。 Basically， he's a DC insider， a "Get along， Go along type" who "wants to get things done"。 Which translates to giving the Democrats 65% of what they want in exchange for helping Big Business and the Chamber of Commerce。 No wonder Pelosi cleaned his clo Like Boehner himself， this is a rather dull book。 It does have plenty of gossipy stories but its hard to see who the audience for it is。 Mr。 Boehner isn't a liberal or a leftist， but doesn't like Ted Cruz， the Tea party， or Trump that much either。 Basically， he's a DC insider， a "Get along， Go along type" who "wants to get things done"。 Which translates to giving the Democrats 65% of what they want in exchange for helping Big Business and the Chamber of Commerce。 No wonder Pelosi cleaned his clock and we got Trump。 The books is worth a read if your curious about how DC politics worked behind the scenes during Bush/Obama/Clinton。 。。。more
Terry Earley
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