Clinton & Me

by Mark Katz

Book Overview

The painfully funny adventures of Clinton's in-house joke writer weaving Wonder Years hindsights with high-stakes, real life, West Wing drama. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786869496
• ISBN13: 9780786869497
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Very funny and interesting tome

I picked this book up based on a brief review that said it was funny, and was a little hesitant to do so as neither politics nor Clinton interest me. But no matter, this book proved to be very funny despite my anticipated lack of interest. Mark Katz's stories of making it to the white house evoke Peter Sellers in 'Being There', albeit with much more intelligence than Peter Sellers. What makes this book even more interesting is how the author's family and friends (Fisher!) make repeat appearances, reminding you that he's just another person doing his job, and is as amazed at his good fortune as the reader is. I found myself laughing out loud while reading this book, as have others I've recommended it to. It's also piqued my interest in some of the other books concerning Clinton's presidency, so I guess that's saying quite a bit as well. Consider me a fan.

Fun Times For All

I read a lot of political memoirs and it has been my experience that the press secretaries and the speech writers always are the most entertaining. Not much of an original idea given that these people are employed because of their skills with language, but I have never been one to shy away from pointing out the painfully obvious. I think the two most important things you should know about this book is that the author is a confirmed fan of Bill Clinton and he was not involved in any of the really interesting political or foreign affairs issues during the Clinton Presidency. The author basically spiced up or completely wrote humor speeches.The book is not all about the authors interactions with President Clinton. He spends a good deal of time detailing out his life before his White House days and his work with Dukakis, Madeline Albright, and Al Gore. But the real interesting details are when the author covers the speech writing process and how ideas were turned into jokes that the President would use. He also presented some rather sly insights into Clinton the man. I also found the details of his rise to fame and his going from unknown nobody to the hot new speech writer. Who would have thought that this would be a business where you could freelance for the President and CEO's in joke writing. If there was anything disappointing about the book for me it was that the dust jacket tried to make the book out to be a laugh on every page. Unfortunately I did not find this level of humor, but the book more then made up for this lack of non stop humor with interesting insight and stories about the Clinton White House. The author even found a way to interject a humor rivalry with Al Franken that was a nice side story. Overall the book was interesting, easy to read and funny at times. I found it very enjoyable and refreshingly non partisan. If you are a fan of the Clinton Administration this could almost be considered a must read given the tone of the book.

Best book I've read in a while

If you're not a clinton fan, this is probably not the book for you. But I am so I loved it. I enjoyed reading about the process by which speeches get written and the little insights into the world that is the white house. I truly laughed out loud every time I picked up the book. Katz has a great "touch" for writing about some sensitive subjects and his humor, political and otherwise, was dead on. Great read!!!!!

I could not put this book down -- it's terrific.

Mark Katz's story, from the class clown to comedy speechwriter for President Clinton, is a great read. The book is full of funny one-liners and stories, excerpts from what made it into the President's speeches, and what didn't. And I laughed. But that's not what makes the book great. What makes the book great is that the reader feels what it's like to step into Mark Katz's shoes, and see this world of power and privilege though the eyes of someone who feels humbled and privileged to be there. He gives these people he comes into contact with depth and dimension and makes them real.... I couldn't put it down. And it was funny. Buy the book.

A "Must Read" for Every Fan of Political Humor

From the dusty backroads of the campaign trail to the innermost reaches of the White House, Mark Katz takes us on a wide-eyed and wacky trip peopled with the powerful and the people who keep them that way. Part "Inside Baseball", part West Wing and part Huckleberry Finn, Katz shows how Presidents, hangers-on, pundits and their writers vie for laughs, media attention, and influence. As a seasoned political writer, Katz also introduces us to celebrities, character assassins, TV cameras, and the occasional impressionable date. For those of you always curious as to "what goes on back there, anyway?", Katz tells all with a clever eye and a sharp tongue. A sourcebook for political writers, wags and wannabees.