still widely required reading by AP teachers
a bit dated ( )

Entertaining read, great insights into the political game, & memorable anecdotes. Some may be put off of this because Matthews is on MSNBC but it's non-partisan. He shows true admiration for Reagan's abilities, for example.
( )

Entertaining read, great insights into the political game, & memorable anecdotes. Some may be put off of this because Matthews is on MSNBC but it's non-partisan. He shows true admiration for Reagan's abilities, for example.
( )

I'd seen Chris Matthews' show Hardball and was really looking forward to reading his book. The title alone got me interested. The inner workings of Washington. Maybe now I'll understand why things are the way they are.

I read almost half of the book and came away with only two basic premises that were repeated and exampled ad nauseum.

1. Get to know everyone you can. They could help you in the future.

2. Be nice to your enemies. They could help you in the future.
This would have been a good book if Matthews made a point and backed it up with a pertinent story or two. Unfortunately, it was a story or ten. I found myself reading the first paragraph or two of a topic, then skipping to the next subject. Ok, Chris, I get your point. We've beaten the horse. Let's move on.

Maybe it was his writing style that couldn't hold my interest. Who knows. After a while I got tired of it all. ( )