Confessions of a White House ghostwriter : five presidents and other political adventures /

Humes, a throwback to an earlier era, won office in Pennsylvania, then wrote occasional speeches for every GOP president since Ike, and was an official speechwriter for Richard Nixon. Confessions is a chatty insider's look at speeches and politics capturing some of the appeal that being close to power still holds for young people.

Humes has enjoyed a diverse career as a legislator, lawyer, and author of 21 books, including three about his idol, Winston Churchill. He also served as a speechwriter for Republican Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush, enjoying a close relationship with Nixon. The most revealing chapters of this book show the unraveling of the Nixon White House during Watergate. Humes identifies David Gergen, then an assistant to chief presidential speechwriter Raymond Price, as Deep Throat, the snitch who helped reporters Woodward and Bernstein. Like all good ghostwriters, Humes never takes center stage in this engaging memoir, which is laced with wickedly funny anecdotes; the politicos, presidents, and British royalty whom Humes fondly remembers receive star billing. Even Presidents Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton, whom he does not admire, are not treated with the rancor that often passes for political humor. This winning combination of charm and humor is cheerfully recommended for public libraries.‘Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, Pa. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.