My former co-worker Matt Latimer wrote a book last year on his life as a Republican communicator, which included time as speechwriter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the last year with President George W. Bush. His book “Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor.” I loved this book! It was hilarious and tragic at the same time.
Maybe my friends and family will believe all of those stories I’ve been telling about how DC works! Thanks, Matt, for backing me up.
Matt’s book is in great company. Other presidential speecwritiers wrote some great books that I would highly recommend:
What I Saw At The Revolution by Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan
Profiles in Courage by President Kennedy on paper, but co-authored by his speechwriter Ted Sorensen
Richard Goodwin, also was a Kennedy speechwriter, is married to Doris Kearns Goodwin. Both are historians and authors. Their books have won awards, but they weren’t my cup of tea.
I want to read White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters by Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s son Robert Schlesinger (Arthur Jr. worked for Kennedy as his historian who later wrote A Thousand Days.). However, I have 44 books ahead of it in line. (I am on book 8 of the 52 books on a shelf that I vowed to read in 2010 before I bought another one!)
If you know of other books by presidential speechwriters, please share.