he would demand a recount.) The book sometimes seems longer than its 341 pages when it slides into tedium while discussing arcane political ideology, like the degree to which Barry Goldwater channels Lincoln. Feel free to skip such passages. Much of the book is insightful about day-to-day campaign operations. It is at its best when Buckley ruminates about how he was treated by the press. If it gets too heavy for you, pick up The White House Mess by Buckley’ s son, Christopher. The first chapter, in which the incumbent president decides on inauguration day that he likes the White House too much to leave, is masterfully comic. The remainder of the work sometimes lives up to the promise of the first chapter. The Mess, by the way, does not refer to political shenanigans but to food service in the West Wing, which is operated by the Navy. No Way to Treat a First Lady, also by Christopher Buckley, is better constructed and written, and will appeal more to lawyers since one of its main characters, Boyce“ Shameless” Baylor, claims to be the undisputed best trial lawyer in the country. The claim is founded, in part, by being the first to charge $ 1,000 per hour. OK. So the book is somewhat dated. Its satire of power and politics as practiced in Washington still rings true.
Maintain Power
Re-reading Primary Colors, Joe Klein’ s thinly veiled novel about Bill Clinton, is always fun as primary season draws to a close. The characters are well-drawn, and Klein manages to execute exquisite portraits of every hack that gravitates towards a political campaign. It is a brilliant piece of writing. Similarly, American Hero by Larry Beinhart asks how far politicians will go to deceive voters to maintain power. The book was reissued as Wag the Dog after the movie based upon the novel became a hit. These books by Klein and by Beinhart formed the basis for entertaining movies.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail‘ 72 Hunter S. Thompson( reissued by Simon & Schuster, 2012)
The Boys on the Bus( reissued by Random House, 2013) Timothy Crouse
Primary Colors Anonymous( later acknowledged by Joe Klein)( Random House, 1996)
American Hero( later known as Wag the Dog) Larry Beinhart( Pantheon, 1993)
The Unmaking of a Mayor William F. Buckley, Jr.( Encounter Books, 50th Anniversary Edition, 2015)
No Way to Treat a First Lady Christopher Buckley( Random House, 2002)
The White House Mess Christopher Buckley( Knopf, 1996)
Falling Up: How A Redneck Helped Invent Political Consulting Raymond D. Strother( LSU Press, 2003)
Storyteller by Heart
No reading list would be complete without mentioning the most entertaining book I know about political consulting. In Falling Up: How A Redneck Helped Invent Political Consulting, Ray Strother masterfully recounts his thirty-year career crafting media and strategy for political campaigns. The book is at its best when telling stories of Louisiana campaigns full of scoundrels and worse. Strother’ s clients included a young Bill Clinton and Gary Hart, as well as several Georgia candidates, including Gov. Roy Barnes. Along the way he mentored people like James Carville, Dick Morris, and( I am proud to add) me. Strother is at heart a storyteller, and the stories he tells – you get to read just the ones his lawyers would let him tell – are hilariously riveting. ■
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association THE ATLANTA LAWYER 17