On the house : a Washington memoir

The art of (real) power -- Cheaper by the dozen -- Smoke-filled rooms -- Gerry, Jerry, and me -- Bull balls and bailouts -- Mayor of Crazytown -- Deep state delusions -- Alligators, not enemies -- America, from inside and out -- Into the sunset.

Personal Subject:

Boehner, John, 1949-

Personal Author:

Boehner, John, 1949- author.

Title:

On the house : a Washington memoir

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Summary

* INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER *

"A rollicking, foil-mouthed" [memoir]....Boehner has delivered a classic Washington "tell-all," albeit one with his typical jocular style." - - The Washington Post

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner shares colorful tales from the halls of power, the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power, and his fabled tour bus.

John Boehner is the last of a breed. At a time when the arbiters of American culture were obsessing over organic kale, cold-pressed juice, and SoulCycle, the man who stood second in line to the presidency was unapologetically smoking Camels, quaffing a glass of red, and hitting the golf course whenever he could.

There could hardly have been a more diametrically opposed figure to represent the opposition party in President Barack Obama's Washington. But when Boehner announced his resignation, President Obama called to tell the outgoing Speaker that he'd miss him. "Mr. President," Boehner replied, "yes you will." He thought of himself as a "regular guy with a big job," and he enjoyed it.

In addition to his own stories of life in the swamp city and of his comeback after getting knocked off the leadership ladder, Boehner offers his impressions of leaders he's met and what made them successes or failures, from Ford and Reagan to Obama, Trump, and Biden. He shares his views on how the Republican Party has become unrecognizable today; the advice--some harsh, some fatherly--he dished out to members of his own party, the opposition, the media, and others; and his often acid-tongued comments about his former colleagues. And of course he talks about golfing with five presidents.

Through Speaker Boehner's honest and self-aware reflections, you'll be reminded of a time when the adults were firmly in charge.

Author Notes

JOHN BOEHNER served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011-2015. A member of the Republican party, he was the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. Today he is a Senior Policy Advisor at Squire Patton Boggs, US LLP and serves on the Steward Health Care board of directors.

Reviews (1)

Booklist Review

You can almost smell the smoke curling off the page. The book's cover shows former Republican Speaker of the House Boehner, a glass of Merlot in one hand, cigarette burning in an ashtray, and the whole vibe in the memoir itself suggests an old pol telling war stories--stories that spare almost no one. Boehner grew up in Ohio, one of 12 children living in a two-bedroom house, earning a few bucks working at his father's bar. When he joined Congress in 1991, he was the rabble-rouser, taking on the graft-ridden House bank, which resulted in an ethics scandal that ruined some careers but uplifted his. Two decades later, he was elected speaker by a new gang of firebrands, the Tea Party. For a while, he thought he was in charge, but it eventually became clear that if he wanted to keep his job, he had to accede to the Tea Party's wishes; as he puts it, "a leader without followers is just taking a walk in the park." There's a disheartening underside, however, to all this truth-telling. Even as he calls out the "knuckleheads" and "crazies" in his caucus, noting that Ted Cruz is Satan in the flesh, the fact remains that Boehner supported events like the government shutdown in 2013, despite believing it was a horrible idea. What produced giggles early in the memoir may turn eventually to anger as readers recognize that Boehner waited until he was safely out of government to share his opinions about his fellow Republicans, right-wing talk radio, and "political terrorism." Amusing and appalling in equal measure.

Introduction	p. ix
1 The Art of (Real) Power	p. 1
2 Cheaper by the Dozen	p. 39
3 Smoke-Filled Rooms	p. 55
4 Gerry, Jerry, and Me	p. 87
5 Bull Balls and Bailouts	p. 117
6 Mayor of Crazytown	p. 149
7 Deep State Delusions	p. 189
8 Alligators, Not Enemies	p. 207
9 America, from Inside and Out	p. 223
Epilogue: Into the Sunset	p. 243
"Boehnerisms": Selections from the Boehner Book of Wisdom	p. 253
Acknowledgments	p. 255
Index	p. 259

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Booklist Review

Table of Contents