Customer Reviews

Fat Man in a Middle Seat: Forty Years of Covering Politics

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A must read for political junkies. Jack is himself, what you see is what you get! Thoughtful, informative, intelligently written, funny, the book describes forty (count them, 40) years of covering politics. The author deserves praise for the casual manner in which he tackles such a dynamic subject--journalistm. He is definitely old school, and it shows. A must read for anyone who is interested in journalism, political history, and modern politics.

Anyone who has become a fan of Jack's through his TV appearances over the past years, as have I, will thoroughly enjoy this easy-to-read account of his 40 years of covering politics. Some very interesting insights are contained therein plus some intriguing stories that will surprise some. Jack writes much like he talks - low key, matter-of-fact, no-nonsense/bottom line assessments. A great read all the way around.

This is a must-read for anyone even slightly interested in American politics of the late 20th century. I have admired Jack Germond's straightforward, thoughtful manner for years on the McLaughlin Group, and can remember thinking how fascinating it would be to end up sitting on a plane next to him. Imagine my surprise and delight when the title of his memoirs was "Fat Man in a Middle Seat." Germond pulls no punches in his descriptions of politicians he has known, from Averill Harriman and Nelson Rockefeller to George Bush and Bill Clinton.

Most of the other reader reviews here are on the mark, but I would add one important point: Germond's discussion on race relations in the US, from the civil rights era to the present, is as insightful a commentary as I have read anywhere. He went to high school in Louisiana, and travelled through the South in the 60's covering the civil rights movement. He has known the players from George Wallace to Jesse Jackson, and, as with the other people in the book, describes their personalities and motivations with great insight. I rarely re-read a book, but when I finished the book I immediately re-read the chapter, "Race and Politics."

Germond's constant references to his drinking and skirt-chasing were a little distracting, but since this is a memoir from someone who tells it like it is, one should not be surprised that he included his own vices as part of the narrative.

This book is on one level really personal. The people are described according to how Jack feels about them as human beings. Jack loved Nelson Rockefeller. Jack hated Richard Nixon. Jack was fascinated by George Wallace. Jack hasn't liked a president since Jimmy Carter. This is indeed interesting as Carter may be the smartest nicest president we have ever had, but it doesn't do much to explain why Carter was an absolute failure at the job. He had many criticisms about Reagan, Bush and Clinton, but he has little to say about the 20 years of sustained economic growth maintained by them.

Jack writes that he is interested in the horse race aspect of politics mostly. Who is winning and who is losing. These stories he tells well. I particularly like his days covering the New York state house. His "to hell with it" style throughout is quite entertaining and the book's best asset, but I wanted more meat and less milk.

I hated myself for loving this book--perhaps for the same reason that someone might hate one's self for listening to juicy gossip; Germond pulls few punches, goes heavy on the personalities and light on the policies (at least when he takes time to tell the reader why he dislikes Richard Nixon so much). On the other hand, Germond makes it amply clear why he dislikes George Bush--he says Bush had no idea what he wanted to do with the office once he had it; he was the "quintessential empty suit." In 12 years, this is the first time I've heard anyone dare to point that out. I was vastly amused by his McLaughlin Group chapter (I wonder what *McLaughlin* thought of it). And Germond's own attitude about the show and his place on it is refreshing. All in all, it's an insightful, valuable and entertaining memoir by one of the most thoughtful, least affected pundits in the arena.

As a life-long political junkie, I loved all of this book, a real page turner! Jack tells it like he saw it over 40 very active years. It is especially important for young - and older - Americans to read the history of how our electoral process is changing. I enjoyed his stories of the various politicans and others he came in contact with over the past 40 years, plus his life growing up. I high recommend this book to anyone having even a tiny bit of interest in politics.

I liked this book. JG is basically my concept of a political reporter. He was intimately involved in the lives of Robert Kennedy and Jimmy Carter, one could argue. So being a journalist means looking deeply into the psyche (soul?) of a politician, without being too close or personally involved. This became a problem with Jimmy Carter. Maybe this is why there are few, if any, Germonds out there.

Germond's comments on Reagan are pretty amazing, to me. The same for Clinton. I guess he's getting more bitter. I have the new book, but I picked this one up used on Amazon, and I'm pretty sure it is the more significant book.

I never quite knew what the deal was with Germond on McG Group. Now I do. That's where I really grew attached to the guy. Sorry it was such a bum experience. Dr. M does not come off well, yet he basically seems to have spawned Chris Matthews, another rather wildly pretentious churno-journo.

I really didn't find any hatchet jobs in the reviews. I'd like to thing Germond commands this kind of respect. I guess I'm not giving the book 5 stars because this man has had a life that was terribly special. I think he needs to offer a little more perspective, be a little more grandly philosophical, at this point. You know, without being pretentious.

At a time when the term "liberal" has come to be a dirty word, and mass media punditry is dominated by corporate suits pushing a Big Business agenda, it is refreshing to see a blue-collar journalist dissect politics from the perspective of the old school of newspaper reporting.

Drawing on his 40 years of experience covering everything from local mayoral races to national presidential campaigns, Jack W. Germond has written "Fat Man In A Middle Seat" as both a memoir of his encounters with some of the past generation's most interesting political personalities and an analysis of the news coverage the public gets of those candidates. In each case, Germond's observations are astute and fascinating, but ultimately discouraging for what they reveal about the men who hold or seek power, as well as how they are portrayed to the voters.

Culminating in the farcical non-election results of 2000, and the atrocious reporting of the outcome, Germond reaches his inevitable conclusion that he no longer expects the system to ever "get it right" and produce real executive leadership or accurate press accounts of current events. Now semi-retired in West Virginia, he makes it depressingly clear that the failure of broadcast and print news to adequately explain what was at stake for the direction of the country (both during and after the 2000 presidential race) represented a new low in American journalism and politics.

Maybe worst of all, Germond notes, too many modern journalists apparently never even tried to pierce the market-tested, micromanaged images that the Bush and Gore campaigns spoon-fed them. This did not serve the public interest and, Germond argues, it led directly to the situation in which we saw the travesty of a Supreme Court case determining control of the federal government. Without exaggerating, he says, the future of democracy itself may be at stake if this trend in superficial reporting continues.

Surprisingly, however, Germond reserves his most scathing comments for former president Bill Clinton. Coming from the left, this savage indictment of the Big Creep's pathologically selfish character is more devastating and effective than anything the Republican attack dogs ever produced. Other descriptions of John and Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Sr., and many presidential wannabes are equally crisp and vivid.

Perhaps the best thing about this work is Germond's impressive candor and modesty about his own accomplishments and mistakes. He is honest about his personal and professional errors in judgment, and does not seem to have an ax to grind against his ideological opponents. That alone sets "Fat Man In A Middle Seat" apart from the self-bronzing, unctuous autobiographies of most fourth estate superstars. Read this book if you want a breath of fresh air in the dry desert of what passes for media criticism and political commentary these days. With grace and grit, Germond makes his life ring true.

Like Robert Casey, the great war correspondent of WWII, Jack Germond is a journalist's journalist. In this book, he not only expresses the values of a great journalist, but illustrates them by reporting what he knows and how he gathers information. He even writes about himself, to make his personal bias clear, as good journalists do. One gets the feeling that he used everyone he ever talked to--in bars, at dinners, on airplanes, in offices--as sources for his political beat. Hard drinking? Sure. Uncompromising? Always. Informed? In depth. It's interesting to note that his prose in this book differs from that of his newspaper columns, which use shorter and simpler sentences, an indication that he knows how to write in different forms. His "insider look" at the political figures of our time, warts and all, illustrate Epicurus's observation that "fate is character," because character controls choices. He changed my view on Dale Bumpers, but I'm not sure that I'll accept his pronouncement that Dave Yepsen is one of the great political reporters of our time, until David Broder agrees. And I'd have to say that Broder can get people to talk without imposing on them, although both listen more than they speak. Other than that, Germond is a great political correspondent, who is willing to share his experience, particularly with those who know how to "read between the lines." If he seems a tad pessimistic, well, experience makes cynics of us all, and he experienced America's slide into disposable leadership, which is why he's worth reading.

Jack Germond writes with the same gentlemanly charm that he once brought to the otherwise tawdry McLaughlin Group. Perhaps his most valuable insights concern the personalities and egos of various politicians - few journalists realize, as does Germond how important such characteristics are in politics and governing. I particularly liked his insights on Nixon, Carter, the first (and clearly elected) Bush, and Clinton, not to mention such would-be leaders as Rockefeller and Averill Harriman. Germond dislikes pretensions, nor does he kowtow to the high and mighty. Some readers may occasionally disagree with his views, but all should respect this man's intelligence and sense of fair play. Germond also discusses his Louisiana upbringing, race relations, horse playing, the insides of newsrooms, and his daughter's tragic illness.

Germond gained fame from television, but he's far more captivating on radio. His book contains much similar charm, with readable prose, excellent insights, and unfortunately, too few pages.