In a natural follow-up to her national bestseller "Front Row at the White House," the dean of the White House press corps presents a vivid and personal presidential chronicle. Currently a columnist for Hearst and a former White House bureau chief for UPI, Helen Thomas has covered an unprecedented nine presidential administrations, endearing herself with her trademark "Thank you, Mr. President," at the conclusion of White House press conferences. Thomas has amassed many wonderful tales about her personal interactions with and observations of the presidents and their families that can all be found in "Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President."
In nine riveting chapters -- one for each administration -- Thomas delights, informs, spins yarns, and offers opinions on the commanders in chief, from Kennedy through George W. Bush. In these accounts, Thomas reveals Kennedy's love of sparring with the press, the unique invitation LBJ extended to Hubert Humphrey to become his running mate, and Reagan's down-home ways of avoiding the press's tougher questions. This book is as entertaining and compelling as Helen Thomas herself.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Helen Thomas, until her resignation in May 2000, had served as White House bureau chief for United Press International since the Kennedy administration. Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President is a chronological collection of observations and anecdotes gleaned from four decades of work. The short tales and one- and two-liners are meant to be humorous, or at least lighthearted. Occasionally they are. The book is thick with repetitions of the familiar (George W. Bush's malapropisms and Kennedy's quip, after receiving honors from Yale University, about having the best of two worlds: a Harvard education and a Yale degree.) or variations on tired jokes ("I'm no lady, I'm a reporter.") All too often, the inclusions are downright not funny: Jacqueline Kennedy, Thomas says, once chided an annoying U.S. Navy aide to "shape up or ship out." In the end, this is an unedifying and meager compilation. --H. O'Billovich--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Just as it ain't over till the fat lady sings, a presidential press conference isn't finished until Helen Thomas delivers her ubiquitous "Thank you, Mr. President." The phrase has saved presidents struggling with difficult questions from reporters, frustrated viewers who would have liked a longer appearance by the president and has even inspired jokes from presidents. Having served as UPI's White House bureau chief for an unprecedented nine administrations (she was long known as dean of the White House press corps), Thomas is certainly qualified to write a book compiling presidential anecdotes. Introducing each president's chapter with a summary of what she found that particular man to be like, Thomas seems to find something nice to say about everyone. LBJ was an expert raconteur, Nixon was best in small groups, Ford had a great laugh, Reagan was master of the one-liner and Bush Sr. was "quick on his feet" (though, she admits, a champion of "disjointed communication"). Thomas's memories (which range from 50 to 500 words) of these men are indeed telling. She acknowledges that no president has ever liked the press, yet does offer a few glimpses into the camaraderie between leader and reporter, especially present with Kennedy. Readers will laugh at Clinton's self-deprecating remarks (stricken with laryngitis, he announced, "My doctor ordered me to shut up, which will make everyone in America happy") and sigh at George W.'s "Bushisms" ("Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"). Thomas's "all in good fun" attitude and breadth of experience make this a light but entertaining follow-up to her recent memoir, Front Row at the White House. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Helen Thomas (http://helenthomas.org/) was born in Winchester, Kentucky on August 4, 1920. She was reared in Detroit, Michigan where she attended public schools, and later graduated from Wayne State University. The year after college Thomas served as a copy girl on the now defunct Washington Daily News, and joined United Press International in 1943.
For 12 years Thomas had to be at work at 5:30 a.m. to write radio news for U.P.I. She later had several beats around the federal government, including the Department of Justice, F.B.I., Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and Capitol Hill before she began covering President-elect John F. Kennedy in 1960. Thomas went to the White House in January 1961 as a member of the U.P.I. team headed by the late Merriman Smith, and was there until May 2000. In July 2000 Thomas became a columnist for the Hearst News Service - where she continues today.
During the years she covered Kennedy, Thomas was the first woman to close a presidential news conference with the traditional "Thank you, Mr. President."
Thomas served as President of the Women's National Press Club in 1959 - 60, and she was the first woman officer of the National Press Club after it opened its doors to women members for the first time in 90 years. In addition, Thomas became the first woman officer of the White House Correspondents Association in its 50 years of existence, and served as its first woman president in 1975-76. Thomas also became the first woman member of the Gridiron Club in its history, and the first woman to be elected President in 1993.
In 1968 Thomas was named the "Newspaper Woman of Washington" by the American Newspaper Woman's Club, and in 1975, she was named the "Woman of the Year" in communications by Ladies Home Journal. She has also received the Matrix Award from the Women in Communications, and the World Almanac named Helen Thomas as one of the twenty-five most influential women in America.
Thomas has received numerous honorary doctorate degrees, some of the most recent from Brown University, St. Bonaventure University, Michigan State University and the George Washington University. In addition, she has been a commencement speaker at dozens of colleges and has delivered lectures on the White House and the Presidency throughout the country.
Helen Thomas traveled around the world several times with Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton, and covered every economic summit. In February, 1972, she was the only newspaperwoman to travel with President Nixon to China during his breakthrough trip. Since then, she has been to China on many subsequent presidential visits.
Thomas continues to ask her pointed questions of President Barack Obama and his press secretary on a daily basis.
In September, 1971, Pat Nixon scooped Helen Thomas by announcing her engagement to the Associated Press' retiring White House correspondent, Douglas Cornell, at a White House party hosted by the President in honor of Cornell. The late Cornell and Thomas were married on October 16, 1971.
New in 2009! Listen Up, Mr. President, co-authored with veteran journalist Craig Crawford (http://craigcrawford.com/).
Publishers Weekly on Listen Up, Mr. President: "Helen Thomas stops asking questions and starts giving answers in this how-to guide to the American presidency . . . Her incessant questioning of power also drives home the underlying message of the book: it's a primer not, at heart, for those who would be president but for those who would elect one."
In addition to Listen Up, Mr. President, Thomas is also the author Dateline: White House, her memoir, Front Row at the White House, Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President, and Watchdogs of Democracy? about how journalism has changed.
In 2008 she released her first children's book, The Great White House Breakout. This is laugh out loud funny no matter what your age. Written with Pulitzer nominated political cartoonist Chip Bok, The Great White House Breakout is beautifully color illustrated and is sure to become a family favorite.
I think it may have taken Helen Thomas less than ten days to throw this book together. It is mostly fluff, not worth a large sum of money, but has interesting tidbits in it. A fast reader can digest this in one sitting and not feel a bit mentally fatigued. If you have money to spend, want a little something for your personal library, get it. You'll only read it once.
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Helen Thomas shares the lighter side of nine presidents and their wives with the people whom do not know them so well. She re-tells jokes and conversations held between herself and nine presidents in her time of being "dean of the White House Press Corps". She implies that not all presidents are alike. Every one of them is different. While the chapter on Kennedy was quite humorous, that of Reagan's was less humorous and more about how he handled the press. There are many examples of humor in chpt 1. On page 19 it tells of how on the way to one of the campaign trials, Kennedy had to wear a dark blue suit with brown shoes because black shoes were not packed. After finding out that nobody had an extra pair to lend him and he would have to attend like so, he took it very lightly. He laughed when made a joke out of and found it quite amusing himself. Helen Thomas also implies that no matter how serious the job of being president is, they are just regular human beings. Just because they are president does not mean they do not have characteristics of an average man. By giving each and every president a sense of humor with their own little edge added to it, we see that they are regular people who like to laugh and make others laugh here and there. It makes the president's more familiar and relatable to the average man. Everyone can appreciate a little humor and by showing this average man quality in every one of these nine presidents the people find them to be more real, more life-like. Humans are the only animals who can be humorous or have a sense of humor. Dogs cannot laugh at your jokes, and kangaroos do not tell them. Therefore when this trait is put in the spotlight as the defining traits of people whom appear to be larger than life, it humanizes them. The author's thesis can be argued. One could easily argue that the presidents are nothing like an average human being and they deserve to be held up to a high standard, and are to be considered the very highest of flawless humans. A big deal was made of President Clinton's flaw, therefore showing that as average people, we have much higher standards for presidents and do not see them as being capable of having characteristics of our friends. Therefore it can be argued that Presidents are not like the rest of us.It can also be argued that maybe the humor that is portrayed is a tool in trying to convince the people that they are their friends. Like the method of campaigning, "I am just like you", they might be trying to make themselves seem to have the same characteristics as the people, but in reality do not. It may be a ploy for support. I would recommend this book for the humor and the side of a president's life that we as people critiquing the government hardly ever see. The book was fast paced and very entertaining.
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I loved reading about Helen and her interactions with the White House. Especially entertaining were her descriptions of the Gridiron dinners where she was often portraying first ladies in skits.
This was a fast read, fun and entertaining. However, it came as no surprise that Nixon had a dark humor, Reagan was always full of hot air and President Jr. and Sr. need to work on their command of the English language. What was great about the book was that it allowed us in to see a very human side of the working White House. I felt a part of the briefings and press conferences.
After reading the book, I could honestly say that I knew more about the personalities of each president. Just by the tidbits in this book, it seems as though Jimmy Carter and Gerry Ford were the most genuine. Bill Clinton was certainly the most entertaining and sadly, our current president, does not always make the best impression.
Lighthearted and jovial, Helen entertains us for all 240 pages.
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