24 Years of House Work--and the Place Is Still a Mess: My Life in Politics [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Pat Schroeder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

A lawyer by training and the mother of two young children, no one was more shocked than Pat Schroeder when she won a seat in Congress in 1972. In this candid, unblinking autobiography, Schroeder recounts her career, telling how she struggled to find a place and a voice in the "guy gulag" of Congress. Photos .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Pat Schroeder's memoir of 24 years in politics is so enthusiastic it is easy to forget how difficult her work must have been. She was Colorado's first congresswoman and one of only 14 female representatives to the House when she was elected in 1972. "The women in Congress had to wage virtually every battle alone," she remembers of those early years, "whether we were fighting for female pages (there were none) or a place where we could pee."

Schroeder takes on a lot in this book; sometimes she barely skims the surface as she tries to fit tales of politics, childhood, family life, and her opinions on a thousand disparate issues into less than 250 pages. Nevertheless, as one of our longest serving female politicians, her story of life in American politics is a welcome change from the usual political guy-ographies. Who else can write about being a congresswoman under Nixon, Reagan (whom she famously called the "Teflon President"), and Clinton? Or tell of working for women's equal rights back when there was opposition from "Ladies Against Women," who wore pins that read "I'd rather be ironing"?

This is an optimistic book, a reminder of the possibility of change through politics. "Cynics claim we get the government we deserve," says Schroeder. "I say we deserve better, but we will get it only if we act." It will speak in particular to women, whom Schroeder directly urges to take the torch she is passing on. "Consider this a postcard from the front," she writes. "Wish you were here." She almost makes it sound like fun. -- Maria Dolan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

On the first page of this book, former 12-term congresswoman Schroeder declares: "If you want dirt, buy a tabloid." You may not get much dirt here, but you will get clear, concise?sometimes funny?portraits of many of America's most famous politicians. Schroeder, who is now president of the Association of American Publishers, recalls being elected to Congress as a Democrat from Denver during the disastrous 1972 George McGovern presidential campaign. She found that she had to deal with Congress as a vast college dorm, with congressmen unsure of women and not very interested in learning about them. She tells of her travails there, but clearly the heart and soul of this book is her descriptions of other politicians: Richard Nixon, who wore makeup all the time ("I had an incredible urge to wash his face"); actor John Wayne, who offered her a cigarette lighter engraved with the inscription: "Fuck communism?John Wayne" (she declined the gift); and Phyllis Schlafly (who "always looked like she came out of a Talbots catalogue from 1952"). Schroeder also tells how she came up with the devastating description of Ronald Reagan as the "Teflon president" while scrambling eggs in a teflon frying pan; her opinion of the Bush-Quayle team ("What the two had in common was their trust funds?what I call the lucky sperm club"); and reminisces about her disastrous though unintentionally hilarious speech before the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, a gay and lesbian group ("For years, I've felt like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike"). On a more serious note she recalls meeting her husband while they were students at Harvard Law School, the birth of her two children and the death of twins during childbirth. She reaffirms her commitment to women's rights issues?the right to be Pro-Choice, the value of the Equal Rights Amendment?and advocates medical research on women's health. This book on how the Congress really works would be frightening if Schroeder's black humor didn't have you laughing so hard. Photos.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: G. K. Hall & Company (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078389161X
• ISBN-13: 978-0783891613
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,442,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It could have been written by a Washington reporter, June 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: 24 Years Of House Work And Still A Mess Paperback (Paperback)

I was really looking forward to reading this book. I was hoping for some inside information on how our political system works or more importantly, why our political system works the way it does. Instead, except for a few minor items, this book could have been written by a Washington reporter. It would also appear Ms Schroeder did not want to burn any bridges when she left as she said very little about the people she left behing in Washington. If you are looking for a book about politics, there are much better books out there.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent page-turner, March 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 24 Years of Housework...and the Place Is Still a Mess: My Life in Politics (Hardcover)

Wonderful look at how far wormen have come and how far they have to go in the workplace and in DC. Enjoyed remembering how things were back in my teen years in Colorado when Pat Schroeder first ran for her seat. Didn't agree with her positions much of the time, but reading about her life from her perspective was enlightening, especially in view of the currentr situation in Washington. One tends to forget her early battles to be heard and for women's rights. Amazing. Thank you.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars America needs politicians like Shroeder in 2005, November 24, 2004

By 

Thomas Mannion (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 24 Years of Housework...and the Place Is Still a Mess: My Life in Politics (Hardcover)

As a native of Denver, I was proud that the first vote I ever cast in my life was for Patricia Scott Schroeder. I had the good fortune to meet Mrs. Schroeder several times during her tenure because she took the time and made the effort to connect with her constituency by showing up, unannounced, in locales ranging from student cafeterias on the University of Colorado at Denver campus to Sunday afternoon beer bashes at The Foxhole, a local gay club (both occassions that I was present for). Schroeder cared what people had to say and when she went to Washington she represented them instead of herself which is why the citizens of Denver kept sending her back. Her personal decision to retire is the only reason she isn't still our congresswoman today. This book is full of Shroeder's delightful wit, insightful and rare wisdom and overwhelming humanity. While it is a mostly light-hearted account of her 24 years of service to her country, she also explains her very personal reasons for fighting so hard to defend reproductive choice and to pass the Family Medical Leave Act, her greatest legacy; a bill which she authored but selflessly relinquished credit in order to ensure it's success.

Read the book.