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Bottom of the pile
19
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
37/100Critics
1/100Scholars
Author:
John Boehner
Publisher:
Thomas Dunne Books
Date:
April 13, 2021
A memoir by former Speaker of the House John Boehner
What The Reviewers Say
... a memoir that often reads like [Boehner's] simply here to share some of his favorite tales over a couple of drinks.
Written in his folksy manner, On the House is certainly more entertaining than the standard 'halls of power' narratives, as Boehner calls them.
Reading John Boehner‘s political memoir is probably a lot like sitting down next to an old timer at the bar where he worked growing up in Ohio. There’s a lot of talk about the way things used to be and, before you know it, you’ve had one too many and you’re not sure how you’ll get home...That is to say, the former Republican House speaker is good company throughout On the House, out this week. You can practically hear him uncorking another bottle of merlot as he literally curses the colleagues who made his job unbearable.
There’s an odd and poignant disconnect between the book’s tone and its unsettling subtext. The voice is warm, engaging, occasionally profane...It’s as if Boehner himself hasn’t quite processed the transformation of the sunny 'morning in America' Republicans he joined in the 1980s into the dark conspiracy theorists who dog-whistled a mob to the Capitol on Jan. 6...Still, having his excoriating assessments collected between hard covers makes for a powerful indictment, the more so because Boehner’s book vividly captures the growing horror of a bartender’s kid who evolved from a reflexive Democrat to a Reagan Republican to a tea party whipping boy.
