Alyssa Mastromonaco

Alyssa Mastromonaco's Who Thought This Was A Good Idea? is a funny, smart memoir about being a woman and working in politics. Mastromonaco was the deputy chief of staff to President Obama, and the book is structured around various personal qualities she feels helped her rise in her field (leadership, preparedness, etc). As she talks about these concepts, she fills in details about her experiences in the political world, from interning with Bernie Sanders to working on the Kerry campaign, to getting her start in with Obama when he was a senator and staying with him through the presidential race and then into the White House. There are highs and there are lows, and there's even some romance (and a look at the gentler side of her husband, a former Harry Reid aide known, like his boss, for being caustic).

Mastromonaco is up front about why she wanted to write her book: while there are plenty of works out there from male political types talking about their time in public service, there are comparatively few by women. Part of that is because there haven't been as many women walking the hallways of power, but even among members of that group there's some reticence about being out there about what they've experienced. Mastromonaco wanted to write something honest about being a young person, and a young woman person specifically, living and working in a field not necessarily known for being welcoming to females. And honest she is: she talks openly about her IBS and dealing with it when traveling around the world with the President, being walked in on at the office doing sit-ups, coping with the death and illness of a pet, and the sleep/health destroying stress and pressure that come along with working in the nation's most exclusive address.

I really enjoyed reading this book! When I'd seen the press around the book before I read it, it was described as being as if you had a smart, funny older sister who happened to work closely with Barack Obama, and that's exactly what it is. Mastromonaco's voice is warm, droll, and strikes a great balance between downplaying her success and bragging about it. She owns that she worked really hard and sacrificed a lot to earn what she earned, and how frustrating it could be to deal with people who sometimes let themselves treat her like her youth and gender made her less worthy of their respect. As someone who also works in the general field (though nothing like DC, thank goodness), her words and experiences rang true to me. Politics is exciting and frustrating and there are some of best people who work in it, but also some of the worst. There's nothing quite as great as the feeling of pulling together with your team to get some really good work done and winning the day, but there are also the days when you go cry in the bathroom stall because there are just too many things happening at once and it's overwhelming.

If I was going to offer a critique, it would be that the timelines could get a little hard to keep track of, jumping back and forth from the later part of her time at the White House back to the campaign trail, then forward and then backward again. Organizing around subject areas keeps it cohesive, and by the time you get into the back half off the book it's more chronological, but there were some moments of confusion when I started to read it. Overall, though, it's a look at a side of political life that most people don't ever think about, much less get to see, and I think it would be a great read for anyone interested in what it's actually like to work in this crazy field. I would recommend it particularly highly to women, but men absolutely should read it too. It's a very solid book.… (altro)

I'll grant you, I listened to this audiobook at double speed, which might explain why I was deeply confused by the chronology. Or maybe there was something wrong with the audiobook? I don't know. What I did understand was a genial sort of coming of age story, albeit by someone who's been doing high-profile jobs, like being an assistant to President Obama, after working on his campaign. Lots of interesting vignettes, interspersed with random, ordinary moments in a not-very-ordinary life. For me there was TMI on some personal matters and too much profanity. I would say it's for millenials, but the author isn't a millenial. Who's it for? Not sure. Mildly interesting, ok for a car journey.… (altro)

Found this while looking for a non-fiction beach read, that is, something light with funny anecdotes.

The last political bio I read was John Bolton’s which was like the continuous dysfunction of Veep without the humor. (I recommend it anyway.) This book also promised to be about the White House but with competence and humor. Needless to say, this book paints a very different picture from Bolton’s - more like a mix of The West Wing, ER, and some Sex and the City. All the integrity was a nice change of pace - especially now that I’ve survived the Trump years.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I’m probably not the author’s target audience - although I voted for Obama, I didn’t place him on a pedestal the way she did. Yet her writing style was exactly what I like. The anecdotes were unknown to me and complemented my other political knowledge of that era. I like bios in general and she wrote well about almost everything. The politics, trips, teamwork - all under high pressure - was good stuff and were littered with significant quotes.

Coincidentally, I listen to Pod Save The World so from that I know some of her colleagues which made many of the people easier to understand and remember. And I now recall that she came on the show but I have no memory of her saying anything particularly noteworthy (sorry) and am wondering if I should revisit the episode(s).

My only nits: The last two chapters were very weak and not a good way to end. In the final chapter, she left unclear why she took such a hard turn out of politics to a totally unrelated business that she doesn’t even mention by name or any other way. And she spent far too much time on her cat. I respect her life choices but I didn’t need to hear her cat was such an obsession for her. The cat was mentioned in many chapters finally becoming an entire chapter. TMI.

I give this book 4 stars - a very high rating for me. Alas, I don’t see myself recommending it to friends, rereading it, any other things that would make it a 5 star read. I suppose I might have recommended it to my daughter because it paints a good portrait of how women have to navigate challenging waters - except that anecdotes age quickly and I’m afraid its day has a passed so I can’t imagine I’ll ever cite a passage from it or recommend it to a friend. But I do appreciate her effort both writing the book and her time in politics. The political world is worse for her departure. I see she’s written more books so I will take a look at them.… (altro)