How to Win at Life

How to Win at Life

From Publishers Weekly

The Hardball Handbook: How to Win at Life

During his decades in Washington, MSNBC newsmagazine host Matthews has collected plenty of insight into the “fine art” of “getting people to do what you want them to.” While fondly recounting his climb from Capitol Hill police officer to presidential speechwriter for Jimmy Carter to Washington bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner and beyond, Matthews presents a ladder-climbing narrative meant to inform and inspire. Admonishing readers that no one wants to hear your ideas unless you force them to, Matthews shows readers how to get into the game (any game) and face the risks involved: “The more failure you can accept, the greater your chance of success.” Examining political figures from Bill Clinton (”the best politician I’ve ever seen) to Zell Miller (who famously challenged Matthews to a duel on national television), Matthews reveals how “the ability to deal with people” is paramount. Divided (without explanation) into the sections indicated in his subtitle, Matthews provides anecdotes and analysis, as well as a useful (if not exactly surprising) “Bottom Line” at the end of each chapter (”To win the contest, you first have to be a contestant,” “rivalry is as normal as friendship,” etc.). Fans will find Matthews’s honest approach and hard-nosed rhetoric intact, and those turned off by the Hardball host’s loudmouth on-air style may find his print incarnation an insightful, erudite alternative.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

“Insightful and entertaining.”—Jack Welch, author of Winning

“Written as a kind of ‘Hardball Unplugged,’ [this book] is full of clever anecdotes, pithy analysis, and folk wisdom.”—Douglas Brinkley, editor of The Reagan Diaries

“Insightful, erudite . . . Fans will find Matthews’s honest approach and hard-nosed rhetoric intact.”—Publishers Weekly

“A great book, and a fun read. People think that leaders ‘tell people what to do.’ More frequently, leadership in business is about selling teams on a vision, and leveraging friendship and trust to get things done. Chris does a great job of bridging his experience in politics with commonsense rules.”—Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO, General Electric

“Matthews loves and understands as well as anyone I know the rituals, rules, and place of politics in our lives. And now everyone reading this book has the opportunity to share his passion and insights.”—Tom Brokaw, author of Boom! and The Greatest Generation