My memoirs were published on September 23, 2023, after I had spent several very pleasant years reliving the events covered in them. The Wall Street Journal lost no time in reviewing them, and hesto presto, I was off to a good start. The Journal handed my book over to one of its best political minds, Barton Swaim. Had I known that Barton was at work on the book I would have popped open a bottle of the sparkling stuff a bit earlier. As it was, eventually I drank a whole bottle of champagne. The review turned out to be that good. Read on for yourself.
My book, How Do We Get Out of Here? Half a Century of Laughter and Mayhem at The American Spectator — From Bobby Kennedy to Donald J. Trump, amused Swaim who concluded that “The book is irreverent, discursive, intermittently, hilarious, gossipy, spiteful, penetrating on political topics, and zealous in its admiration of R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.” He goes on, “Even Mr. Tyrrell’s enemies will have to admit that his achievements are considerable.” Well done, Barton.
Another assessment to roll across my desk came from the ex-speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. I was a little uneasy about this development for we had not seen eye-to-eye on everything in the past, but Newt was a gent. Said he, “No one in the conservative movement has been more creative and more strategically aggressive than Bob Tyrrell. His creative reporting and commentary made The American Spectator one of the most dynamic centers of thought for the last two generations. His memoirs will help younger conservatives learn what it is like to be effective and inventive.” Hear, hear, Mr. Speaker.
From London came the greatest Churchillian biographer writing today, Andrew Roberts, who solemnized: “Bob Tyrrell’s witty, rumbustious and occasionally moving autobiography chronicles fifty-five years of fascination with and involvement in American politics. The general reader will enjoy the impish delight with which Tyrrell recalls his journalistic coups, and historians will find invaluable his original take on American conservatism from Ronald Reagan’s first tilt at office right up to the present day.”
And I would be remiss if I did not include Henry Kissinger’s reflections on my memoirs. Before he kicked this mortal coil, my dear friend Henry wrote that “In How Do We Get Out of Here R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. displays the wit and interest to which readers of The American Spectator are long accustomed. Its perspectives no less than its narrative make it a rewarding memoir.” The list continues. John Fund: “Fifty Years of Spectating — R. Emmett Tyrrell’s Rousing Memoir of American Politics.” Ben Stein: “Bob Tyrrell is the most unafraid writer in America today.” George Gilder: Tyrrell ends his remembrance of presidents and power “exquisitely with a poignant prayer: ‘Life is short, but eternity is forever.’” Yet something was missing.
I had enjoyed a plenitude of reviews from across this great nation of ours, but none had come in from the New York Times or the Washington Post in going on two years — not even an insult. Just two blank spots. Moreover, I had started my column-writing days at the Post, and I even complimented my editor at the Post, the charming Meg Greenfield. What is more, as a column writer, I had picked Donald Trump as a winner twice. The first time I was about the only columnist in the country to do so. Did that not get the paper’s attention? Apparently not, but it might have gotten the attention of the paper’s proprietor. The proprietor’s name is Jeff Bezos, and he is concerned with the Post’s reputation for accuracy. He recently wrote a piece headlined “The hard truth: Americans don’t trust the news media.” What can be done about it? Start by reviewing books that deserve a fair reviewing and report fairly on candidates that have won the presidency of the United States … twice.
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