Rating: 
Summary: Well written if not a bit preachy
Review: I enjoyed this book and felt that it was well written. Unfortunately, as others have noted, the veracity of the book has been called into question. I also found the book a bit preachy and reptitive. Yeah, yeah, we KNOW - the president and the others in the administration are forgetting the bottom half of society. Enough already! But, a good and quick read that people looking for an inside look into DC will enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: A very good read
Review: I found this book hard to put down. I'm usually a slow reader but just a few evenings and I was done. I enjoyed it a lot. The only criticism that I have heard about the book is that it is not a verbatim reenactment of certain events. Who cares? If you want transcripts write to Merkle Press or whatever. The paperback version addresses these critics (including Rauch).
Rating:
Summary: Great Inside Look
Review: I had to read Mr. Reich's book for my college Politics class. From the moment I picked it up I knew it was interesting and humorous. His inside tales of the political system are astonishing. He truly makes the Government feel so close, yet so far away from us. Although some may not like his ideas about how to govern, everyone that reads this will agree that his point of view is strongly stated and supported by numorous facts and real-life situations. Of the eight political science books I had to read for my class, this one was truly my favorite. Best of all it's an easy read.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic inside account written for the general reader...
Review: I loved this book...most Cabinet history that I've read describes somewhat the inner workings of that particular administration and the policies associated with it, but Reich takes them and makes them great reading. Honest and straight-forward, Reich describes the government and the early Clinton administration in easy, real-people writing along with much anecdotal humor uncommon in the accounts that I mentioned above. As the previous reviewer mentioned, just reading him describing how slow and sluggish the decision making process is or how hard it is to get close to Clinton to convince him that his (Clinton's) economic policies are misguided is, if not surprising, at least entertaining. One of the few political books I've read that I would describe as hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: As entertaining as it is insightful.
Review: I was reading this book at the beach when two security officers appeared on the scene and carted off two rather attractive women. They had been sitting less than ten feet in front of me, and apparently had caused a significant disturbance by smoking marijuana. I was so deeply buried in the text, however, that I was completely oblivious until the officers showed up. Needless to say, I found this book to be highly entertaining and engrossing. I started this book hoping to get a better sense of the internal workings of the Clinton administration. On that count it delivered, but the book also provided an insightful look into many of the other element driving Washington - Congress, the media, lobbyists, unions, political consultants, Alan Greenspan, etc. While I don't agree with all of Reich's views, I really appreciated his wonderful sense of humor and his keen insights into both people and policies. Except for the most jaded of conservatives, I think anyone who has even a passing interest in politics would enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: FUN FOR EVERYONE
Review: I'm generally conservative so I disagreed with 95% of Reich's policies, but he's funny with a lively style. Liberals should eat it up, but so should anybody with an open mind. Like George Snuffleupagus' book, he blames most of Clinton's political problem on Dick Morris.
Rating:
Summary: The Washington DC political process revealed
Review: In 1992 Robert B. Reich joined his friend Governor Bill Clinton's Presidential election campaign. Dr. Reich intended to explore a new territory -- a nation where Government subsidized the training of young and displaced workers for modern *better* jobs. Upon President Clinton's election Dr. Reich was appointed Secretary of Labor, a Cabinet post that Dr. Reich held until after President Clinton's successful re-election. "Locked In The Cabinet" chronicles Dr. Reich's workers' advocacy. Dr. Reich was an able Labor Secretary with tangible accomplishments (e.g., a minimum wage increase and enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act). He supported NAFTA while *strongly* advocating Federal subsidies to train new and displaced United States' workers -- ***better jobs for all Americans***. "Locked ..." chronicles idealism, hard work, personal sacrifice, salesmanship, compromise and frustration. Dr. Reich brought his workers' agenda to Washington at a time when the poor and middle class had lost employment and real income for two decades. During his four years as Labor Secretary, Dr. Reich increasingly saw his workers' agenda tabled as other, more powerful constituencies (e.g., Wall Street and the military) got priority. Dr. Reich did not achieve his workers' agenda -- his agenda remains tabled today. Dr. Reich is an *extremely* intelligent man and an able author. "Locked ..." is his story told with a sharp and depreciating wit. Dr. Reich's strong wit occasionally obscures his message: Continuity of Government is each Administration's goal and everybody must support the Administration, yet politics hinders 'team play' by dissecting, analyzing and criticizing *every utterance*. One day you are 'locked in'. If something happens the next day you are 'locked out'. I believe that after his resignation Dr. Reich wrote "Locked In The Cabinet" to place his experiences in perspective. I highly recommend this serious book both for its wit and also for its important message.
Rating:
Summary: The Washington DC political process revealed
Review: In 1992 Robert B. Reich joined his friend Governor Bill Clinton's Presidential election campaign. Dr. Reich intended to explore a new territory -- a nation where Government subsidized the training of young and displaced workers for modern *better* jobs. Upon President Clinton's election Dr. Reich was appointed Secretary of Labor, a Cabinet post that Dr. Reich held until after President Clinton's successful re-election. "Locked In The Cabinet" chronicles Dr. Reich's workers' advocacy. Dr. Reich was an able Labor Secretary with tangible accomplishments (e.g., a minimum wage increase and enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act). He supported NAFTA while *strongly* advocating Federal subsidies to train new and displaced United States' workers -- ***better jobs for all Americans***. "Locked ..." chronicles idealism, hard work, personal sacrifice, salesmanship, compromise and frustration. Dr. Reich brought his workers' agenda to Washington at a time when the poor and middle class had lost employment and real income for two decades. During his four years as Labor Secretary, Dr. Reich increasingly saw his workers' agenda tabled as other, more powerful constituencies (e.g., Wall Street and the military) got priority. Dr. Reich did not achieve his workers' agenda -- his agenda remains tabled today. Dr. Reich is an *extremely* intelligent man and an able author. "Locked ..." is his story told with a sharp and depreciating wit. Dr. Reich's strong wit occasionally obscures his message: Continuity of Government is each Administration's goal and everybody must support the Administration, yet politics hinders 'team play' by dissecting, analyzing and criticizing *every utterance*. One day you are 'locked in'. If something happens the next day you are 'locked out'. I believe that after his resignation Dr. Reich wrote "Locked In The Cabinet" to place his experiences in perspective. I highly recommend this serious book both for its wit and also for its important message.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting behind-the-scenes tour
Review: It was interesting to have Robert Reich lead a tour-view behind the scenes of the first four years of the Clinton administration. He confirmed much of what many suspected: the administration was disorganized, Clinton was undisciplined, the people he brought to help him run the government meant well but were not as effective as they ought to have been. Mr. Reich's frustration with the administration of which he was a very visible part shows through. He was starkly realistic and frank. When he criticized the President (whom he called simply "B" throughout most of the book) or Hillary Clinton, he wrote as disappointed friend not a destructive enemy. But when he criticized those whom he did not like, such as political guru Dick Morris, Mr. Reich did not hold back. He was unapologetically blunt. Much of the real Bob Reich comes through in his book: a very nice guy who loves his family, extremely intelligent, fair-minded with a realistic grasp of what has been consistently wrong with the American economy. He became Clinton's Secretary of Labor hoping to correct the course of the flow of capital which allowed the very rich to increase their millions and billions, while the poor and middle class continued to struggle merely to stay afloat. He was not entirely successful in his efforts, though he did achieve an increase in the minimum wage and enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act. He was also an advocate of the enactment of NAFTA over the strong objections of labor unions and which he may ultimately regret. Though he writes of his political and economic views with sober dedication, he does not take himself seriously. He constantly pokes fun at himself because of his four-foot ten-inch size. Those humorous jibes were not overdone and added an occasional light touch which makes Mr. Reich's book a worthy addition to a library of political memoirs.
-o0o-
Rating:
Summary: An interesting behind-the-scenes tour
Review: It was interesting to have Robert Reich lead a tour-view behind the scenes of the first four years of the Clinton administration. He confirmed much of what many suspected: the administration was disorganized, Clinton was undisciplined, the people he brought to help him run the government meant well but were not as effective as they ought to have been. Mr. Reich's frustration with the administration of which he was a very visible part shows through. He was starkly realistic and frank. When he criticized the President (whom he called simply "B" throughout most of the book) or Hillary Clinton, he wrote as disappointed friend not a destructive enemy. But when he criticized those whom he did not like, such as political guru Dick Morris, Mr. Reich did not hold back. He was unapologetically blunt. Much of the real Bob Reich comes through in his book: a very nice guy who loves his family, extremely intelligent, fair-minded with a realistic grasp of what has been consistently wrong with the American economy. He became Clinton's Secretary of Labor hoping to correct the course of the flow of capital which allowed the very rich to increase their millions and billions, while the poor and middle class continued to struggle merely to stay afloat. He was not entirely successful in his efforts, though he did achieve an increase in the minimum wage and enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act. He was also an advocate of the enactment of NAFTA over the strong objections of labor unions and which he may ultimately regret. Though he writes of his political and economic views with sober dedication, he does not take himself seriously. He constantly pokes fun at himself because of his four-foot ten-inch size. Those humorous jibes were not overdone and added an occasional light touch which makes Mr. Reich's book a worthy addition to a library of political memoirs.
-o0o-
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