East Wing: Politics, the Press and a First Lady

Rating:
Summary: East Wing -- A Look Back
Review: Mary Hoyt's "East Wing" was a thoroughly enjoyable read. For those who care about public policy, politics and history it is a wonderfully up close and personal look at a time of rather dramatic change. At the same time it is every bit as lively and intimate as the highly acclaimed "West Wing" television series.

"East Wing" takes an interesting approach in its look back at the significance of the changes taking place in the 70s. The author does this through the prism of her own life and an activist First Lady. Capturing the changing times and how they impacted her life and then played out on one of the leading stages in the world -- the White House -- was informative and entertaining.

A tip of the hat to the book's author Mary Hoyt for reminding us just how much we have all changed and the significance of those changes. It is a book I want my daughter to read.

Rating:
Summary: East Wing -- A Look Back
Review: Mary Hoyt's "East Wing" was a thoroughly enjoyable read. For those who care about public policy, politics and history it is a wonderfully up close and personal look at a time of rather dramatic change. At the same time it is every bit as lively and intimate as the highly acclaimed "West Wing" television series.

"East Wing" takes an interesting approach in its look back at the significance of the changes taking place in the 70s. The author does this through the prism of her own life and an activist First Lady. Capturing the changing times and how they impacted her life and then played out on one of the leading stages in the world -- the White House -- was informative and entertaining.

A tip of the hat to the book's author Mary Hoyt for reminding us just how much we have all changed and the significance of those changes. It is a book I want my daughter to read.

Rating:
Summary: East Wing: Politics, the Press and a First Lady, May 8, 2002
Review: Mary Hoyt's new memoir is the story of her personal and professional journey and it is truly a profile in courage. She shows that when armed with determination, a woman who strives to be independent can achieve the career of her choice. Hoyt has my greatest admiration for her humorous insights as she leads us on an intimate fast-paced journey through the highs and lows of her career. A single parent of two young children, she was determined to carve out a future for herself and her sons. Without any formal introductions, she uprooted her family from the west coast to the Washington political scene and established herself as a political journalist. In the early days of the women's movement when political partners created their own roles as players in national campaigns, she served as press secretary to the wives of presidential nominees and then to First Lady Rosalyn Carter. She reminds us that each American First Lady copes in a different way with her unelected, unpaid, and often unrewarding job. East Wing is a real contribution to 20th century social and political history. Beautifully written, this book tells it like it was through themes of courage, hard work, risk, and fulfillment. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: East Wing: Politics, the Press and a First Lady, May 8, 2002
Review: Mary Hoyt's new memoir is the story of her personal and professional journey and it is truly a profile in courage. She shows that when armed with determination, a woman who strives to be independent can achieve the career of her choice. Hoyt has my greatest admiration for her humorous insights as she leads us on an intimate fast-paced journey through the highs and lows of her career. A single parent of two young children, she was determined to carve out a future for herself and her sons. Without any formal introductions, she uprooted her family from the west coast to the Washington political scene and established herself as a political journalist. In the early days of the women's movement when political partners created their own roles as players in national campaigns, she served as press secretary to the wives of presidential nominees and then to First Lady Rosalyn Carter. She reminds us that each American First Lady copes in a different way with her unelected, unpaid, and often unrewarding job. East Wing is a real contribution to 20th century social and political history. Beautifully written, this book tells it like it was through themes of courage, hard work, risk, and fulfillment. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: East Wing
Review: The insider views, from the Press Secretary of the McGoverns, Muskies and Carters are illuminating as we can see the evolution of the women's roles in their husbands political lives. After I started the book, I bagged the rest of my TO DO List for the weekend. It's a great read--present tense, short crisp sentences, make your feel like you are there, and moving as fast as Mary Hoyt must have been at the time! The book is even more enjoyable and meaningful, because the author's personal life--full of challenges to say the least-- is interwoven into story. Hers is a rather inspiring story of one woman's "evolution."

Rating:
Summary: East Wing: Politics, the Press and a First Lady
Review: This book is just plain fun for anyone interested in what goes on behind the facades of power. Mary Hoyt had a veritable magic carpet ride of experiences: opulently wined and dined by Iranian royalty, exotically entertained by the wives of Saudi sheiks, swept on a whirlwind tour through a series of South American capitols with First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and frequently privy to a ringside seat on history in the making.
It's fascinating watching Ms.Hoyt learn her craft from scratch, as press secretary to political candidate's wives, right along with her clients: hilarious bus tours, bumbled advance arrangements, accommodations that stretched from the posh to the pits, weariness and giddiness, triumphs and tribulations. And yet how well these inexperienced women did! These trail-blazing co-campaigners: Eleanor McGovern, Jane Muskie, Rosalynn Carter__finding their voices in press conferences much to their own surprise, with Hoyt by their sides, tactful, knowledgeable, and supportive.
Along with her life in the political fray, Hoyt sketches in the passage of a small town girl, who, after undergoing wrenching tragedy during World War II, progressed painfully through three marriages and single-motherhood to find her future in the nation's capitol. On her roller coaster ride, she maintained her balance and sense of perspective and emerged a polished and successful professional.
This is a good read, and one that will interest both women and history buffs of both sexes.

Rating:
Summary: Inside Story
Review: This is a wonderful book. Written by the Press Secretary to First Lady Rosslyn Carter, Mrs. Edmund Muskie, and Mrs.George McGovern, Mary Hoyt takes the reader inside the people, places, and events of turbulent times - from the chaos of the "68" Chicago Democratic Convention to the Iran Hostage Crisis in the last days of the Carter Administration in the early "80". Reading this book, I really got to know the players as people, gained a whole new sense of many personalies in Washington, the problems they faced, and the world they lived in. From the first page, I knew it was an insider's story, that Mary Hoyt had really been there, done that. So I felt the frenetic activity of campaigning and running the White House. I saw history being made, particularly the rise of "the New First Lady," a player in her own right, one who transformed how people viewed and wrote about the "Office of First Lady." Beyond this, we learn how the writer, a single divorced woman with two children and little job experience, fought and earned her way into the seat of power. So the book is about not only the workings of politics in the late sixties and seventies, but also about the rise of women in the second half of the twentieth century. On both counts, its the "real story" told by someone who was there in the thick of it. It is also told by someone who can write. Very lively and engaging, and informative. Buy and read the book. You won't be disappointed.