Reviews
"The most influential speaker of the House most people have never heard of . . . Reed makes for good copy . . . Grant has managed to rescue Reed from oblivion and to capture the raucous political atmosphere in which Reed did battle." -- The Wall Street Journal, "A winning new biography. . . . After his death, oblivion overtook Reed quite quickly. Grant has helped restore him to his rightful place among the giants of the House." - Roll Call, "Astute. . . . Grant is excellent in explaining how Reed could be a man of principle but also a practical politician." - The Washington Post, "No period in American history is more colorful or relevant to our own-for better and worse-than the Gilded Age. James Grant brings it all memorably to life: Mugwumps and Half-Breeds, congressmen of flamboyant plumage for sale, not to mention a political process frozen in partisanship. Looming above it all, literally larger than life, is Thomas B. Reed, perhaps the most fascinating politician you've never heard of. A hero to young Theodore Roosevelt, as Speaker of the House Reed singlehandedly crushed the filibuster. (One is tempted to say, Boy do we need him now). At the same time, Reed's erudition and stinging wit may well have cost him the White House. In the end, his ambition yielded to his principles, prompting him to resign the speakership rather than endorse the imperial vision of his fellow Republicans. It's taken a century, but Reed at last has a biographer equal to his story." --Richard Norton Smith, author of The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955 and Scholar-in-Residence of History and Public Policy at George Mason University, "Timely and entertaining. . . . John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Mich McConnell should make Mr. Speaker! mandatory reading." -- The Sunday Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), Advance Praise for Mr. Speaker! “Thomas ReedCzar Reed, the all-powerful Speaker of the House at the end of the 19th centurywas an architect of the modern American state. Sadly, he has been lost to history. But in this lively, intelligent biography, James Grant brings him back, with gusto, humor, and a sense of tragedy.� --Evan Thomas, author of The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst and the Rush to Empire, 1898, "Rollicking…. [a] droll, urbane narrative…. A lively, opinionated, and timely study of irresponsible politics grappling with a dire economy…. Grant's Reed encapsulates a political era that is the mirror image of our own." -- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review), “No period in American history is more colorful or relevant to our ownfor better and worsethan the Gilded Age. James Grant brings it all memorably to life: Mugwumps and Half-Breeds, congressmen of flamboyant plumage for sale, not to mention a political process frozen in partisanship. Looming above it all, literally larger than life, is Thomas B. Reed, perhaps the most fascinating politician you’ve never heard of. A hero to young Theodore Roosevelt, as Speaker of the House Reed singlehandedly crushed the filibuster. (One is tempted to say, Boy do we need him now). At the same time, Reed’s erudition and stinging wit may well have cost him the White House. In the end, his ambition yielded to his principles, prompting him to resign the speakership rather than endorse the imperial vision of his fellow Republicans. It’s taken a century, but Reed at last has a biographer equal to his story.� --Richard Norton Smith, author of The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955 and Scholar-in-Residence of History and Public Policy at George Mason University, Advance Praise for Mr. Speaker! "Thomas Reed--Czar Reed, the all-powerful Speaker of the House at the end of the 19th century--was an architect of the modern American state. Sadly, he has been lost to history. But in this lively, intelligent biography, James Grant brings him back, with gusto, humor, and a sense of tragedy." --Evan Thomas, author of The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst and the Rush to Empire, 1898, Advance Praise for Mr. Speaker! "Thomas Reed--Czar Reed, the all-powerful Speaker of the House at the end of the 19th century--was an architect of the modern American state. Sadly, he has been lost to history. But in this lively, intelligent biography, James Grant brings him back, with gusto, humor, and a sense of tragedy." --Evan Thomas, author of The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst and the Rush to Empire, 1898, "No period in American history is more colorful or relevant to our own--for better and worse--than the Gilded Age. James Grant brings it all memorably to life: Mugwumps and Half-Breeds, congressmen of flamboyant plumage for sale, not to mention a political process frozen in partisanship. Looming above it all, literally larger than life, is Thomas B. Reed, perhaps the most fascinating politician you've never heard of. A hero to young Theodore Roosevelt, as Speaker of the House Reed singlehandedly crushed the filibuster. (One is tempted to say, Boy do we need him now). At the same time, Reed's erudition and stinging wit may well have cost him the White House. In the end, his ambition yielded to his principles, prompting him to resign the speakership rather than endorse the imperial vision of his fellow Republicans. It's taken a century, but Reed at last has a biographer equal to his story." --Richard Norton Smith, author of The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955 and Scholar-in-Residence of History and Public Policy at George Mason University, Advance Praise for Mr. Speaker! "Thomas Reed-Czar Reed, the all-powerful Speaker of the House at the end of the 19th century-was an architect of the modern American state. Sadly, he has been lost to history. But in this lively, intelligent biography, James Grant brings him back, with gusto, humor, and a sense of tragedy." --Evan Thomas, author of The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst and the Rush to Empire, 1898, "No period in American history is more colorful or relevant to our own--for better and worse--than the Gilded Age. James Grant brings it all memorably to life: Mugwumps and Half-Breeds, congressmen of flamboyant plumage for sale, not to mention a political process frozen in partisanship. Looming above it all, literally larger than life, is Thomas B. Reed, perhaps the most fascinating politician you've never heard of. A hero to young Theodore Roosevelt, as Speaker of the House Reed singlehandedly crushed the filibuster. (One is tempted to say, Boy do we need him now). At the same time, Reed's erudition and stinging wit may well have cost him the White House. In the end, his ambition yielded to his principles, prompting him to resign the speakership rather than endorse the imperial vision of his fellow Republicans. It's taken a century, but Reed at last has a biographer equal to his story." --Richard Norton Smith, author of The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick, 1880-1955 and Scholar-in-Residence of History and Public Policy at George Mason University, "It is good to have this excellent biography of Thomas Reed, a vastly underappreciated major figure in American political history. But it is especially worthwhile reading about him right now, because his era has so many similarities maybe too many with our own tumultuous and dysfunctional times." - The New York Times Book Review
