The Hardball Handbook - by Chris Matthews (Paperback)

About the Book

Matthews, the host of MSNBC's "Hardball," takes readers on a raucous road trip through America's political history and points out the best--and worst--behaviors of some of its most notable characters.

Book Synopsis

With his more than forty years' experience observing people and politicians in our nation's capital-ten of those years on Hardball, five nights a week-Chris Matthews has learned from the pros what it takes to be a success. Now Matthews shows us what we can learn from the world's most accomplished people and, more important, how we can emulate their best habits to improve our own lives.

In The Hardball Handbook, Chris Matthews focuses on four areas-friendship, rivalry, reputation, and success-and shows how we can cull the best traits of others and use them ourselves. Matthews takes us on a raucous road trip through political history and points out the best-and worst-behaviors of some of its most notable characters. Written in the assertive, good-natured style that is Matthews's trademark, each chapter has something to teach us. Here are a few truths from The Hardball Handbook:

- People would rather be listened to than listen.
- People don't mind being used; what they mind is being discarded.
- People are more loyal to the people they've helped than the people they've helped are loyal to them.
- Not everyone's going to like you.
- No matter what anybody says, nobody wants a level playing field.

Once you understand these and other universal truths-and how to make them work for you-you'll be ready to win at life.

Review Quotes

"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

About the Author

Chris Matthews is the author of The Hardball Handbook and is the star of MSNBC's Hardball and NBC's The Chris Matthews Show. He contributes frequently to NBC's Today and is a familiar guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was a longtime Washington bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner and later a national columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. He holds the David Brinkley Award for Excellence in Communications, eighteen honorary doctorates from American colleges and universities, and was a visiting fellow at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He lives with his wife, Kathleen, an executive vice president with Marriott International, in Chevy Chase, Maryland.