The Speechwriter: A Brief Education in Politics
Written by Barton Swaim
Narrated by Jonathan Yen
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
The Speechwriter is a funny and candid introduction to the world of politics, where press statements are purposefully nonsensical, grammatical errors are intentional, and better copy means more words. Through his three years in the office of a controversial governor, Swaim paints a portrait of a man so principled he'd rather sweat than use state money to pay for air conditioning, so oblivious he'd wear the same stained shirt for two weeks, so egotistical he'd belittle his staffers to make himself feel better, and so self-absorbed he never once apologized to his staff for making his administration the laughing stock of the country. On the surface, this is the story of South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's rise and fall. But in the end, it's an account of the very human staffers who go into politics out of conviction and learn to survive a broken heart.
Barton Swaim
Barton Swaim, a native South Carolinian, attended the University of South Carolina and the University of Edinburgh. From 2007 to 2010 he worked for Mark Sanford, South Carolina’s governor, as a communications officer and speechwriter. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina, with his wife, Laura, and three daughters, and writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and The Times Literary Supplement. The Speechwriter is his first book.
Related to The Speechwriter
Related audiobooks
Gossip: The Untrivial Pursuit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Woodrow Wilson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unequal Gains: American Growth and Inequality Since 1700 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taxing Wars: The American Way of War Finance and the Decline of Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSupreme Commander: MacArthur's Triumph in Japan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5China's World View: Demystifying China to Prevent Global Conflict Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTransaction Man: The Rise of the Deal and the Decline of the American Dream Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Souls of Yellow Folk: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInterstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Apprentice Nation: How the Earn and Learn Alternative to Higher Education Will Create a Stronger and Fairer America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn Democracy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Real Right to Vote: How a Constitutional Amendment Can Safeguard American Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEight Days at Yalta: How Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin Shaped the Post-War World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Takeover: How a Conservative Student Club Captured the Supreme Court Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Universities Owe Democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Statesman and the Storyteller: John Hay, Mark Twain, and the Rise of American Imperialism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taxing the Rich: A Short History of Fiscal Fairness in the United States and Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComing of Age: Growing Up in the Twentieth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assault on American Excellence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Troublemaker: A Memoir of Sexism, Retaliation, and the Fight They Didn't See Coming Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Benjamin Franklin: On Love, Marriage and Other Matters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTear Down This Wall: A City, a President, and the Speech that Ended the Cold War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Save the World for Just a Trillion Dollars: The Ten Biggest Problems We Can Actually Fix Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Can I Do?: Making a Global Difference Right Where You Are Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Biography & Memoir For You
Twisted Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If He Had Been with Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Blood and Ash Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Divine Rivals: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Local Woman Missing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pet Sematary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nothing to See Here Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Multi-Voice, A: The Bad Beginning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Lies Between Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ivy League Counterfeiter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Later Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Speechwriter
2 ratings0 reviews