Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?

March 13, 2017
In 2004, 20-something Mastromonaco landed an influential job as director of scheduling for then-Senator Barack Obama. It would lead her to the White House, where she continued to work as director of scheduling from 2009 to 2011, and later as deputy chief of staff for operations from 2011 to 2014. In this high-profile position, she took frequent flights on Air Force 1, sat next to Chinese officials at state dinners, and was an instrumental force in the White House response to Hurricane Sandy. Mastromonaco’s memoir successfully avers that a tough, high-profile job is attainable and enjoyable for any woman who is as smart, ambitious, humble, silly, and hard-working as she is. When tales of her cat, Shrummie, start to feel like YouTube material, Mastromonaco tacks to the story of doing debate prep with Senator Chuck Schumer, the future minority leader of the Senate, having been hand-selected by his chief of staff. She achieves the right balance of entertainment and substance throughout, recounting appealing anecdotes that make both her and President Obama’s experiences and accomplishments seem relatable to the reader. Her book is full of enjoyable storytelling intended as encouragement for women of her generation and younger.

The Honorable John Kerry's staff assistant and President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff provides a well-intentioned but lackluster mash-up of a memoir and a guide to political strategy. Precise enunciation by this first-time writer and narrator is admirable, but her monotone delivery seems to assume the listener's interest. Her frequent use of nicknames for other staff is confusing, and her self-absorption and self-congratulation demean her effort. Raw language, apparently for its own sake, provides no insight into the Executive Branch. Endless lists of specific items moved from one office to another seem pointless, as do extended discussions of tampon availability and digestive disorders in the White House. The title of this work strongly applies to the audiobook effort. W.A.G. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

February 15, 2017
President Barack Obama's former deputy chief of staff makes her literary debut in a candid and charming memoir of her unexpected career in government.Growing up in upstate New York, Mastromonaco, now the chief communications and talent officer at A&E Networks, describes herself as a "good(-ish) student" with no real career aspirations. She majored in French and had a summer internship with Bernie Sanders. After graduating, she worked as a paralegal and then for John Kerry as staff assistant to the press and, during his 2004 presidential campaign, as deputy scheduler, a post she portrays as grueling. "There is no more important commodity than the candidate's time," she quickly learned. After Kerry lost, a friend suggested she interview for a job with Obama, who was running for the Senate. Beginning with that campaign, she worked her way up to becoming the youngest deputy chief of staff. As a woman in a male-dominated field, Mastromonaco has been repeatedly asked, "how could someone like you end up in a job like that?" This book, written with the assistance of Broadly contributing editor Oyler, is her answer, addressed to women considering a leap into the demanding, "hierarchical and patriarchal" world of politics. "I think my story can make you all feel less alone, less weird, less anxious, and more confident," she writes, encouragingly. The workload, she readily admits, is overwhelming: "Everyone thinks that traveling with the president has got to be a sweet gig--lush service, pampering, the nicest meals. It is not." It requires juggling myriad tasks and being ready to handle any emergency. Her hair turned white from stress. Mastromonaco portrays Obama as kind, smart, focused, and utterly committed to his ideals. Even when he decided to run for president, she writes, he wasn't "buying into his own hype." The memoir abounds with intimate glimpses of Washington, D.C., celebrities (Biden, Clinton, Michelle Obama, and scores more) and cheerfully dispensed survival strategies. An entertaining look inside the White House.

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