All reviews for This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital (2013)
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Maybe 3.5 stars? I'm teetering between 3 and 3.5. I quite enjoyed This Town at first. Accessible read, very funny and snarky while giving us a bit of insight on the incestuous clique nature of Washington. As the book went on however, it just kept hitting the exact same points. Sure we got some new anecdotes and new players but do we learn anything new in the latter half? Not really. It did pick up a bit when the book moved onto the Obama administration and how they wanted to be above the fray but inevitable get sucked back in. Their attitudes in the run up and during the reelection cycle was quite interesting, particularly the dynamics between the players themselves. The ultimate take away is essentially, whether there's an R or a D next to these people's names matters not in the slightest. The book really hammers home how much of a farce this all is and it's quite sad when you take into account how ineffective the US government has been the last couple years, and all for what? This show? Also the money that is involved is just breathtakingly absurd, as is the sheer amount of ego stroking these people require. Fun read but really just quite sad for anyone who still had any faith left in government.
Leibovich seems disdainful of those he writes about, but he also seems to fall into the same judgmental posture. While I love good political gossip, there didn't seem to be much else to this book. I learned a lot about various Washingtonians hair! Seriously, I do understand better the siren call of the money to be made in lobbying, but other than that, I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from this book. He replays some of GAME CHANGE which I liked a lot more.
Self-loathing and cathartic, this is a great read for the political junkie in your life.