Hardball: How Politics Is Played, Told by One Who Knows the Game

by Chris Matthews

Washington Bureau Chief for the San Francisco Examiner, Chris Matthews has seen the inside of Washington from the U.S. Senate to the House of Representatives to the White House. By watching such political heavy hitters as Tip O'Neill, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton play "hardball" enthusiastically and seriously, from close up, Matthews has learned that there are rules to this game of power.Hardball with Chris Matthews is a tough, funny, tell-all revelation of how politics really works. From tales of raw ambition and brutal rivalry to behind-the-scenes stories of famous disagreements, Matthews reveals the truth about the master politicians. He explains the real meaning of rules such as "Only talk when it improves the silence"; "Positioning is everything"; and "Always concede on principle."

Whether addicted to Washington politics or office politics, readers will enjoy this unprecedented guide to every adult's favorite game -- that of position, power, and survival in the world today.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, School, Political Science, History, High School, Read For School

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Christopher John “Chris” Matthews is widely respected for his in-depth knowledge of politics. Now retired, he was a nightly host, news anchor and political commentator on MSNBC (1997-2020), a Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the newspaper, San Francisco Examiner (1987–2000), a Chief of Staff to long-time Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill, a Carter era presidential speech writer, and penned a number of bestselling books, to name a small part of his impressive resume. Chris has been married to Kathleen (née Cunningham) since 1980 and they share three children and several grandchildren.

Reviews

[Kevin Kirkhoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd seen Chris Matthews' show Hardball and was really looking forward to reading his book. The title alone got me interested. The inner workings of Washington. Maybe now I'll understand why things are the way they are.

I read almost half of the book and came away with only two basic premises that were repeated and exampled ad nauseum.

1. Get to know everyone you can. They could help you in the future.

2. Be nice to your enemies. They could help you in the future.


This would have been a good book if Matthews made a point and backed it up with a pertinent story or two. Unfortunately, it was a story or ten. I found myself reading the first paragraph or two of a topic, then skipping to the next subject. Ok, Chris, I get your point. We've beaten the horse. Let's move on.

Maybe it was his writing style that couldn't hold my interest. Who knows. After a while I got tired of it all.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me at Christmas as sort of a joke gift, because I like watching Chris Matthews and his irrepressible hosting of Hardball on MSNBC. I love his two-minute bellowed commentaries posing as questions, and I enjoy wondering whether Matthews will, in fact, let his guests have a turn to speak.

So I was surprised to enjoy this book as much as I did--as Matthews describes it in his introduction, "This is not a civics book. It is not about pristine procedures, but about imperfect people. It is not an aerial judgment of how leaders of this or any country ought to behave, but an insider's view of the sometimes outrageous way they actually do. Its subject is not the grand sweep of history, but the round-the-clock scramble for position, power and survival in the city of Washington."

In reading this book, I was somewhat surprised to see that the man who gleefully steamrollers over his guests--interrupting them, arguing with them, at times dismissing them--is in reality a very thoughtful, insightful, and careful observer.

The book is full of funny and interesting anecdotes--but here's what I found pretty fascinating. Each chapter discusses, more or less, a principle by which successful politicians operate (e.g., "Keep Your Enemies in Front of You" or "Don't Get Mad; Don't Get Even; Get Ahead") And as I was reading this book, it struck me again and again how very closely the whole thing meshes with Barack Obama's political style in general and his presidential campaign in particular.

For all the talk about Obama emulating Lincoln, it sounds very much as if he'd read this book (first written in 1988--since updated) and used it as his personal playbook. That, or else it's just a big ol' coincidence.

If you are at all interested in U.S. politics, this is a fun and easy read.

[Hugh · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was what I expected. The game is about who you know. Oh yeah, and money.

[Zhijing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been my to-read for a long time. I think our society needs to know better how politicians succeed, e.g., the behind-the-scene stories of how the presidents get into power, and what types of social networks they keep.

Also mentioned in the book was the general nature of this shared across many other domains.

[ava elkinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

man moment

[Chrisiant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while I was in Burundi with three other Americans and a Canadian, one of whom was a 16 year-old for whom this was summer homework, otherwise I never would have picked it up. It was relatively engaging reading.

Chris Matthews seems inordinately proud of himself and does everything possible to portray himself as a political insider (which he may be, but I really don't give a shit). Nevertheless, some of the "insider" anecdotes he uses are pretty fascinating, and I like the premises he uses to organize the book. It gets a solid "meh".

[Kealii Ballao · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's really erratic in his writing style. In his anecdotes he refers to other anecdotes that refer to other anecdotes. It's really confusing, however his layout of 11 chapter or so of detailed examples of being a Stealth politician reads like a manual for a stereo. No need to read this book from 1 to infinity, start in the middle, or open up to any page. There's something you'll learn.

[Breanna Haney]

In Hardball, Chris Matthews discusses the strategies and tactics that are effective in modern day politics and a deeper look into how things roll out. He describes four ways to get people are your side and how to make alliances.
-It’s not who you know; It’s who you get to know (Matthews describes how to one to one conversations and relationships are useful in politics)
-All politics are local (Matthews describes how people will support you if you represent the common man)
-It’s better to receive than to give (Matthews describes how politicians should let people do favors for them)
-Dance with the one that brought you (Matthews describes how politicians have to be loyal and build up their reputation)


I really enjoyed this book. Not only does it describe strategies in the political world but, the tactics are also very useful in everyday life. We all can relate to benefitting from something if you know someone. It is also very interesting to read the stories about past presidents and what they did to get people on their side. Lyndon B. Johnson would brush his teeth and shower several times a day just to meet as many people as he could. When discussing “It’s better to receive than to give”, Jimmy Carter would hire people who had failed on campaigns and were looking for work because he knew in the end they would do him a favor. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who is interested in the political world.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this for AP Gov and it was much better than I thought it would be, though the only thing that disappointed me was that because it focused so much on congress/the presidency I'm not sure how much any of these "rules" would work for women (I think they would have to be adjusted), but nevertheless, it had a lot of interesting insight.

[Seth]

Hardball provides a great insight into how to become a great strategy maker to achieve your goals. Mathew's chapter organization is well thought out focusing on individual topics such as "It's not who you know, but who you get to know". He uses many interesting examples and analogies to get his message across along with many stories.

The book itself could have been interesting, but he likes to beat a dead horse and rambles on and on about the topic almost as if he is trying to convince himself that he is a political insider. Surprisingly with Chris Mathew's background, it is fairly bipartisan. He talked about politicians from Lyndon B. Johnson to Ronald Reagan. I would not have read this book if I were not assigned it for a civics class and tested on it's message.

[Claire Goodwin-Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very inspiring read if you’re a wealthy white male wanting to get into politics. Otherwise not helpful at all. My friend Anna loved it though. But she’s big into networking.

[abby moreno · Rating 1 out of 5]

:/

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dated, but fun to look back on the political scene in the early 2000's and how it compares today. This guy has an inside track to some of our most well-known politicians. Published in 1988. I think he needs to publish an updated version. Would love to see his thoughts on GWB, Obama and Trump.

[Chris Waters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chris Matthews book Hardball gives you insight about the way politics work. He lets you know how recent or past presidents used different techniques to win their campaign and the hearts of their supporters. He gives example on how presidents such as Ronald Reagan was know as the great communicator. The way Ronald Reagan appealed to people he down play and try to connect with his community.

[Bethany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know: my first posting on this site is a liberal tome - what is the world coming to? But I had to read it because someone at my boys' school decided to require all my AP Government kids to read it over the summer so...

Interesting political advice, easy to read and somewhat insightful. But Chris Matthews seems to think he was the President himself, and now he's deigning to share with us some of the wisdom he learned on the way up the political ladder. It's a slightly annoying tone. And it's a little like a political self-help book. Because I don't like regular self-help books, I'm not totally captivated by this one. But someone just getting into the political world might find it entertaining and informative.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in 1990 before Chris got that bout of Malaria few years back that obviously fried his brain.
This is Chris before the, he (Obama) sends shivers up my leg or the verbal diarrhea commentary at the 2012 DNC that Clinton would know how to do it, reproduce with Martians on Mars . . .
Chris was sharp political mind in his earlier years and this book reflects that. This book like Chris's program Hardball way back in the day, is worth the time. If you like political books this is must read.

[Varmint · Rating 2 out of 5]

my thumb kept twitching through the whole book. I was subconsciously trying to change the channel. Matthews is barely tolerable for a five minute segment. This is like being trapped on a plane with him for ten hours.

There are some funny inside stories. And His political insight made me think, though I disagreed with most. Only the most hardcore of political junkies will appreciate this.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read it for AP Gov. I tolerated it. But I don't really like Chris Matthews from what I've seen of him on his show, so that created a bit of bias for me. Plus, he's a lib, and as a rock solid conservative, I feel he needs to take his opinions elsewhere.

[loni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf- this was a summer assignment for school that I didn’t even finished completing reading the book

[Brian O'Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I simultaneously had high and low hopes for this book. On the one hand, I was unaware that Chris Matthews actually worked on Capitol Hill before getting his own show on MSNBC, and I was even more surprised that he worked for none other than Tip O'Neill, the famous Democratic Speaker of the House who was Reagan's main political adversary throughout the 1980's. I was excited to learn about his personal experience on the ground in the 1970's and 1980's, around the time that the Democratic Party was dabbling in neoliberalism and abandoning the New Deal. Plus Matthews is a purely political guy, lacking real policy experience but good at the behind the scenes game, so I figured there would be some interesting tidbits about famous standoffs and media manipulations. While well known in political lore, Reagan is praised throughout much of the book as an excellent communicator, brander, and overall for his political savvy. Interesting to see how Reagan was over the years able to brand his extreme and harmful politics into something bland and All-American. The LBJ stories were of course hilarious and pretty insightful into how Congress worked during the hey day of New Deal politics.

On the other hand, as the cheesy title of the book gives away, I was worried that a lot of this book would be filled with hackneyed advice which would be given a single anecdote of evidence and then called a golden rule. This book did not disappoint, as many of the stories that were granted star status also probably had no impact on people outside of D.C. and would have been completely forgotten except for this book. Many of the books tales are classic cases of "the winner gets to write history", where successful politicians obviously did something write in this moment, while the ones that lost their race or primary obviously messed up in that debate.

Another concern I had going in was that Matthews would celebrate moderation, centrism, and "Triangulation", the (in)famous political strategy popularized by Clinton that would see him to pass Republican policies in order to claim credit for their popular ideas and also distant himself from his own party, putting himself above the political fray. What this actually resulted in was a Democratic president passing Republican policies with Republican votes. While it probably did win him a solid reelection, it also helped to push the Democratic party so far to the right that many Democrats are now afraid to stand up for their own belief and policies. It also failed to stop Republicans from winning elections in the 21st century, as evidence by Bush, the Tea Party, and Trump. This was featured in the book towards the end, which confirmed my skepticism about listening to any white middle age Democrat currently working as a lobbyist in D.C.

Overall, this book is interesting more so for the political trivia and to watch a young politics wonk learn about how people in power interact with different players and institutions. It was an interesting perspective from a staffer on the front lines of the day to day political fights of the 1980's. Much of this advice is really outdated for the social media age and the age of extreme party polarization. anyone looking for a relive the glory days of retail politics in the 1980's would feel great at home here.

[vic · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was possibly the worst book i have ever read. i know little to almost absolutely nothing regarding the subject of politics but if i read this book to learn something, which i did as a requirement of my ap gov summer work, i would tell you i learned absolutely, positively nothing. the one and only thing this book portrays is the apparent fact, that almost everyone knows, that politicians are the scum of the earth. in case you didn't know that fact though: don't worry chris matthews has it covered. for example, chapter 12 entitled "Press is the Enemy," is a whopping 10 pages of politicians being morons and saying the most offensive and idiotic things and then being shocked and insulted when the press reports on these idiotic and offensive things. but the fact that politicians are morons is no news to anyone; the real problem with this book is chris matthews' biased glorification of the actions of said politicians. the press is not the enemy. the press has never been the enemy to anyone but politicians. maybe if you kept the racist, sexist, homophobic and whatever other offensive thoughts that goes on in that microscopic brain of yours, to your goddamn self, you wouldn't have to develop "mental stoppers" for your own "survival." not to mention the end of chapter 11, "Spin!," my jaw was on the floor, simply out of disgust! I mean, to have a whole chapter dedicated to the philosophy of taking something, usually a problem or flaw, and spinning it to help you win whatever primary, election, or position is one thing; but to wrap up the chapter by talking about a PRIVELAGED WHITE MAN from "the right side of the tracks" and his "battle" with RACIAL STEREOTYPING? you are talking about senator bill bradley. who became a nba player. and you are telling me, the man is oppressed because he was white? said no one. ever. the overall premise of this book was boring, and the parts that could be considered interesting are only interesting due to the fact that you are so enthralled with whatever chapter you're on, not because its good, but because you're sitting there thinking..."I can't believe he just said that..." and do not even get me started on the writing style. i mean the endless cycle of philosophy, example that i pulled from my ass, philosophy, example that i pulled from my ass, etc. reading this book was the worst 10 days of my life and the 20 minutes i spent writing this review were some of the best. thank you.

[Janak Joshi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man, I thought it was going to be a book *about* Washington politics, not a “how-to” guide for being a ruthless politician. I might’ve liked it more if it was presented as a satirical 1980’s take on Machiavelli’s “Prince” with examples from Reagan and LBJ, but it appears to take itself very seriously and not be satirical at all. It seems like the book is about to tell a cool story about a politician using some cold, heartless strategy to get ahead, and then before ya know it the story’s over and the book is literally offering you, the reader, advice (In the 2nd person) on how to conduct this political maneuver... in conclusion, I was certainly NOT expecting a self-help book on how to manipulate people, and please don’t follow any of the strategies in this book.

[Matt Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hardball is a basic, long-winded free-form analysis of the Machiavelli-esque tactics of Washington politics. Chris Matthews uses anecdotes from his experiences or historical records of politicians and bureaucrats to argue that politics demands these tactics and the most successful are experts at the craft.
While the length that Matthews goes to discuss his point can at times be a little mind-numbing, those with an interest in politics or history may appreciate the numerous examples he provides. If you are looking to focus specifically on American politics as it relates to power and influence and/or a shorter read than other books such as the 48 Laws of Power of The Prince, this is an informative read.

[Brandon Samuels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I think it’s a great introduction into politics. I learned a lot from Matthew’s experiences in politics and I enjoyed his perspective.

I didn’t give this five stars because I didn’t always enjoy the structure of the writing. There are SO MANY stories in this book and at times I feel like some of them end short or are too small to be left in this book. With all the different stories I felt that sometimes it was hard to comprehend everything Chris was saying. In the end, this book felt dense and it took me longer than expected to get through.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it.

[Mark Comia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never knew who Chris Matthews was til I read this book. Being my first book about politics, Chris did a thorough job describing what political campaigns are like from inside out, like how a sports journalist would talk about how baseball works.

Sportsmanship is a pertinent principle. Know it and live by it so that we can be at our best, even if we lose, to reach best outcomes.

One thing different now that I read from the book, women are also politicians and probably fiercer than others

[CHEON AN · Rating 5 out of 5]

That night, Lyndon Johnson took four showers. Four times, he walked down the hall to the public bathroom in a towel, turned on the tap and applied soap. The next morning, he got up early again and brushed his teeth five times, with only five minutes between each shower. This young man from Texas had his own purpose. There were 75 congressional secretaries like him in the hotel. He wanted to get to know them as quickly as possible, and the more the better.

[Brennon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay book.

I was assigned this book as part of a Political Science course in college.

I found Matthews to be a bit a pretentious jackass, trying to be some sort of modern Machiavelli.

Matthews spent to much time humble bragging and name-dropping about all the people he "knew" while working in politics.

It got tiresome to read, and a bit repetitive.

[Olivia Moffa · Rating 2 out of 5]

SO. MANY. ANECDOTES.

Long after Matthews has proved his point, the anecdotes go on and on, somewhat unnecessarily, which detracts from his excellent political insight.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthews does an extremely good job of not only displaying the rules of politics in action, but also showing the reader how applicable these rules are to gaining power in any facet of society.

[Taylor Manookian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. One star. Hideously boring.
Read in 4 days
(Had to read for AP gov)