How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics

by Bill Hobby, Saralee Tiede

Bill Hobby has spent most of his life in and around Texas government, including a record eighteen years as the state's lieutenant governor. His candid recollections about his days in office, as well as his take on what state government should and should not do are part of How Things Really Lessons from a Life in Politics , published by the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

"Nostalgia is not my purpose," Hobby writes in the book's preface. "But I do hope to convey something of my admiration for the people that I had the honor to work with, the spirit of the times, and a sense of how things actually worked--at least in the legislative process." His no-holds-barred opinions about everything from partisan politics to efforts to rewrite the Texas Constitution to government wiretaps and the war on drugs are included, as are his memories of working with Texas politicians Ben Ramsey, Dolph Briscoe, Bill Clements, and Ann Richards.

Hobby's years as lieutenant governor coincided with Texas's transition from a state dependent on oil and agriculture to one with a more diversified economy strengthened by the technology and health care industries. Through it all, Hobby emphasized the need for Texas to make education a priority. He enjoyed the nuts and bolts of the legislative process, especially appropriations and redistricting. "To help people, government has to work," he says. "Make the system work."

Genres: Nonfiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[Michael Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a few other Texas politics memoirs I've read lately, this is mostly a series of vignettes without a ton of detail. Just reminiscing on a long career. That isn't to say that it was not entertaining. This book included Henry Ford, Marvin Zindler, Robert Caro and LBJ, which was great for someone who has read other books on these characters - so it feels like the stories weave together in slight ways.

There is a 5 page section on Hobby's efforts to pass a worker's comp bill that actually got into the horse trading, negotiations, procedural oddities, etc. I would have appreciated more time spent on this as it embodies the title of the book "How Things Really Work" better than the rest. Otherwise this was a quick enjoyable look at one man's time at Lt. Gov, and how much he cares about education.

[SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit thrown off by the format of this book at first. I guess I was expecting it to be organized chronologically. Instead, it's organized by subject -- in brief chapters. Additionally, the writing style is less than flowery -- it almost resembles the spoken word. At any rate, after I "got over" the format, the book really became a nice read. It read rather quickly...and the shorter chapters organized in seemingly random fashion actually fit the pleasant-but-rambling-at-times format.

There's nothing really earth shattering in the book. However, for any student of modern Texas government, the book serves as a nice handbook for the recent past. The reader gets a feel for some of Texas' great personalities and a birds eye view of some major historical events. Perhaps just as relevant are Gov. Hobby's predictions and commentary on the current state of Texas politics.

Bottom line: the book provides an entertaining overview of Hobby's life and time in office and is more than worth the 10 hours it will take you to read the book.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the whole thing on a 3 hour plane flight. It is mostly personal anecdotes, which is pretty entertaining. However, when he talks about actual policy Hobby delves into empty headed cliche and trite one liners that demonstrate a real lack of deep contemplation. Consider it an easy beach read for the politically minded Texan.