A "quintessentially American" (Policy Magazine) memoir of politics
and history from Chris Matthews, New York Times bestselling author and
long-time host of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.
In This Country, Chris Matthews "has written a love letter to his
country" (Joy Reid, host of The ReidOut and author of The Man Who
Sold America), offering a panoramic portrait of post-World War II
America through the story of his remarkable life and career. It is a
story of risk and adventure, of self-reliance and service, of loyalty
and friendship. It is a story driven by an abiding faith in our country.
Raised in a large Irish-Catholic family in Philadelphia at a time when
kids hid under their desks in atomic war drills, Chris's life etched a
pattern: take a leap, live an adventure, then learn what it means. As a
young Peace Corps graduate, Chris moved to DC and began knocking on
doors on Capitol Hill. With dreams of becoming what Ted Sorensen had
been for Jack Kennedy, Chris landed as a staffer to Utah Senator Frank
Moss, where his eyes were opened to the game of big-league politics.
In the 1970s, Matthews mounted a campaign for Congress as a Democratic
maverick running against Philadelphia's old political machine. He didn't
win the most votes, but his grit put him on the path to a top job in the
White House. As a speechwriter for President Carter, Matthews witnessed
the triumphs and tragedies of that administration; from the diplomatic
brilliance of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty to the disaster of the
Iran hostage crisis. After Carter's defeat, Chris became chief of staff
to legendary Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, a perch that gave him an
on-the-job PhD in American politics during the Reagan years.
Chris than leapt to the other side of the political matrix as a
columnist and reporter. For the San Francisco Examiner, he covered the
fall of the Berlin Wall, the first all-races election in South Africa,
the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and every American
presidency from Reagan to George W. Bush. Chris would go on to pioneer
cable news with a fast-paced, no-nonsense television program. His show,
Hardball with Chris Matthews, would become a political institution for
twenty years.
As Chris charts his political odyssey, he paints an animated picture of
a nation searching for its soul. He reflects with grace and wisdom,
showcasing the grand arc of the American story through one life
dedicated to its politics.
