Heroes, Hacks, and Fools: Memoirs from the Political Inside

It is a mystery why this superb book did not receive more attention. Van Dyk was present for some of the most interesting times in American politics and is rigorously honest about the people he worked for and against. What's more, he is fair and is a great story-teller. This book compares very favorably with other campaign memoirs (e.g. Robert Shrum's) and the author wisely waited until the twilight of his career to make his opinions known. Thus, the author does not fall into the trap of having his motivations questioned, like so many writers of today's political screeds. For those who think that history is boring or that they know all about politics in the 1960s, 1970s, and beyond, my advice is: Read This Book. You will not be disappointed.

Anyone who wants to understand--or shape--the presidential election of 2008 should read this book. Ted Van Dyk's work will also endure long after we select our next president because he captures the soul of American politics as practiced in the last half of the 20th century. Van Dyk makes available to readers the same depth of analysis and plain old-fashioned story-telling ability that made him so influential for so long in Washington, DC. He loves politics at its best, and it comes through.

Ted Van Dyk vividly captures the turmoil, egos, and inspired (as well as uninspired) political leadership of the 1960s, 70s, and beyond. What makes this memoir qualitatively different from other insider accounts is Van Dyk's compelling, non-gossipy narrative style. No cheap shots, just a mix of analysis and anecdotes that illustrate the limits, hubris, and, yes, virtues of the political class. There's a delightful consistency to Van Dyk's approach--the equivalent of throwing a Jesuit or a Greek scholar into the political maw. Take a Depression-era kid from the Northwest with values cut like glass and set him in the moral murk of Washington, DC. Opportunists and hypocrites beware! It's instructive, only occasionally grumpy, and altogether entertaining.

I recently reviewed this book in the Boston Phoenix (http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid57111.aspx). As I wrote there, "Van Dyk's recent work is . . . well worth the attention of political junkies, students of American history, or anyone else who wants to know how politics really worked in the glory days of the Democratic Party. Too often our histories of politics are colored by political biases and attempts to shade the truth. To invoke an old cliché, Van Dyk tells it like it is. His memoir is a great read, a wonderful primer for those who might seek to enter politics themselves, and a terrific walk down memory lane. His idealism and honesty are reminders of what once made the Democratic Party great -- and could again."

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Democratic politics in the last half of the 20th century. Ted Van Dyk grew up during the Great Depression, became a journalist and a dedicated Democrat, and eventually worked his way up to a high-powered consultant who worked in numerous presidential campaigns, from Hubert Humphrey in 1968 to Paul Tsongas in 1992. Van Dyk can tell you where the bodies are buried and how things really worked in high-level, high stakes political races of the past. He's also an astute and keen observer of the current national scene. Van Dyk doesn't pull many punches in this book (your stomach may turn at his descriptions of how LBJ treated his vice-president, Humphrey, and his opinions of Carter and Clinton are pretty scathing). But overall, this memoir is very insightful and surprisingly fair. I appreciated Van Dyk's perspective on how the Democratic Party has lost its way since the days of the New Deal, and how it might fight its way back to a strong national constituency.