[.ca] Falling Up: How a Redneck Helped Invent Political Consulting (ISBN 0807128562)

great history to interesting present:
Ray Strother's chronicle of the industry that brings us our leaders is fascinating. His story is also an "American Success Story". From the giants of the U.S. Senate includingRussell Long (recently passed) and Lloyd Bentsen to today's leaders in the Senate - Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln and Zell Miller - Strother has woven a tapestry of stories that enthral and make us consider our democracy. This is a first-rate, fast-read of an industry that is seldom discussed but that brings us world leaders. Ad agency execs marvel at their brilliance but at the end of the day they sell sugar water to children. Strother has given an insight to a world seldom seen, but of importance to all of us. Get the book - read it and pass it around. This is one of those books that flys below the radar but could become a movie. happy reading

Yep, it's like that:
Books about politics by insiders get most of the business right, but only Ray Strother tells you what it is really like to work in national politics in plain, unhyped prose.

N. La. Redneck:
I had the pleasure of visiting with Raymond last week in Montana,and hearing him tell some of the stories that were not in the book was an interesting evening. Even though I have lived in La. all of my life so many of the stories in the book I had never heard!Raymond brought them all to life.

Genuine, honest memoir of politics:
Raymond Strother's warts-and-all memoir of his life as a political consultant is a fun, must-read for all students of American politics. Strother's career began when there was still some innocence in campaigning, and winds up during the frustrating years of ego-driven hacks whose self-importance overshadows their candidates, to the detriment of government. Ray Strother's genuinity was formed the old-fashioned way: he grew up poor and learned to appreciate other people. Strother's tales of Southern political skirmishes will entertain. He's a smooth storyteller who should write more, now that he's out of the maelstrom of the Washington kill-or-be-killed consultant circuit. Caveat: I am a Republican, and although Strother's life has been spent around Democrats, his tales are compelling across the board.

A honest look at the world of politics:
Strother, a Texas bred Democrat consultant who served as a mentor to better known figures such as James Carville, recounts his experiences in the rough and tumble world of politics. In many hands, this could have been a very factual, dry and boring book. Luckily for the reader, Strother is an uproarious storyteller. The son of a fervent union man in Port Arthur, Texas, Strother more or less falls into the political consulting business by default. He begins his career in Louisana, a hotbed of corruption and questionable ethics. Thru his journey, we relive his often painful and hilarious campaign experiences with country singer Jimmie Davis, Gary Hart and Bill Clinton. Current politics are dirty business and not for the weak of heart. Idealists are often rudely discarded before they even realize what's happened. Strother considers himself a man of integrity in a profession that increasingly looks at such a trait as a weakness. He not only has to deal with Republican adversaries but underhanded tactics by members of his own party. Strother is honest in his analysis of his work and colleagues and spares no one including other Democrats who employed dirty tricks against his firm. No matter what side your political beliefs fall, this is a good read if you want to understand how politics work behind the scenes.