Overview
In 1964, thirty-five-year-old Tom Foley filed for Washington's Fifth District congressional seat despite conventional wisdom that he could never be elected. He defied that conventional wisdom by winning in 1964, and continued to win the largely Republican district for the next thirty years.. "In 1989 he became the first Westerner to serve as Speaker of the House, the most powerful position in Congress. He retained that position until defeated in the Republican landslide election of 1994. President Bill Clinton then appointed him Ambassador to Japan.. "Upon leaving Congress in 1994, Foley began a collaboration with his former press secretary, Jeffrey Biggs, to record his reminiscences of public life. It is also an insider's account of how Congress works, as Foley and Biggs reflect on virtually every significant political topic from the 1960s to the 1990s.Synopsis
In 1964, thirty-five-year-old Tom Foley filed for Washington's Fifth District congressional seat despite conventional wisdom that he could never be elected. He defied that conventional wisdom by winning in 1964, and continued to win the largely Republican district for the next thirty years.. "In 1989 he became the first Westerner to serve as Speaker of the House, the most powerful position in Congress. He retained that position until defeated in the Republican landslide election of 1994. President Bill Clinton then appointed him Ambassador to Japan.. "Upon leaving Congress in 1994, Foley began a collaboration with his former press secretary, Jeffrey Biggs, to record his reminiscences of public life. It is also an insider's account of how Congress works, as Foley and Biggs reflect on virtually every significant political topic from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Library Journal
Foley, now U.S. ambassador to Japan, was elected in 1964 to Congress, where he rose to Speaker of the House before voters in his eastern Washington district turned him out of office in the Republican surge of 1994. Newt Gingrich was the next speaker, and this biography portrays Foley, in contrast to his successor, as a leader of moderation, fairness, and consensus during his long career. Biggs, Foley's former press secretary, has spliced Foley's reminiscences into his own narrative, based mainly on newspapers, magazines, and standard reference sources. The result is a peculiar blend that often reads like a scrapbook or a lengthy retrospective press release. Foley offers occasional anecdotes of interest about figures like Lyndon Johnson, but the book is much more focused on the institutional history of the House than on personalities. For regional or strong political science collections.--Robert F. Nardini, North Chichester, NH Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.