On the House: A Washington Memoir Spiral-Bound | April 13, 2021

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner shares candid tales from the halls of power, the smoke-filled rooms around the halls of power, and his fabled tour bus.

John Boehner is, in many ways, the last of a breed. At a time when the arbiters of American culture were obsessing over organic kale, cold-pressed juice and Soul-Cycling, the man who stood second in line to the presidency was unapologetically smoking Camels, quaffing a glass of red and hitting the golf course whenever he could.

There could hardly have been a more diametrically opposed figure to represent the opposition party in President Barack Obama’s Washington. But when Boehner announced his resignation, President Obama called to tell the outgoing Speaker that he’d miss him. “Mr. President,” Boehner replied, “yes you will.” He thought of himself as a "regular guy with a big job," and he enjoyed it.

In addition to stories from the halls of power and of his comeback after getting knocked off the leadership ladder, Boehner will also offer his impressions of other leaders he's met and what made them successes or failures, from Ford, Reagan and Thatcher to Obama and McCain to Trump. He'll share his views on how the Republican Party has become unrecognizable today, his advice—some harsh, some fatherly—dished out to members of the media, and his acid-tongued comments about his former colleagues in the house. And, of course he'll talk about golfing with five presidents.

Through this honest and self-aware reflections, you'll be reminded of a time when the adults were firmly in charge.