Speaker: Lessons from Forty Years in Coaching and Politics

Washington D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc. - An Eagle Publishing Company, 2004. First Pinting . Hard Back. As New/As New. 6" X 9 1/4. Colleran, Amber - Jacket Design. 312 Pages Indexed. Maroon boards with silver lettering to spine. Inscribed to Manual (Lujan) on the title page. No other marks to this beautiful as new, never read book with near flawless text pages. Denny Hastert is one of the most powerful men in America-and yet chances are you know little or nothing about him. And Denny Hastert likes it that way. Not because he has anything to hide, but because he doesn't care who gets the credit. He wants to get the job done for the American people. In this book Denny Hastert breaks his silence to tell a remarkable American story: how he grew up among the fields of Northern Illinois, made a name for himself as a high school and collegiate wrestler, became a high school wrestling and football coach and civics teacher, and eventually found himself teaching, and learning about, civics in the most important forum in the world-the United States Congress as Speaker of the House, the third most powerful man in government. Speaker is a true Mr. Smith Goes to Washington story, full of lived-in wisdom, funny anecdotes, and straight talk about what goes on in the smoke-filled rooms of congressional power. Along the way, you'll learn: The secret of winning In politics: Under-promise and over-produce - the reverse of what most politicians do. The Hastert formula: Build a team, leave the spotlight to others, be honest, be fair, and stick to your objectives as tenaciously as a fullback hammering at the goal line Lessons from wrestling: There's no one to blame but yourself if you get pinned. Denny Hastert grew up in the back of a feed truck and still remembers, fondly, a boyhood full of hard work and high dreams, of harvesting hay and of living in a state of upstanding, well-meaning people. That same sort of down-home grit and determination, idealism, and belief in the goodness of America makes Speaker one of the most refreshing, enjoyable, and enlightening political books of the year. Denny has been Speaker of the House since 1999 and has served in Congress since 1986. A former member of the Illinois House of Representatives and for sixteen years a teacher and coach at Yorkville High School.