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About The Book

Bill Clinton is the most investigated president since Richard Nixon—facing inquiries into Whitewater, campaign fundraising abuses, and sexual misconduct—and yet he began 1998 with approval ratings as high as those of Ronald Reagan. But the new year has brought a barrage of new allegations, and the president and his advisers face once again the challenge of spinning the news to their advantage, a challenge they have mastered many times before.

In Spin Cycle, award-winning Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz reveals the inside workings of Clinton's well-oiled propaganda machine—arguably the most successful team of White House spin doctors in history. He pulls back the curtain on events and tactics that the administration would prefer to keep hidden, including:


  • A tense, almost paranoid White house atmosphere in which the spinmeisters do not question the president about the various scandals because they don't want to learn information they might have to reveal to prosecutors or the press.

  • Bill Clinton's success in reaping favorable publicity by secretly courting selected reporters and columnists in off-the-record White House Meetings.


Spin Cycle is an all-too-human drama in which political operatives wrestle with their consciences as they struggle to protect the boss. As the scandal drums beat louder and louder, Kurtz tells what it takes for the president and his people to survive, and what happens to the truth along the way.

About The Author

Photo Credit:

Howard Kurtz is the media reporter for The Washington Post, and also writes a weekly column for the newspaper and a daily blog for its website. He is also host of CNN's Reliable Sources, the longest-running media criticism show on television. His previous books include New York Times bestselling Spin Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda Machine (1998) and The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation (2000). His book Hot Air: All Talk All the Time (1996) was named by Business Week as one of the ten best business books of the year and Media Circus: The Trouble with America's Newspapers (1993) was chosen as the best recent book about the news media by American Journalism Review. Kurtz joined The Washington Post in 1981, and his work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Newsweek, New York, and other national magazines. He lives with his family in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

About The Reader

Photo Credit:

Howard Kurtz is the media reporter for The Washington Post, and also writes a weekly column for the newspaper and a daily blog for its website. He is also host of CNN's Reliable Sources, the longest-running media criticism show on television. His previous books include New York Times bestselling Spin Cycle: Inside the Clinton Propaganda Machine (1998) and The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media, and Manipulation (2000). His book Hot Air: All Talk All the Time (1996) was named by Business Week as one of the ten best business books of the year and Media Circus: The Trouble with America's Newspapers (1993) was chosen as the best recent book about the news media by American Journalism Review. Kurtz joined The Washington Post in 1981, and his work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Newsweek, New York, and other national magazines. He lives with his family in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (May 1, 1998)
  • Length: 352 pages
  • Runtime: 3 hours
  • ISBN13: 9780743546065

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