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About The Book

A “quintessentially American” (Policy Magazine) memoir of politics and history from Chris Matthews, New York Times bestselling author and long-time host of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.

In This Country, Chris Matthews “has written a love letter to his country” (Joy Reid, host of The ReidOut and author of The Man Who Sold America), offering a panoramic portrait of post-World War II America through the story of his remarkable life and career. It is a story of risk and adventure, of self-reliance and service, of loyalty and friendship. It is a story driven by an abiding faith in our country.

Raised in a large Irish-Catholic family in Philadelphia at a time when kids hid under their desks in atomic war drills, Chris’s life etched a pattern: take a leap, live an adventure, then learn what it means. As a young Peace Corps graduate, Chris moved to DC and began knocking on doors on Capitol Hill. With dreams of becoming what Ted Sorensen had been for Jack Kennedy, Chris landed as a staffer to Utah Senator Frank Moss, where his eyes were opened to the game of big-league politics.

In the 1970s, Matthews mounted a campaign for Congress as a Democratic maverick running against Philadelphia’s old political machine. He didn’t win the most votes, but his grit put him on the path to a top job in the White House. As a speechwriter for President Carter, Matthews witnessed the triumphs and tragedies of that administration; from the diplomatic brilliance of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty to the disaster of the Iran hostage crisis. After Carter’s defeat, Chris became chief of staff to legendary Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, a perch that gave him an on-the-job PhD in American politics during the Reagan years.

Chris than leapt to the other side of the political matrix as a columnist and reporter. For the San Francisco Examiner, he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first all-races election in South Africa, the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and every American presidency from Reagan to George W. Bush. Chris would go on to pioneer cable news with a fast-paced, no-nonsense television program. His show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, would become a political institution for twenty years.

As Chris charts his political odyssey, he paints an animated picture of a nation searching for its soul. He reflects with grace and wisdom, showcasing the grand arc of the American story through one life dedicated to its politics.

About The Author

Brian Sager

Chris Matthews is a distinguished Professor of American Politics and Media at Fulbright University Vietnam. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Bobby Kennedy: A Raging SpiritJack Kennedy: Elusive HeroTip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked; Kennedy & Nixon; and Hardball. For twenty years, he anchored Hardball with Chris Matthews on MSNBC

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 1, 2021)
  • Length: 352 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781982134860

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Raves and Reviews

“Quintessentially American” Policy Magazine

“A thorough firsthand account of the major political events of the past 50 years”The Washington Post

“Whether your politics travel on the left, the right, or somewhere in between, Chris Matthews’ recent memoir is one that you will not want to miss.”New York Journal of Books

“A love letter to this country through the lens of his own extraordinary life.”— Joy Reid, host of The ReidOut and author of The Man Who Sold America

“Absorbing . . . This grand book is a personal story that resonates far beyond the life of a single man, and one that should be read and long remembered.”— Jon Meacham, author of His Truth Is Marching On

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