Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House

Written by Alyssa Mastromonaco and Lauren Oyler

Narrated by Alyssa Mastromonaco

If your funny older sister were the former deputy chief of staff to President Barack Obama, her behind-the-scenes political memoir would look something like this . . .
Alyssa Mastromonaco worked for Barack Obama for almost a decade, and long before his run for president. From the then-senator's early days in Congress to his years in the Oval Office, she made Hope and Change happen through blood, sweat, tears, and lots of briefing binders.

But for every historic occasion -- meeting the queen at Buckingham Palace, bursting in on secret climate talks, or nailing a campaign speech in a hailstorm -- there were dozens of less-than-perfect moments when it was up to Alyssa to save the day. Like the time she learned the hard way that there aren't nearly enough bathrooms at the Vatican.

Full of hilarious, never-before-told stories, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? is an intimate portrait of a president, a book about how to get stuff done, and the story of how one woman challenged, again and again, what a "White House official" is supposed to look like. Here Alyssa shares the strategies that made her successful in politics and beyond, including the importance of confidence, the value of not being a jerk, and why ultimately everything comes down to hard work (and always carrying a spare tampon).

Told in a smart, original voice and topped off with a couple of really good cat stories, Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? is a promising debut from a savvy political star.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Release date: Mar 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781478961017

Alyssa Mastromonaco

Alyssa Mastromonaco served as assistant to the president and director of scheduling and advance at the White House from 2009 to 2011 and as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for operations at the White House from 2011 to 2014. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? with Lauren Oyler and a contributor to Crooked Media.

[fmclellan-29530 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'll grant you, I listened to this audiobook at double speed, which might explain why I was deeply confused by the chronology. Or maybe there was something wrong with the audiobook? I don't know. What I did understand was a genial sort of coming of age story, albeit by someone who's been doing high-profile jobs, like being an assistant to President Obama, after working on his campaign. Lots of interesting vignettes, interspersed with random, ordinary moments in a not-very-ordinary life. For me there was TMI on some personal matters and too much profanity. I would say it's for millenials, but the author isn't a millenial. Who's it for? Not sure. Mildly interesting, ok for a car journey.

[smorton11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had a whole clever introduction figured out in my head earlier today, but, as is the case with my most brilliant phrases, they were lost to the sands of time because I didn’t write them down. That happens more often these days it seems. When I first picked up Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?, I did so with the intention of giving it to my mother for her birthday. And then I really hoped she’d read it, and then I’d read it, and we could talk about it. I don’t think she’s read it yet though, so I’m going to share all of my thoughts with you lovely readers!

It’s hard to put my finger on exactly how to classify this book – part memoir, part job search assistant, part political insider knowledge, part humor, part everything, and I enjoyed each and every facet of it. Lately I’ve been trying to find the motivation to take the steps necessary to move back into the world of teaching and, once I realized that the intended release date was meant to coincide with graduations, the job advice part really made sense and stuck. It’s been quite helpful, and I’m glad I’ve finished it before high school graduation season here at the store so that I can recommend it to those looking for insightful and helpful presents.

The timeline of Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? is not chronological which, for a memoir, takes some getting used to (I would make memoir its primary genre, though I found it in domestic affairs at a B&N which I disagree with – we shelve it in biography). As with First Women, Mastromonaco tends to share things thematically, which I appreciated. There are some continuing threads, including stories of her cat and family (some of my personal favorites) and travel, mostly with Obama. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an enjoyable book about political life that really has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with growing up and figuring out who you are while you attempt to change the world and bring hope to America.

[bookbrig-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The audiobook worked really well here, and I think this might appeal to some of our teens. A breezy, interesting story that reads a bit like Mindy Kaling's memoirs mashed up with The West Wing. I loved the specific, practical advice, though I think it could have benefitted from a little bit more awareness of the author's privilege. Still, a really great and quick read.

[jonerthon-437513 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Most of the DC politics books I read in 2018 ended up fairly far down on my ranked list. Why? Even if historically important, the play-by-play narration of events was often tiresome, and most authors didn't seem to have a good sense of what actually counts as important to the story at hand, if not the larger context. Not so here! Mastromonaco was a campaign vet by 2008, and entered the White House as one of the senior staff in charge first of advance and later domestic policy. This was a surprisingly human take on what working with and for Obama was like, down to the mundane and humbling parts of a job that is extremely important and also all-consuming. An unsung highlight of this book by critics, in my opinion, is the chapters about her post-White House life, trying to figure out where her talents could be utilized and what to leave behind in DC.

[susandennis-139327 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I'm marking this as read even though I gave up about 4/5ths in. I 'read' the audio book which was narrated by the author. Between her horrible reading style and really disconcerting life advice (don't ever order dessert in a restaurant???? WTF?), I was not amused. I could have done with way more political info and way less tampon info. Jes sayin.

[mmaestiho · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I took a page of notes for this book - absolutely one for up and coming ambitious women (and men) to read. Lots of less than standard advice about how to grow up without coming off as patronizing. It's her account of how she figured it out (so far) and it's really refreshing.

[murphy4jacobs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Funny, pleasant, even moving, recounting of a young woman's life in politics, filled with little bits of advice to other women who want a similar career. I hear Mastromonaco frequently in the podcasts I listen to, and it's easy to like her after reading the book.

[katyefk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting book written by the former White House deputy chief of staff for Obama. She wanted to present a realistic view of her career and her job duties. Since I lived thru this time it was great to hear about the background issues and challenges that were faced behind the scenes of events that made it into the media and some that did not.

[teckelvik · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this book, as I have heard the author interviewed and she was funny and smart. I ended up giving the book away without finishing it. It was meandering, there wasn't a central conflict to be resolved, the characters popped up without much explanation and were all "great." I was bored.

[susan.macura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author, Alyssa Mastromonaco, a former Dutchess County resident, moved through political circles to serve President Barack Obama in a variety of interesting and challenging roles. What makes this story different from other biographies of people's time in the White House is that first it is written by a woman and second it is told with great humor. Men can't appreciate some of the challenges we as women face in certain situations, so it's wonderful to have that perspective. This book also offers women of all ages, but especially young women, why it is important to be part of the process and if one chooses to do so, some strategies on how to cope with the enormous stress of it all! I simply loved this book! I hope she writes more!

[kikowatzy · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of Obama's Deputy Chief of Staff. It sometimes was a bit of a odd read. A lot of stories about her stomach problems, PMS, her crying and breaking down. Interesting how she did almost nothing to paint herself in a positive light and yet had nothing but glowing things to say about Obama. I would imagine though that her colleagues have a lot of nice things to say about her.

I think she is trying to make herself look relatable, though I can relate to almost nothing she says. Maybe she is just trying to humanize her role and show a little bit on how things work in the White House.

Nothing she says really comes at a surprise for a die-hard Democrat. She obviously believes that the government is the solution to everything. So of course she is thrilled to be working at the White House. She recounts how everything Obama did after the 2008 recession was how to improve the economy. And yet we all know how clueless and incompetent he was at it in real life.

Although I don't regret reading this book, I wouldn't personally recommend anyone to read it. It jumps around all over the place, I had a hard time figuring out if she was still bagging groceries as a teenager or if she was now married with a cat. She admits she isn't a writer and it unfortunately shows.

[thorold_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Alyssa Mastromonaco worked for Barack Obama before he became president, and was Deputy Chief of Staff in the White House for some years. I don't really read political memoirs, but I did enjoy The West Wing and thought that it might be interesting to learn something about what it's really like to work in the White House. And it was, intermittently, but this is such a bad book that the few potentially interesting anecdotes and insights didn't really stand a chance.

Mastromonaco's overall approach, which her ghostwriter was clearly unable to mitigate, is to model the text on one of those horribly intimate mobile phone conversations overheard in railway compartments, which have a strange fascination despite their repulsive content, and which you can't avoid focussing on however much you try to ignore them. There's no obvious structure to the book, and reminiscences pour out in a random, unstoppable stream (rather like the author's body fluids, which feature heavily throughout). The language is casual and conversational, which is probably meant to draw the reader in, but actually pushes you away unless you're familiar with the slang of Mastromonaco's peer-group (in which case you probably wouldn't need to read the book anyway).

The underlying idea seems to have been not to get the reader too involved with her specific job managing Obama's working timetable and the logistics of getting everyone to the right place at the right time, but to generalise her experience to look at what it's like to be a woman working in a very visible, high-pressure job. That's a relevant and interesting topic, of course, but in the end she doesn't do very much to address it beyond telling us about her own, rather specific, health problems. The only point at which she does seem to be addressing a more general issue turns out to be completely trivial and non-contentious: she spends half a chapter developing the theme of how awkward it was that there was nowhere in the White House where you could get hold of tampons in an emergency, but then has to admit that a vending machine was installed as soon as she pointed out the problem.

[lycomayflower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in Obama's adminstration Mastromonaco's memoir about working in the White House. Or rather, that's what I thought it would be. It's really more about being a professional working woman and what she's learned about how to do that well, with a fair amount of stories about working in the White House as examples of those lessons. I don't know if it was that the book wasn't what I was expecting or that I found Mastromonaco's narration of the book a bit dull and monotone and hard to engage with, but I found this book pretty meh. Some of the specific stories were really interesting, but on the whole I just wasn't that invested. I wanted more "behind the scenes at the White House" and less general advice-y stuff about being a professional woman. I also had a really hard time following her organization (she mentions that she organized around kinds of advice rather than chronologically, so my problems with this probably stemmed directly from my dissatisfaction with the focus of the book). Disappointing for me, but if you *want* what Mastromonaco delivered, probably a pretty great read.