A memoir by a top PR operative in Washington who exposes the secrets of the $129-billion industry that controls so much of what we see and hear in the media – from a man who used to pull the strings, and who is now pulling back the curtain.
Pithy, anecdote-rich ... The book has its longueurs but picks up narrative steam when Elwood describes how the grind of providing cover for bad actors takes its toll.
What makes Elwood’s story stand out from the typical Washington read is that his personal demons are so intertwined with his professional choices ... The book also pops because it’s funny ... Elwood is a troubled but sympathetic narrator, and most readers will probably find themselves relieved to know that, at the end, he’s in a better place.
Romping ... Elwood is an egotist, that much is clear, a bragger who has screwed the world and now comes looking for redemption in the form of this exposé. But as the last chapters reveal, he’s also a little more complicated than that.
