Fifty Years of Spectating — R. Emmett Tyrrell’s Rousing Memoir of American Politics

For more than half a century, R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. has been a leading figure in conservative journalism, consulted by Republican presidents from Nixon to Trump, and a source of irritation to Democratic presidents from Carter to Biden. He has just written How Do We Get Out of Here? Half a Century of Laughter and Mayhem at The American Spectator — From Bobby Kennedy to Donald J. Trump, a rollicking new memoir that provides an entertaining, idiosyncratic take on how Washington — and American culture — has changed.

Lots of high-and-mighty people populate Tyrrell’s recollections. Some are praised while others are trashed or cheekily dismissed as unworthy of attention. The name-dropping begins early with a Democrat whom Tyrrell admired but who was cut down in the prime of his political life.