Hold on, Mr. President!

1987, 1988 Fawcett Crest edition
Sam Donaldson
Hold on, Mr. President!
Possibly bought newish for $4.95
Very worn paperback
B-

The odd thing about this autobiography is that Donaldson doesn't talk much about his life outside of his career, perhaps because he was, as he admits, a workaholic.  He goes quickly through the first almost forty years of his life (up until around the time of Watergate); and the short penultimate chapter, "Personal," is the main place he talks about his three wives and his four children.  So it didn't feel like a "life story" to me, more a series of anecdotes about (mostly) covering Presidents Carter and Reagan, along with occasional observations on journalism.  As such, the most interesting aspect of the book is the way that Reagan and his staff stage-managed the news, in contrast to the relatively open Carter administration.  Donaldson liked both men personally, and points out he never actually said the title phrase, but he knows that he was perceived as pushy and abrasive.  He seems to have a good sense of humor about his image, even including some comic strips that mock him.