These memoirs of Speaker Thomas (Tip) O'Neill cover 50 years of public office in American politics, including 34 years as a member of Congress and a decade as Speaker of the House of Representatives and the nations's top-ranking Democrat. In looking back over his career, the author offers behind the scenes portraits of leading figures, including Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. He describes his ties with the Kennedy family, his break with Lyndon Johnson over Vietnam and his first-hand experience of Richard Nixon and the Watergate affair. He also examines the roots of the current Irangate controversy. and of Ronald Reagan, O'Neill says: I've known every president since Harry Truman and there's no question in my mind that Ronald Reagan is the worst. But let me give him his due: he would have made a great king. The memoirs were written in collaboration with William Novak, co-author of Iacocca and The Mayflower Madam.