WHO TALKED TO THE PRESIDENT LAST?

Some undoubtedly true (Mr. Sparks was Assistant to the President from 1965 to 1968) and charmingly unprincipled Peter principles for survival on top of foggy bottom. Along with the axioms, there are corollaries, anecdotes, examples, attractive referrals to Mark Twain or Chesterfield, and just about anything that might amuse and edify. . . ""nothing is ever done in Washington. . . until it has needed doing for so long that it is really time to be doing something else"" or better yet ""If your secret hero is Genghis Khan, do not try to masquerade as St. Francis. There is room in Washington for everyone."" Along the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. Sparks talks about titles (work -- anything short of 60 hours is a dereliction of duties), hiding in the Cabinet (come out on that right foot), the open mouth (whether writing speeches or greeting someone at the airport), what special assistants specialize in (it should be in the anonymous assist), etc., etc. down to the President himself. There is room in Washington for a book like this. In fact there's room all over. The only question is who will read Who Talked to the President Last first?