赫斯先生2018年的回憶錄《幕後英雄：我與總統與思想的對抗 “Bit Player: My Life with Presidents and Ideas” (2018)》詳細描述了他作為總統演講稿撰寫人和顧問的幕後工作。 赫斯先生最近的著作包括《透過他們的眼睛：駐美外國記者》（2005年）；《美國政治漫畫：國家認同的演變，1754-2010》（2011年，與桑迪·諾斯羅普合著） “American Political Cartoons: The Evolution of a National Identity, 1754-2010” (2011, with Sandy Northrop); and “Whatever Happened to the Washington Reporters, 1978-2012”；以及《華盛頓記者的現狀，1978-2012》（2012年）。

 

Mr. Hess wrote or co-wrote more than 20 books on public policy, the press and the pillars of democracy, including volumes on political cartoons that shaped the national identity. He also wrote a memoir, “Bit Player: My Life with Presidents and Ideas” (2018), which detailed his behind-the-scenes roles in the failures and achievements of successive administrations.

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Mr. Hess’s 2018 memoir detailed his behind-the-scenes roles as a presidential speechwriter and counselor.Credit...Brookings Institution Press

Since 1972, Mr. Hess had been a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, an officially nonpartisan Washington research organization whose forerunner was founded in 1916 by Robert S. Brookings, a St. Louis manufacturer who was appalled by the gulf he had found between academic expertise and the federal bureaucracy. His institute became a center of learning with a voice independent of the government.

赫斯先生撰寫或合著了20多本關於公共政策、新聞媒體和民主支柱的書籍，其中包括關於塑造國家認同的政治漫畫的專著。他也寫了回憶錄《幕後英雄：我與總統和思想的對抗》（2018），詳細描述了他作為總統幕後顧問，參與歷屆政府成敗得失的經歷。

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《幕後英雄：我與總統與思想的對抗》一書的封面。封面是藝術家繪製的白髮男子，面帶微笑，穿著毛衣和灰色外套。

赫斯先生2018年的回憶錄詳細描述了他作為總統演講稿撰寫人和顧問的幕後工作。

圖片來源：布魯金斯學會出版社

自1972年以來，赫斯先生一直是布魯金斯學會的高級研究員。布魯金斯學會是位於華盛頓的官方無黨派研究機構，其前身由聖路易斯製造商羅伯特·S·布魯金斯於1916年創立。布魯金斯對學術專長與聯邦官僚機構之間的巨大鴻溝感到震驚。他創立的研究所成為一個獨立於政府的學術中心。

Mr. Hess’s most recent books include “Through Their Eyes: Foreign Correspondents in the United States” (2005); “American Political Cartoons: The Evolution of a National Identity, 1754-2010” (2011, with Sandy Northrop); and “Whatever Happened to the Washington Reporters, 1978-2012” (2012).

While studying Senate press secretaries in 1987, Mr. Hess found that their main mission was not to get the boss on network television or the front pages of national newspapers, but to get local coverage back home for the voters to see.

That often led Capitol Hill reporters to question the usefulness of the press officer — “that pre-eminent dispenser of information, withholder of detail, loyal mouthpiece and stubborn buffer for politicians,” as Mr. Hess described the job.

He liked to cite an oft-told joke.

Question: How many press secretaries does it take to change a lightbulb?

Answer: I don’t have anything on that, but I’ll get back to you.

赫斯先生最近的著作包括《透過他們的眼睛：駐美外國記者》（2005年）；《美國政治漫畫：國家認同的演變，1754-2010》（2011年，與桑迪·諾斯羅普合著）；以及《華盛頓記者的現狀，1978-2012》（2012年）。

1987年，赫斯先生在研究參議院新聞秘書時發現，他們的主要任務並非讓老闆出現在電視網或全國性報紙的頭版頭條，而是將地方新聞報道帶回選民手中。

這常常導致國會山莊的記者質疑新聞官的作用——正如赫斯先生所描述的那樣，他們是「資訊的主要傳播者，細節的隱瞞者，政客的忠實傳聲筒和頑固的緩衝者」。

他喜歡引用一個廣為流傳的笑話。

Q：換個燈泡需要幾個新聞秘書？

答：我目前沒有相關訊息，但我稍後會回覆你。