This is just a love letter to the outstanding show that was the West Wing. Melissa and Mary give you a behind the scenes look about how the show came to with interviews with cast and never heard stories. If you never seen the show I highly recommend you take the time to watch it you would't regret it. Thanks so much to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy.

DNF @ 28%. I thinkI would love this one had I seen the show more than one time and was absolutely obsessed with it. Having only seen the show one time through (and enjoyed it), this book just feels realllllllly long. I'm just bored and not invested enough to want to keep going.

This was such a love letter to the West Wing! It was so fun to read through this book and see all of the behind the scenes love that these actors shared during the filming of this show. The authors did such an incredible job bringing in so many voices to show the far-reaching impact that this show had.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book.

I wanted so much from this book and I'm disappointed that I didn't like it.

I've loved <i>The West Wing</i> since I first saw it many years after it ended. I've read a lot about the behind-the-scenes antics so the content of this book felt a little redundant to me.

The charities listed throughout the book are listed at the end which is a nice reference list.

There were A LOT of moments where the transcript of an interview would be written, then it would switch to the authors' own writing, then back to the transcript. Normally, this would be okay, but there was no clear line of what was in the transcript to what was the authors' words. I don't know if that is going to be a problem for the print version, but in ebook format, it was odd.

I had a lot of problems with this book that became more apparent as I read.

The transitions between stories aren't as smooth as they should have been which makes following the logic of information hard to follow. Some stories would start then the focus would shift to something else even though I wanted to hear how that first story ended. Also, sometimes it takes too long to get to the point which in turn makes the book itself too long.

I tried to make rhyme or reason as to why the chapters were laid out the way they were. Leo's Big Block of Cheese quote shouldn't have been in the text itself, but as an epigraph. This book is about service and you don't open with that? Also, there was a whole chapter ("Break Time") devoted to explaining what would be discussed in the book. Do you know where that would have gone? In the beginning with the authors' note.

The two parts where the book really shined are John Spencer's chapter and the Influence chapter. It was written with such love and I think it benefited that the authors' didn't add a lot but instead relied on transcripts. The Influence chapter where it discussed <i>Hamilton</i> and how several politicians have been called to serve because of the show was what I wanted from the whole book.

I get that the authors (who are also two of the actors from the show) are heavily invested in relaying all these stories. But they were too close to the source material. I get that they wanted to talk about how everyone on the show was called to do good for others, but that's not really what happened. It was a lot of "Aaron Sorkin is the best" and "we were a family." After the tenth time, it became tiring.

If a comprehensive book on the show was needed, it would have benefited to get an author who wasn't as involved with the show itself and could still do all the research. They would have (hopefully) known where to cut things and organize the text in such a way that didn't make it confusing. There could have been tidbits about the cast and crew's service but could have been placed throughout the text unobtrusively. I think the chapters about individual episodes would have been great if the episodes chosen demonstrated the call to serve and then incorporate what the politicians said about those episodes or even the themes surrounding them.

I really wanted to like this but ultimately, I was already editing the book in my brain within the first three chapters.

It felt like a love note to all of us Wingnuts! Whether we fell in love with The West Wing when it originally aired or just finding it now on Max. It’s one of my comfort shows where I own all 7 seasons on dvd. Even an extra of season 1 because I wore out my original copy. This book did a fantastic job of depicting what we all love about this show. I laughed especially with all the little references throughout. I even cried towards the end. This show taught be about history and government. It taught you about friendships and family plus the friends that turned into your family. I’m so glad I savored this book and took the time to take it all in. I can’t wait to read my physical copy when it comes. If you love this show you’ll love this book! Thanks!

I love The West Wing, so I was really excited to get an ARC of this book! I definitely read far more fiction than nonfiction, as I sometimes struggle to stay interested in nonfiction reads. However, any people with similar reading habits to me can rest assured that this book will hold your attention! (At least, if you’re a fan of The West Wing. If not, maybe try another book.) I was worried that the length would make it a bit of a slog, as 576 pages is a bit daunting, but it didn’t actually feel that long. I will admit that there are some sections I started to skim towards the end, but I generally read it all!

I liked the idea for the structure of the book (beginning with the conception and casting/staffing of the show, then going into major episodes and a bit of post-finale impact), but I was a bit confused by the execution. Some anecdotes and side-tangents felt randomly placed, and I oftentimes wasn’t sure why a story section was being added to a certain chapter, particularly once the book got into the major episodes section.

For fans of The West Wing Weekly, I’m not entirely certain how much new trivia you’ll learn from this book. For the episodes of that podcast I have listened to, when those episodes were covered in What’s Next, I noticed a lot of overlapping information. However, I did think that I learned a lot, and I appreciated how much of the cast and crew (I think all the major actors/creative team members) contributed to the book via interviews or content submission. I also want to give a special highlight to the section about John Spencer, since it genuinely made me tear up to read all the kind things people had to say about him. I’m glad that people had so much to contribute. There were pages upon pages of good memories.

Overall, if you’re a fan of The West Wing, I think you’ll enjoy this book. It was fun for me to get to reminisce about one of my favorite shows and learn some new information about it that I will annoy my friends with during a rewatch.

First, I want to thank the Authors, Publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

With that said, what an outstanding book. I loved every minute of this. From the time that I saw that it was being published, I knew that I would. I was a HUGE fan of The West Wing (Wingnut if you will). This behind the scenes view into the show, the actors themselves, and their collective drive to do amazing service work for all types of issues was just beautiful. There were many stories related in this book where I could picture the actor saying the line from the script. I have loved many of these actors, and now know much more about them. And, if possible, I admire them more after reading these stories. I found myself getting teary eyed (or perhaps it was just dust in the room) at the retelling of the great loss of John Spencer. He was a great person who obviously meant so much to many people.

I highly recommend those read. You won’t regret it.

And…..What’s Next? Another series rewatch of course!!

3 Parts Information, 2 Parts Indoctrination

I can't believe its been twenty years
But the Magic of then has been replaced with the Advocacy of today

Aaron of then, a brilliant storyteller
Aaron of today, still brilliant, but now a lecturer

Exemplified with no irony as Dule Hill speaks of his experience the first time invited to join Martin Sheen, Rob Reiner, Aaron et all to campaign for Al Gore and expresses how "the different policital views he experienced day to day with filming changed how Dule looked at Government"

Today such Diversity of Thought would get you cancelled for the echo chamber of hating half the country while calling for unity, but only under their flag.

I recently finished my fifth or sixth viewing of The West Wing, and it remains one of my favorite series. I am a Wingnut! So, of course, I requested this book the second I learned about it. My high hopes were not only met but exceeded. I loved getting all the inside information! Strongly recommended.

Thank you Dutton for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. No review was required in return for an advance reading copy and no review was promised.

I just finished What’s Next: A Backstage Pass To The West Wing, Its Cast And Crew, And Its Enduring Legacy Of Service by Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormick.

The book is about one of the greatest television series of all time: The West Wing. The authors are the actresses who played Carol and Kate Harper on the series. Of course, every fan of the show understands the meaning of What’s Next.

The book is an excellent look behind the scenes at the West Wing. It goes into great, and fascinating details on things such as casting, episodes, scenes in the show and the cast that brought it all to life. There were plenty of interviews with cast and crew members as well as the book being filled with quotes from scenes.

There are so many great tidbits in the book. For example, just in the casting areas, we learn that they originally wanted Bradley Whitford to play Sam, but he absolutely refused and insisted that he was Josh. As I read that, it was so easy for me to how, in that moment, he was acted entirely the way that Josh Lyman would have acted to get the job done. I also thought it was fascinating that someone else had read for the Toby role and gave the funniest version of the character. But, they definitely made the right casting call here. A funny Toby, while it is interesting to think of, would have completely altered the entire character. Richard Schiff was truly born to play Toby Ziegler (to such extent that during the first season of Good Doctor, I even imagined that Dr. Glassman was just Toby’s pseudonym for his next job after leaving Barlet’s White House. I did eventually accept that they are two separate characters.)

One of the great appeals of this book is in written in the same fast paced style as every episode of the show.

There was just one disappointment in reading the book. It did warn that they will not be dissecting every single episode and every single classic moment of the show, such as a complete review of Josh’s secret plan to fight inflation. That’s no problem. We didn’t need the book to literally run thousands of pages. I was just disappointed when my personal favorite episode of the series (17 People) didn’t make the cut, neither did my favorite scene (I always love Toby’s speech in the Oval Office about how there was a coup in the White House the evening of the shooting). But, despite that disappointment, it did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

This book was definitely a worthy tribute to the West Wing. That was an A+ show so I’ll give the book also an A+, which results in its induction into my Hall of Fame. NetGalley, Amazon and Goodreads require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

As soon as I finished, I went to Audible to preorder the audio version. That way, I will be enjoying it again when that is released.

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my book review site Mr. Book’s Book Reviews. It will also be posted at Amazon, as soon as the book is released to the public on August 13.

Mr. Book originally read this on May 27, 2024.

I was *thrilled* to get an arc of this book from NetGalley, as The West Wing is my most favorite show. I loved the behind-the-scenes stories and could feel the deep love from the writers for their time on the show and the relationships built because of it. It was hard to not feel a bit giddy while reading the first few chapters. I also think the premise (the show’s cast and their connections to service) was really unique and learning that side of the West Wing’s legacy left me with that much more affinity for the actors and creators. That said: This was… much too long and felt like it effectively was retelling a medley of West Wing Weekly podcast episodes (the pod does get many lovely shout outs). At around the 60% mark I found myself having to force myself to pick it back up—and while I’m glad I finished it, there were maybe only 2 new things about the show itself I learned from reading this.

I think perhaps I would have enjoyed this more as an audiobook with the cast sharing their own stories vs a book, but I am glad I read it overall!

As an avid lover of The West Wing, I added this book to my digital TBR the moment of its announcement. I requested an ARC the moment I noticed it on NetGalley. It skipped ahead in the queue the moment my request gain approval.

This book does exactly what it sets out to do: give background information on The West Wing as a whole. Mary and Melissa are clear from the beginning that it's not episodic, and for that one should go to The West Wing Weekly podcast (of which I'm on at least my third listen. Josh and Hrishi's voices are balm for my soul). Some tea was spilled (Rob Lowe felt undervalued on the show? Has the lack of carbs from this Atkins spokesperson made him jaded on a show that's a pinpoint of his career? Is he actually, secretly a giant diva? What will he say of his time on Parks and Recreation 1o years from now?!), but it mostly stuck to the facts. If you've listened to The West Wing Weekly, you know some of the background stories told, but as for me, I'm always going to inject "what's next" in the West Wing zeitgeist, whatever it may be.

Thanks, NetGalley!

As a big fan of the West Wing, I was eager to read this book. The nearly 500 page length, however, was a bit daunting. Although I did enjoy every word, I often felt while reading that the book had some of the same characteristics that Aaron Sorkin was criticized for: lots of words, going very fast. What was different was that in an Aaron Sorkin script, there are no wasted words. As wonderful as it was, I felt that the book could easily have been edited down by at least a third.

The first part of the book describes the casting process. Again, some details were fascinating but there was a lot of extraneous information, mostly in the form of praise by the various actors for Aaron Sorkin, Tommy Schlamme and the rest of the cast. My favorite part of the book was the analysis of the key episodes in the series. So many wonderful backstage looks at the reasons for various story decisions- and a ton of insight on the people behind the characters. I was very interested to learn how many of the cast members were (and presumably are) active in social causes. There is an extensive list of organizations with contact information in case any readers would like to investigate. And we learned that Martin Sheen is just as much of an Angel on earth as we thought he was.

I’m looking forward to going back through the book and watching many of the episodes with new eyes. Thank you, everyone, for being so generous with your time, skill and love.

Many thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.