CNN:  Former Vice President Dick Cheney dies at 84 years old.

I’m not one to celebrate somebody’s death.  Cheney seems like he pissed everybody off, so others will be posting snarky articles about him in a couple of days.

A few years ago, I listened to Cheney’s memoir, In my Time.

Memoirs or autobiographies are interesting because the person tells his side of the story.

What struck me about Cheney’s memoir is that he didn’t write about deep principles, the direction of the country, or much of anything ideological.  Cheney wrote about the interpersonal manipulations and trading to get legislation passed.   He didn’t talk much about what legislation should get passed and why that would be good for the country.

It was an ‘inside baseball’ kind of book.  That’s the kind of person he seemed to be.

Historical memoirs, like Winston Churchill’s The Second World War, are much more interesting because he gives behind the scenes detail about historic events.  Churchill talks about staying up late, drinking with Joseph Stalin.

Churchill is an engaging writer, so even though it’s several volumes, it’s worth the effort.

US Grant’s personal memoirs were interesting because it gives daily life and background about the Civil War.  He talks about bringing his 7 year old son to the war, and sending him home on a river boat a couple of years later.  Grant tells about getting sidetracked when meeting with Robert E. Lee to negotiate surrender.  Grant was fan-boying Lee because they both went to West Point.  Lee had to get the discussion back on track.

Grant’s memoir was written because he was getting old and wanted to leave some money for his wife.  Mark Twain was his publisher.