Guardian of the Presidency : The Legacy of Richard E. Neustadt

For more than five decades, Richard E. Neustadt was America's leading expert on the Presidency. He was an adviser to several Presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Bill Clinton. His book Presidential Power, first published in 1960, remains required reading for anyone seeking to understand decisionmaking at the highest levels of American government. He also produced classic studies of foreign and domestic policy such as Alliance Politics, a penetrating analysis of crises in U.S.-U.K. relations, and Thinking in Time: The Uses of History (coauthored with Ernest R. May). In Guardian of the Presidency, Neustadt's colleagues and students celebrate the rich and diverse contributions he made to political and academic life. Dick Neustadt began his career as presidential adviser in 1946. He joined the Bureau of Budget, working for President Truman, before becoming a special assistant in the Truman White House in 1950. After the Republicans captured the White House in 1952, he entered academic life, teaching first at Cornell University and then at Columbia. The publication of Presidential Power brought him to the attention of President-elect John F. Kennedy, who commissioned Neustadt to prepare recommendations for his transition to office. Neustadt declined a formal position with the administration but continued to advise Kennedy and, later, Lyndon Johnson. He also consulted to the transition teams for Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. An institution builder as well as a scholar and an adviser, Neustadt was the founding director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics and a guiding force in developing the John F. Kennedy School of Government. In this role, he helped shape generations of leaders, both in the United States and abroad.Foreword by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

For more than five decades, Richard E. Neustadt was America's leading expert on the Presidency. He was an adviser to several Presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Bill Clinton. His book Presidential Power, first published in 1960, remains required reading for anyone seeking to understand decisionmaking at the highest levels of American government. He also produced classic studies of foreign and domestic policy such as Alliance Politics, a penetrating analysis of crises in U.S.-U.K. relations, and Thinking in Time: The Uses of History (coauthored with Ernest R. May). In Guardian of the Presidency, Neustadt's colleagues and students celebrate the rich and diverse contributions he made to political and academic life.

Dick Neustadt began his career as presidential adviser in 1946. He joined the Bureau of Budget, working for President Truman, before becoming a special assistant in the Truman White House in 1950. After the Republicans captured the White House in 1952, he entered academic life, teaching first at Cornell University and then at Columbia. The publication of Presidential Power brought him to the attention of President-elect John F. Kennedy, who commissioned Neustadt to prepare recommendations for his transition to office. Neustadt declined a formal position with the administration but continued to advise Kennedy and, later, Lyndon Johnson. He also consulted to the transition teams for Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.

An institution builder as well as a scholar and an adviser, Neustadt was the founding director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics and a guiding force in developing the John F. KennedySchool of Government. In this role, he helped shape generations of leaders, both in the United States and abroad.

Contributors: Graham Allison, Jonathan Alter, Harvey V. Fineberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Al Gore, Charles O. Jones, Anthony King, Ernest R. May, Eric Redman, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Theodore C. Sorensen, Harrison Welford.

" As America's leading expert on the Presidency and an adviser to presidents from Harry S Truman to Bill Clinton, Richard E. Neustadt was ""the most penetrating analyst of power since Machiavelli,"" as Guardian of the Presidency makes clear. In this inspirational book, Neustadt's former colleagues and students celebrate the rich and diverse contributions he made to political and academic life in the United States and beyond. JFK confidant Ted Sorensen, the late historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Harrison Wellford, formerly of the Office of Management and Budget, and Matthew Dickinson focus on his role as a White House adviser. Newsweek's Jonathan Alter highlights Neustadt's ability to interpret the Presidency for the outside world. Fellow scholars Ernest May, Charles O. Jones, Harvey Fineberg, and Graham Allison analyze his legacy as an educator and founding director of Harvard's Institute of Politics. Anthony King (Britain at the Polls) and Eric Redman (The Dance of Legislation) discuss his work in the United Kingdom and Brazil. Former Vice President Al Gore offers an appreciation of Neustadt's influence on generations of students. The book concludes with Elizabeth Neustadt's personal reflections about her father. " Title Page......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Foreword - by Doris Kearns Goodwin......Page 10 Preface......Page 16 1. "Placing" Richard E. Neustadt - by Ernest R. May......Page 24 2. Practicum on the Presidency, 1946 to 1953 - by Matthew Dickinson......Page 37 3. Scholar-Activist as Guardian: Dick Neustadt's Presidency - by Charles O. Jones......Page 58 4. Avoiding the Hazards of Transition: Neustadt's Lessons - by Harrison Wellford......Page 75 5. Two of JFK's Aides Remember Kennedy's Machiavelli - by Theodore C. Sorensen and Arthur Schlesinger Jr.......Page 110 6. An American in England - by Anthony King......Page 116 7. Was Neustadt a Journalist, Too? - by Jonathan Alter......Page 129 8. Tribute to a Teacher - by Al Gore......Page 141 9. Masterful Mentor - by Harvey V. Fineberg......Page 145 10. Institution Builder - by Graham Allison......Page 156 11. Neustadt in Brazil - by Eric Redman......Page 184 Afterword: A Personal Reminiscence - by Elizabeth A. Neustadt......Page 202 Appendix......Page 216 Notes......Page 226 Select Bibliography......Page 240 About the Contributors......Page 244 Index......Page 248 Photos......Page 98