The Presidents Club : Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity

The inside story of the world's most exclusive fraternity; how presidents from Hoover through Obama worked with--and sometimes, against--each other when they were in and out of power. Amazon.com Review Amazon Best Books of the Month, April 2012 : It's hard to imagine a more obviously fascinating prism through which to look at American history and politics since the end of World War II. Starting with the surprisingly effective relationship of Harry S. Truman and Herbert Hoover, and following through "Obama and His Club," TIME Magazine 's Executive Editor Nancy Gibbs and Washington Bureau Chief Michael Duffy trace the surprising, complicated story of "the world's most exclusive fraternity." Sitting presidents and their predecessors have at times proved remarkably simpatico, at others impossible thorns in each other's sides. The authors' extensive research demonstrates that ex-Presidents have a penchant for morphing from consummate team players into irascible rogues, sometimes within weeks, as they strive both to remain relevant and to shape their own legacies. In Gibbs and Duffy's hands, their stories never fail to captivate. -- Jason Kirk Review This is essential reading for anyone interested in American politics. Robert Dallek, bestselling author of *An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 19171963 * Forget Romes Curia, Yales Skull and Bones and the Bilderbergsthe worlds most exclusive club never numbers more than six. . . . Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs have penetrated thick walls of secrecy and decorum to give us the most intimate, revealing, and poignant account of the constitutional fifth wheel that is the ex-presidency. Readers are in for some major surprises, not to mention a history they wont be able to put down. Richard Norton Smith, author of *Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation * The Presidents Club is magnetically readable, bursting with new information and behind-the-scenes details. It is also an important contribution to history, illuminating the event-making private relationships among our ex-Presidents and why we should do a far better job of drawing on their skills and experience. Michael Beschloss, bestselling author of* The Conquerers * Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy have given us a great gift: a deeply reported, highly original, and wonderfully written exploration of a much-overlooked part of American history. The tiny world of U.S. presidents is our Olympus, and Gibbs and Duffy have chronicled the intimacies and rivalries of the gods. Jon Meacham, bestselling author of *American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House * Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs have taken us inside one of the most powerful and unusual families in American lifethe brotherhood of former presidents of the United States. Political junkies, historians, psychologists and main street citizens will find the tales of friendship, envy, conspiracy, competition and common cause irresistible. Tom Brokaw, bestselling author of* The Greatest Generation * This is a brilliant idea for a book, wonderfully written! At Eisenhowers inauguration, Hoover and Truman half-jokingly decided to form a Presidents Club. With surprising reporting and insights, this book reveals the relationships and rivalries among the few men who know what its like to be president. It gives a new angle on history by exploring the essence of the presidency. Walter Isaacson, bestselling author of Steve Jobs and *Benjamin Franklin * Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs offer more than a fresh and fascinating first look at the worlds most exclusive mens club. Its a book of real substance about clashing egos and strange bedfellows at the top. Jonathan Alter, bestselling author of *The Promise * The Presidents Club is a lucid and well-written glimpse into the modern presidency and its self-sustaining shadow organization. It's worth reading and rereading for its behind-the-scenes insights. *USA Today * This is a great scoop . . . Amazing. Chris Matthews, NBC A fabulous book . . . I absolutely love it. Greta Van Susteren, FOX News Examines Presidential Power Within The Context Of U.s. History And The Ongoing Relationships Presidents And Ex-presidents Formed With One Another. Truman And Hoover : The Return Of The Exile. I'm Not Big Enough For This Job ; Our Exclusive Trade Union -- Eisenhower And Truman : Careful Courtship, Bitter Breakup. :the News Hounds Are Trying To Drive A Wedge Between Us ; The Man Is A Congenital Liar -- Kennedy And His Club : The Hazing. He Had No Idea Of The Complexity Of The Job ; The Worse I Do, The More Popular I Get ; How About Coming In For A Drink? -- Johnson And Eisenhower : Blood Brothers. The Country Is Far More Important Than Any Of Us ; I Need Your Counsel, And I Love You -- Nixon And Reagan : The California Boys. You'll Have My Promise -- I'll Speak No Evil -- Johnson And Nixon : Two Scorpions In A Bottle. This Is Treason ; I Want To Go; God Take Me -- Nixon And Johnson : Brotherhood And Blackmail. I Want The Break-in -- Nixon And Ford : Mercy At All Costs. I Had To Get The Monkey Off My Back -- Ford And Reagan : The Family Feud. It Burned The Hell Out Of Me -- Nixon, Ford, And Carter : Three Men And A Funeral. Why Don't We Make It Just Dick, Jimmy, And Jerry? -- Reagan And Nixon : The Exile Returns. I Am Yours To Command -- Bush And Nixon : No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. I'm Convinced -- He Feels I'm Soft -- Bush And Carter : The Missionary Goes Rogue. I Am A Better Ex-president That I Was A President -- Six Presidents : The Golden Age Of The Club. The Guy Knows How The Game Is Played ; I'm Sending Carter. You Think It Will Be Ok, Don't You ; Bill, I Think You Have To Admit That You Lied -- Bush And Clinton : The Rascal And The Rebel. He's Never Forgiven Me For Beating His Father -- Bush And Bush : Father And Son. I Love You More Than Tongue Can Tell ; Tell 41 And 42 That 43 Is Hungry -- Obama And His Club : The Learning Curve. We Want You To Succeed. Nancy Gibbs And Michael Duffy. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 531-609). The New York Times bestselling history of the private relationships among the last thirteen presidents—the partnerships, private deals, rescue missions, and rivalries of those select men who served as commander in chief. The Presidents Club, established at Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration by Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover, is a complicated place: its members are bound forever by the experience of the Oval Office and yet are eternal rivals for history's favor. Among their secrets: How Jack Kennedy tried to blame Ike for the Bay of Pigs. How Ike quietly helped Reagan win his first race in 1966. How Richard Nixon conspired with Lyndon Johnson to get elected and then betrayed him. How Jerry Ford and Jimmy Carter turned a deep enmity into an alliance. The unspoken pact between a father and son named Bush. And the roots of the rivalry between Clinton and Barack Obama. Time magazine editors and presidential historians Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy offer a new and revealing lens on the American presidency, exploring the club as a hidden instrument of power that has changed the course of history.