Customer Reviews

Counsel to the President: A Memoir

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Very highly recommended book by a consummate lawyer and presidential advisor from the Truman years to Jimmy Carter. Full of enlightening anecdotes and penetrating insights It's hard to pick out any in particular but the passages on LBJ and the Vietnam war are just devastating. For instance, The North chose the timing of the Tet offensive in 1968 to coincide with the beginning of the US political cycle ( the New Hampshire Primary) for maximun political affect on the American public. As hard as it is to believe, Clark makes a strong case that LBJ deliberately sabotaged Humphrey's campaign in 1968 out of a twisted need to be right on Viet Nam, thus helping Nixon to be elected. Quite a story indeed!! Read it and try to come to a balanced appreciation of LBJ who did so much good domestically but who remained a twisted ego driven man so obsessed with his legacy that he helped to defeat his own party and running mate. Amazing stuff!! Clark has been gone since 1998 but his book lives on.

I am almost finished with this book. Mr. Clifford had all of the skills to succeed. He was from an upper middle class background with two parents whose marriage presumably worked. His father was an executive at a railroad. His mother taught at Chatauqua and was on radio. He was hardworking and bright and became a lawyer at an early age. Most important he had a lot of emotional intelligence and common sense. The beauty of the book is that it gives details of the inner workings of government from Harry Truman to Jimmy Carter. It is an easy book to read. Except for the Vietnam War, an appropriate amount of space is devoted to each topic.

should be required reading for all registered voters regardless of party--insightful, entertaining & thought provoking

A very easy read. Interesting anecdotes makes large book manageable. Clifford has a tendency to cite flattering assesments of his input to history. Still very worth while reading for amateur historians.

This book was written by Clark Clifford.
It his his recollections of a lifetime of service to his country from WWII on. He worked for Truman and most all the other Presidents in one capacity or another up till the time of Reagan.
He got to Washington by accident, wanting to be a St. Louis lawyer as a career. He helped set up the Truman doctrine, the Marshall plan, and get Truman elected in 1948.
He was one of the "wise men" under LBJ, becoming the Sect of Defense when McNamara resigned.
He had input to Richard Nixon's efforts, and has few good things to say about him.
He tried to help Jimmy Carter, to no avail, and watched from the sidelines as the Dukasis election campaign unraveled.

His book details many events that were just headlines, and shows the decision making that went on in some of the nations biggest decisions on war and peace.
He is one of our countries heros.