The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office [Hardcover]

David Blumenthal (Author), James Morone (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520260309 | ISBN-13: 978-0520260306 | Publication Date: June 6, 2009 | Edition: 1

Even the most powerful men in the world are human--they get sick, take dubious drugs, drink too much, contemplate suicide, fret about ailing parents, and bury people they love. Young Richard Nixon watched two brothers die of tuberculosis, even while doctors monitored a suspicious shadow on his own lungs. John Kennedy received last rites four times as an adult, and Lyndon Johnson suffered a "belly buster" of a heart attack. David Blumenthal and James A. Morone explore how modern presidents have wrestled with their own mortality--and how they have taken this most human experience to heart as they faced the difficult politics of health care. Drawing on a trove of newly released White House tapes, on extensive interviews with White House staff, and on dramatic archival material that has only recently come to light, The Heart of Power explores the hidden ways in which presidents shape our destinies through their own experiences. Taking a close look at Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, the book shows what history can teach us as we confront the health care challenges of the twenty-first century.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this engrossing text, the history of American health-care policy, from the New Deal to the Medicare Modernization Act of George W. Bush, becomes a frame through which the authors illuminate the leadership qualities of late-20th-century presidents in the arena of domestic affairs. The authors present biographies of presidents from FDR on, investigating potential influences (e.g., heart attacks, abusive parents, deceased siblings) on their attitudes toward health policy. Blumenthal, a Harvard Medical School professor, and Brown University political scientist Morone (The Democratic Wish) draw on White House telephone tapes and memos in a laudatory chapter on Johnson's role in passing Medicare, and reserve their harshest criticism for Jimmy Carter, whose administration unwittingly killed the late effort at health reform. The authors offer evenhanded critiques and conclude with lessons for future chief executives about the importance of political savvy, economic flexibility and popular appeal in determining the success of health-care initiatives. More than an excellent primer on American health policy, the book offers a thorough, incisive look at the presidency as an institution and the men who have occupied the office. (Aug.)
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Review

"A riveting history of health-care politics."--New Yorker

"This timely and insightful book puts Barack Obama's current quest for universal health insurance in historical context and gives new meaning to the audacity of hope."--New York Times Book Review

"More than an excellent primer on American health policy, the book offers a thorough, incisive look at the presidency as an institution and the men who have occupied the office." STARRED REVIEW--Publishers Weekly

"A masterpiece and a valuable primer for future presidents as they wrestle with the dragon of health reform."--Health Affairs

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 494 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (June 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520260309
• ISBN-13: 978-0520260306
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #715,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the right balance of detail and insight, August 28, 2009

By 

Timothy Ferris - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office (Hardcover)

As a health policy researcher and doctor, I approach this book with some trepidation. I did not want a book that was going to feel like "work" to read, and yet I am genuinely interested in the details. Blumenthal and Marone got it just right. They move through a mountain of material in a well paced mix of interesting (often original) detail and insight. It could not be more timely given the debate in the country right now. This is the best available lense through which to watch how the national health reform process is playing out. Disclosure: Blumenthal used to be my boss.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timely! Timely! Timely!, September 1, 2009

By 

Thomas J. Farrell (Duluth, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office (Hardcover)

At nearly 500 pages in length, this well-researched book may contain more historical information about the politics of health care than many people would care to read carefully.

After a 20-page introduction, the authors survey eleven successive presidents in eleven chapters:

(1) Franklin D. Roosevelt
(2) Harry S. Truman
(3) Dwight D. Eisenhower
(4) John F. Kennedy
(5) Lyndon B. Johnson
(6) Richard M. Nixon
(7) Jimmy Carter
(8) Ronald Reagan
(9) George H. W. Bush
(10) Bill Clinton
(11) George W. Bush

But the 12-page conclusion is worth the price of the book. In the conclusion, the authors set forth what they consider to be "eight rules for the heart of power" -- rules that President Barack Obama and others in his administration might want to consider carefully as the August recess of Congress draws to a close and the battle in Congress over health-care-reform legislation resumes in earnest.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXTRAORDINARY, September 16, 2009

By 

Robert (CHICAGO, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office (Hardcover)

Wonderful and insightful review of the approach to national health insurance since the 1930's by different presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt through G.Bush. In the process, we are made to understand what makes each man tick,his flaws and strengths.
We are also left to wonder some big what if's of national health policy as well as of possible second terms(particularly Lyndon Johnson's). As the authors mention in the introduction, our current president would be well served if he used this book as a road map for promoting his plan. Essential text to understand our current quandary.