Inside the White House [Mass Market Paperback]

Ronald Kessler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996

Award-winning journalist Ronald Kessler gets behind the scenes at the White House to reveal the often-scandalous secrets of this all-powerful institution. Kessler documents the hidden lives of the modern presidents: Bill and Hilary Clinton's sham marriage and his pattern of alleged sexual indiscretions; Johnson's legendary infidelities; Nixon's disorientation and mysterious disappearances during his last days in office; the extent of Reagan's manipulation at the hands of his wife; and Bush's out-of-control staff.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this tabloid-sounding account, Kessler (The FBI) has aimed very low, armed with "inside information" provided by presidential aides, servants, staff members and Secret Service agents that has the ring of backstairs gossip. He shows Lyndon Johnson as a vulgar megalomaniac, Nixon as almost pathologically shut in, Carter as a petty nitpicker, Reagan as dominated by his icy wife, Bush as barely able to tolerate people en masse and Clinton as such a compulsive womanizer as to make Jack Kennedy seem celibate. From the chief executive on down, virtually everyone at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., he concludes, falls victim to "presidentitis" and abuses power. The only question left unanswered is, what's new here?
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The secrets of the presidency disclosed by Kessler (The FBI, LJ 10/15/93) have been revealed before. "White House-itis" is the arrogance that comes from being surrounded by aides eager to please and from the trappings of power unique to the presidency. The White House provides the luxury of a "132-room four-star hotel." The presidential assistants, secret agents, maids, and butlers are the ones who really know what is going on, and these are the people that Kessler interviews. Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter are faulted for their meanness and contempt for their staffs; Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan are remembered for their kindness. President Clinton is skewered for his lack of character and discipline and the immaturity of his advisers. Kessler raises other important issues in this recommended expose, which will find a large audience in public libraries.
--Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671879197
• ISBN-13: 978-0671879198
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ronald Kessler is the New York Times bestselling author of nineteen non-fiction books about the Secret Service, FBI, and CIA.

Kessler began his career as a journalist in 1964 on the Worcester Telegram, followed by three years as an investigative reporter and editorial writer with the Boston Herald. In 1968, he joined the Wall Street Journal as a reporter in the New York bureau. He became an investigative reporter with the Washington Post in 1970 and continued as a staff writer until 1985.

Kessler's latest book is "The Secrets of the FBI." His previous book was "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect." USA Today described the book as a "fascinating exposé...high-energy read...amusing, saucy, often disturbing anecdotes about the VIPs the Secret Service has protected and still protects.....[accounts come] directly from current and retired agents (most identified by name, to Kessler's credit)....Balancing the sordid tales are the kinder stories of presidential humanity...[Kessler is a] respected journalist and former Washington Post reporter....an insightful and entertaining story." Kessler and the book were featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Kessler has won seventeen journalism awards, including two George Polk awards--for national reporting and for community service. Kessler has also won the American Political Science Association's Public Affairs Reporting Award, the Associated Press' Sevellon Brown Memorial Award, the Robert Novak Journalist of the Year Award, and Washingtonian magazine's Washingtonian of the Year award. He is listed in Who's Who in America.

Ron Kessler lives with his wife Pamela Kessler in the Washington, D.C. area. Also an author and former Washington Post reporter, Pam Kessler wrote "Undercover Washington: Where Famous Spies Lived, Worked and Loved." His daughter Rachel Kessler, a public relations executive, and son Greg Kessler, an artist, live in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 20/20 vision through the bottom of a Coke bottle, August 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside the White House (Mass Market Paperback)

Has a decent person ever inhabited or worked in the White House? Apparently Not. Written with the authority of a person who worked intimately with our Presidents for decades. But wait, did he ever work in the White House?? More focus on the interactions between the President and staff, senior staff and junior staff, etc., would have provided insight in the the inner workings of the White House. However, the focus was on sweeping old skeletons from the walk-in closets. I understand the intent was to show the human frailty of any person who inhabits the office - but mix in a few good stories and show some balance. I must say - it was entertaining reading. There was shock value, and some old rumors were made to sound more credible. I'd recommend giving it a read. I was looking for some more "nuts and bolts", but for anyone interested in the Presidency from a laymans view, you will probably enjoy the book. If you are looking for something more academic, read "The Twilight of the Presidency".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A peek at some presidents and first ladies, September 16, 2005

By 

Marvin D. Pipher (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inside the White House (Mass Market Paperback)

This book makes interesting reading, since it lifts the curtain slightly and gives us a peek inside the White House and Air Force One. In doing so, we're able to see some of our beloved presidents and their families as they really were when behind closed doors. A few of the resulting revelations may seem startling to some but all appear to be in line with the character of those being peeked upon.

The book is essentially a compilation of observations and information gleaned from those who worked in the White House and on Air Force One, or supported the Presidents or their families, from the beginning of Lyndon Johnson's Administration up to about the middle of the Clinton Administration. It also touches briefly on President Kennedy and includes a broad discussion of Clinton's many escapades while Governor of Arkansas. In my view, this latter discussion was most likely appended because the author was unable to acquire significant information from his sources while Clinton was still in office.

The president who came across the best in this book seemed to be Ronald Reagan. The presidents who came across the worst were Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton. The first lady who came across the best was Barbara Bush. The worst would probably have to be Rosalynn Carter. The best presidential child would have to be Chelsea Clinton.

The observations and excerpts which follow reveal the tenor of the book. John F. Kennedy was a known womanizer in an unhappy marriage, but the press never reported it that way, and Jacqueline Kennedy made all staff members sign a pledge not to talk about their experiences in the White House. Lyndon Johnson was not only unscrupulous, but almost as bad a womanizer as Bill Clinton. Once, while on a trip with two governors, Johnson reportedly made the following comment in explaining why the civil rights bill was so important to him. He said it was simple: "I'll have them niggers voting Democratic for two hundred years." One of the author's sources said that President Nixon wasn't an "out-and-out thief for his own personal gain," as Lyndon Johnson was. Instead he had his staff do it. Gerald Ford liked to pass gas and then try to blame it on his Secret Service agents. Jimmy Carter micromanaged to such an extent that White House aides had to call him on Air Force One to get permission to use the tennis courts. Ronald Reagan was said to be "down to earth and easy to talk to," but Nancy was described as strict and demanding. The first President Bush was said to be so out of touch with everyday America that he was amazed to see an electronic price scanner in a supermarket checkout counter. Bill Clinton was described by one insider as "...not doing the hard work of being the CEO, of thinking, planning, and strategizing. He is a mediocre guy getting his kicks out of being the top politician in the land."

Readers of this book, of course, will have to make their own decisions as to what to believe and what not to believe, probably based on their own political persuasions. But it does make interesting reading, and I suspect that most of it is true.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes brilliant, sometimes shocking, sometimes lame, December 16, 1999

By 

"rjgrib" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside the White House (Mass Market Paperback)

What is evident is the criminal behavior of the slime buckets we elect as President. Every occupant of the White House seems to out do the previous resident for wasting our money and heightening their "kingdom". Lots of good information scattered about, but Kessler must have run out of gas way before he had a complete book.