Leading from Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him [Hardcover]

Richard Miniter (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 21, 2012

Barack Obama has never been fully vetted—until now.       

In the New York Times bestselling Leading from Behind, investigative journalist Richard Miniter presents the first book to explore President Obama’s abilities as a leader, by unearthing new details of his biggest successes and failures. Based on exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, Leading from Behind investigates the secret world of the West Wing and the combative personalities that shape historic events.

Contrary to the White House narrative, which aims to define Obama as a visionary leader, Leading from Behind reveals a president who is indecisive, moody, and often paralyzed by competing political considerations. Many victories—as well as several significant failures—during the Obama presidency are revealed to be the work of strong women, who led when the president did not: then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and Valerie Jarrett, his closest adviser and an Obama family confidante, whose unusual degree of influence has been a source of conflict with veteran political insiders.

In Leading from Behind, you will learn:

·         Why Obama’s relationship with Israel was poisoned years before he met Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

·         The real reason for Valerie Jarrett’s strong hold over both Barack and Michelle Obama

·         ObamaCare wasn’t Obama’s idea. It was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s. And the real reason he danced to her tune.

·         Obama delayed and canceled the mission to kill Osama bin Laden three times and then committed an intelligence blunder that allowed dozens of high-level members of al Qaeda to escape.

·         Why Obama destroyed a secret budget deal with House Speaker John Boehner that would have reformed entitlements, slashed spending, and reduced the national debt—without raising taxes

·         Why Obama is determined to save Attorney General Eric Holder, even though he has mislead and stonewalled Congress about “Operation: Fast and Furious”

·         Why Obama decided to defy the Tea Party and ditch his plans to end earmarks

In Leading from Behind, Richard Miniter’s provocative research offers a dramatic, thoroughly sourced account of President Obama’s White House during a time of intense domestic controversy and international turmoil.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Miniter has penned a very insightful look inside the leadership qualities of someone who remains somewhat of a mystery. Within these lessons about leadership, the top level investigative reporter in Miniter has found great stories and never before reported facts to animate the book's main theme. Readers will very much enjoy Miniter's latest New York Times bestseller." —Forbes.com

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Richard Miniter is the author of two top-ten New York Times bestsellers, Losing Bin Laden and Shadow War, as well as Mastermind, the first biography of 9/11 planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He writes a column for Forbes.com. A former editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal in Brussels, member of the investigative team at The Sunday Times in London, and editorial-page editor of the Washington Times, Miniter has also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, as well as The Atlantic, Reader’s Digest, Newsweek, The New Republic, and National Review. He has appeared on CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. He has won awards from the National Press Club and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (shared). He lives in Arlington, Virginia.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (August 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 125001610X
• ISBN-13: 978-1250016102
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 69 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read August 21, 2012

By andy

Format:Hardcover

Just finished the book and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I was going to be reading another book bashing Obama without hard facts. Not only did I read all 304 pages, unlike some reviewers on amazon, I read some other books by the author before this one and found all of them were as equally a good read with great knowledge of the subject matter.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Leading? October 8, 2012

By R. Patton

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am only half way through, but am certainly getting the picture of what is going in this White House. It gets pretty "heavy" at times and I am saddened about the reality of DC so I switch off to another lighter book and then back to this one. Its a good history book. The author has done his research.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Truth Exposer January 18, 2013

By Shoshie

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

For a person who really wants to know and perceive truth from a credible and well-researched author, this is the book for you. Well pleased.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Richard Miniter nails it March 23, 2013

By Daniel L. Schwartz

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a surprisingly good book, which broke the news on the bin Laden raid that at the behest of Valerie Jarrett, Obama canceled the raids at least 3 times from March 2011 on; and also that the day before the raid when it was canceled due to weather, in fact checking the weather reports indicated clear skies. He also paints Leon Panetta as the hero of that mission, as he risked his job and was prepared to go ahead even without Presidential authority.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Places Obama "Behind the Eight Ball" March 19, 2013

By Minnie the Moocher

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is very critical of President Obama. Its thesis is that the president "leads from behind": he avoids direct involvement in major issues and lets others fight his battles for him. The Affordable Care Act, for example, was passed primarily due to the efforts of Congresswoman Pelosi. Foreign policy decisions are made with great reluctance, and only after considerable consultation with advisers.

It is a well written, thoroughly documented book. However, it is far from objective and does not demonstrate contact with the persons closest to the subject. This will always be a weakness in works of this nature.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth Is Told June 18, 2013

By anonymous

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

The more I read about president Obama the more I realize all the fears we(those who did not vote for him) had about him are true. It is not surprising to hear how he manipulated the press and the truth so he could get re-elected. The fact is all politicians do this to some extent but he is far and away the worst at it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative June 14, 2013

By Darwin R. Teague

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a no nonsense analysis of 0bama's "leadership". If you are a big 0bama supporter, you may not like it, but if you read it, you will learn something.

63 of 97 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lefties will hate this book, conservatives will love it August 21, 2012

By Tell It Like It Is VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Here's the deal. Despite nearly 4 years of exemplary ineptitude and persistent attempts to convert the US into a socialist state, all Obama has really succeeded in doing is polarizing our citizenry and promoting class warfare. Obama is, by far, the most left leaning President ever. His ambition is to take it even further. The problem is, throughout the course of history all attempts at creating socialistic societies have failed. Why has this always been so? Margaret Thatcher stated many years ago: "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."

That being said, if you are left leaning (or "liberal"), you will despise this book as it portrays Obama in the harsh light of objective reality. If you are right leaning (or "conservative") you will love this book for the same reason.

Here is the key question you must ask yourself. Why would an educated, wealthy, and successful person want to become a politician? To gain power and influence? To accumulate more wealth? To lend his/her talents to his/her electorate to better their lives? Whatever the ostensible explanation, it eventually boils down to keeping one's self in power. This is the reason some politicians become "liberals." Spare me the arguments based on ideological principles. Some electorates simply have a much greater proportion of voters who are (or wish to become) dependent on federal and state government handouts. All US voters do not aspire to become gainfully employed, tax paying citizens. Many are willing to live on whatever handouts they can score (housing vouchers, SNAP (food stamps), welfare, Medicaid) and whatever cash they can raise through legal ("under the table") or illegal means. Just look at the "blue vs. red" maps of the most recent US national election.... The predominantly urban areas elect "liberals" and everywhere else elects "conservatives." So, if you are running in an urban, high government dependency area, it behooves you to run as a "liberal." Give your electorate what they want, or continue to give them what they already have. Make them dependent upon you, and you guarantee yourself re-election as long as you can stomach it.

Conversely, if you advocate "welfare to work," responsibility for one's actions (or inactions), personal accountability, or any philosophies along these lines, the "down trodden" masses will do all they can to erase you from their world. This is the evolving base problem our society faces. Our's is not a society of the "haves" and "have nots." It is a problem of the "will do" and the "wont's or don't want to's." It really is that smple.

So back to the book. The information contained within seems totally plausibe and consistent with established facts and events. Some will contest that simply due to recalcitrancy. They wish to protect the image of Obama, the Messiah. Others will accept the book for the objective portrayal of a socialist wannabe that it is. All the lefties will email one another and attack my review claiming narrow mindedness, bigotry, etc. But despite their attacks and rhetoric, unfortunately for them, the facts will remain the same.

You should read this book. All 300+ pages. Don't miss a word. The truth will set you free... Read more ›