The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity [Kindle Edition]

Nancy Gibbs (Author), Michael Duffy (Author)

Book Description

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.

Editorial Reviews

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, 1917-1963
"Forget Rome's Curia, Yale's Skull and Bones and the Bilderbergs--the world's most exclusive club never numbers more than six. Its rules are inscrutable, and its members box the compass politically and stylistically. . . . 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 won't be able to put down." --Richard Norton Smith, author of Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation

"Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs have taken us inside one of the most powerful and unusual families in American life--the 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 Eisenhower's inauguration, Hoover and Truman half-jokingly decided to form a 'President's Club.' With surprising reporting and insights, this book reveals the relationships and rivalries among the few men who know what it's 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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 4639 KB
• Print Length: 656 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (April 17, 2012)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005GG0MIS
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,735 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > United States > Executive Branch
  • #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Presidents & Heads of State
  • #6 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Presidents & Heads of State

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 131 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A refreshing take on (recent) Presidential history July 7, 2012

By Spk

Format:Kindle Edition

The President's Club is a refreshingly different kind of read. There are plenty of Presidential biographies. This book is not about Presidential accomplishments. It is not also about post-presidential accomplishments, such as the well know Clinton Global Initiative (CGI, as it is known). Rather this book explores the relationships between current Presidents and e-Presidents. i.e. how did ex-Presidents partner with current ones. Very well written with fun and telling anecdotes. As I read through this list starting from Truman's Presidency through to Obama, I thought it would be fun to subjectively rate some of these relationships:

Best: Hoover helping Truman get food supplies to 100 million starving Europeans after WWII (wow!)

Second best: Nixon helping Clinton deal with Yelstin. This is a really cool story!

Worst: Jimmy Carter annoying pretty much everybody

Delicious: Johnson and Nixon trying to outfox each other

Most fun anecdote: Reagan teaching Clinton how to salute.

If one is interested in Presidential history, this is a new and refreshing angle on this well worn path.

83 of 93 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Presidents Club April 20, 2012

By Tripp A Braden

Format:Hardcover

Looking for a great book that combines the best and worst qualities of leaders during challenging times? I just started The Presidents Club and can't put it down. Working in the White House is a different world. Wonder what it's like to be in the most exclusive fraternity in the world? This book might offend people on both sides of the political spectrum but entertain all. It reminds us all that Presidents are still people and how they deal with crushing pressure could be a lesson for us all.

92 of 104 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic ex-Presidential Work April 19, 2012

By Deygan Brendan

Format:Hardcover

Anyone - Democrat or Republican - with an interest in the workings of the Presidency will find this a fascinating read. Sides of past presidents will be revealed that you hadn't known existed. It's an equally-interesting book when you take into account that even what is written about only scratches the surface, as ex-Presidents will only reveal so much.
I prefer not to list certain portions of a book like this that I really liked, as I know how much I like to avoid seeing even trivial "spoilers" - but rest assured, this is an account saturated with highly educational information.