The Gatekeepers

How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency

De: Chris Whipple

Narrado por: Mark Bramhall

Now with a chapter on the chaos in the Trump administration, The New York Times best-selling, behind-the-scenes look at the White House Chiefs of Staff, whose actions - and inactions - have defined the course of our country.

What do Dick Cheney and Rahm Emanuel have in common? Aside from polarizing personalities, both served as chief of staff to the president of the United States - as did Donald Rumsfeld, Leon Panetta, and a relative handful of others. The chiefs of staff, often referred to as "the gatekeepers", wield tremendous power in Washington and beyond; they decide who is allowed to see the president, negotiate with Congress to push POTUS's agenda, and - most crucially - enjoy unparalleled access to the leader of the free world. Each chief can make or break an administration, and each president reveals himself by the chief he picks.

Through extensive, intimate interviews with 18 living chiefs (including Reince Priebus) and two former presidents, award-winning journalist and producer Chris Whipple pulls back the curtain on this unique fraternity. In doing so, he revises our understanding of presidential history, revealing to us how James Baker’s expert managing of the White House, the press, and Capitol Hill paved the way for the Reagan Revolution - and, conversely, how Watergate, the Iraq War, and even the bungled Obamacare rollout might have been prevented by a more effective chief.

Filled with shrewd analysis and never-before-reported details, The Gatekeepers offers an essential portrait of the toughest job in Washington.

©2017 Chris Whipple (P)2017 Random House Audio

The men behind Presidents

It is impressive to realize that the American political circle is a circle made up of about the same men in the sixties, through today.

A Reminder and New Revelations

Great men understand the important of appointments. Wish we had a great man right now.

Not a bad read if you like history

I enjoyed the history lessons in each administration if all true. I felt like the content and events we're presented without bias and that probably changes some of my opinions about some of the administrations that seems ineffective. There were successes and failures and it seemed each president was his own man. For sure the presidents that had the stronger chiefs of staff were more successful in accomplishing the goals of their boss.

One for the books

This book has some of the most inside stories you can get about presidents’s terms. A great read and one that every college political science major should read.

Great read

I didn't want to put it down. This is is a fantastic read and I highly recommend it.

COS

Eye opening into the history of the chief of staff and his impact on history

Chiefs-of-Staff Get Their Due

An incredibly insightful book that sheds light on the important, but often unsung, roles played by White House chiefs-of-staff. The contrasts in abilities, personality and effectiveness of each are well described. I learned a lot of information about this important role. I highly recommend this book.

Interesting and Revealing

I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone open minded enough to learn more about our political system and those charged with governing our country. It is has very revealing insights on our leaders and we citizens of the USA

Great history of the Chief of Staff position

The author goes chronologically from the Nixon Administration through the Obama administration summarizing the tenures of each of the chiefs. He has excellent access to the principals and described many of the highs and lows of the administrations and how those related to the roles of the CoS. He also has good information about the personalities of each of the chiefs and how that either helped them serve their presidents or got in the way.

He makes the case over and over that the modern presidency cannot function without a strong CoS, which was attempted by Carter and Clinton. He also suggests that 'principals' -- CoS who take themselves too seriously do not function well in the job (Sununu and Regan). Finally, his stories also show that presidents are not generally well served by CoS who are too close, as that prevents them from giving bad news or tough advice to the presidents.

Extremely well researched and very interesting read, and each of his major points are generally well supported by interviews from those who were in the position.

The only loose end is that while these characteristics seem necessary, they are not enough to prevent disasters from occurring on their watch, which the author confronts most directly with Haldeman and Nixon. Not the fault of the book, but just a reflection of the fact that both people and the world of politics in Washington are very complicated.

Good

I love the book. I hope that President Trump has a good Chief Of Staff to help him