The Presidents Club

Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity

By: Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy

Narrated by: Bob Walter

Length: 22 hrs

Publisher's summary

The Presidents Club was born at Eisenhower’s inauguration when Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover first conceived the idea. Over the years that followed - and to this day - the presidents relied on, misunderstood, sabotaged, and formed alliances with one another that changed history. The world’s most exclusive fraternity is a complicated place: its members are bound forever because they sat in the Oval Office and know its secrets, yet they are immortal rivals for history’s favor.

Some presidents needed their predecessors to keep their secrets; others needed them to disappear. Most just needed help getting the job done. Truman enlisted Hoover to help him save Europe; Kennedy turned to Ike on Cuba; Nixon sought Johnson’s advice on getting reelected, but then tried to blackmail him; Ford and Carter couldn’t stand each other until they saw what they had in common; Reagan and Clinton relied on Nixon as an off-the-books emissary to Russia; Bush put Clinton and his father to work and they became like father and son; and Obama and Clinton became quiet rivals for the same crown.

Journalists and presidential historians Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy unravel the secret compacts, the shared scars, and the private cease-fires from Hoover to Obama. The Presidents Club will change the way we think about the presidency, for the club itself is an instrument of presidential power.

©2012 Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy (P)2012 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"This is essential reading for anyone interested in American politics.” (Robert Dallek, best-selling 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)

“ The Presidents Club is magnetically readable, bursting with new information and behind-the-scenes details. It is also an important contribution to history, illuminating the event-making private relationships among our ex-Presidents and why we should do a far better job of drawing on their skills and experience.” (Michael Beschloss, best-selling author of The Conquerers)

Great and interesting book

What did you love best about The Presidents Club?

The personal connections developed between the presidents is fascinating. I also learned a lot about historical events in the context of how each president made his decision and how involved were other presidents behind the scene.

It's a must read to everyone who likes politics, history and U.S, foreign policy.

Any additional comments?

the reader was great and really enhanced the listening experience.

Interesting

Never knew the back story of presidents. More helpful to each other than one would think.

Interesting

I've also often wondered about the relationship between presidents, which is never talked about, and this book reveals just that. So enlightening to find out who were friends, who were enemies, and what presidents think about each other.

You never know what goes on behind closed doors. I've always said that people argue about politics only with information we get from the media, and that very fact makes us pretty inept to argue anything. In really makes decisions and why? Corruption? Blackmail? Politicians are just puppets.

A good read.

History on a personal level

What made the experience of listening to The Presidents Club the most enjoyable?

This book makes history more real by bringing it down to a more personal level. Presidents are real people with personalities and struggles, not just characters with names and dates below them in a history text. It is fascinating to hear how the presidents interacted with each other and how they helped or complicated things for the other presidents.

Great insight into a private world

If you could sum up The Presidents Club in three words, what would they be?

Pragmatic. Engaging. Disjointed.

What did you like best about this story?

The book was very well thought out with regards to telling the stories of the relationships between the POTUS and his successors/predecessors with as little subjectivity as possible.

Which character – as performed by Bob Walter – was your favorite?

NA.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not particularly.

Any additional comments?

The book sometimes jumped between eras with no identifiable reason. For the most part it worked chronologically, but there were points where I couldn't see a connection between the previous discussion and the current one on any logical front.

This is an excellent read for election season

Learning how recent presidents have worked together is fascinating. It certainly gives me more sympathy for the presidents I haven't liked.

Extensive backstage insight into the presidency and the presidents.

Extensive detail was remarkable. Mild political content regrettable. Overall very informative and enlightening. It is an excellent read.

Very interesting

Where does The Presidents Club rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I wouldn't be able to give it a rank per se, it's an enjoyable listen - not the best audiobook I have listened to simply because I have interests in other topics as well

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Presidents Club?

Understanding the interpersonal relationships that these men had with each other and how they called upon each other's help during times of crises

Which scene was your favorite?

When JFK was assinated and how LBJ called upon Ike for support. It was truly touching to see the country coming together.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no, given the fact it is an 18-hour long book, there is no way I could listen to this in one sitting! It took me around 3 weeks to complete the entire audiobook!

Any additional comments?

Well worth the time to listen to if you are interested in American politics.

Walk through modern US history

Would you listen to The Presidents Club again? Why?

Absolutely. Great stories, insight and perspective on historical events. Bob Walter is a perfect narrator - he gives life to the Presidents' words.

What does Bob Walter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

See above.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Could be a number of films based on each of the relationships.

Quirky but interesting view of history

This is a fascinating look at history from the end WW2 until the end of Obama's administration. It's obviously not complete and yet it gives the reader insight into modern history.