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Less interesting to me - - I'm not going to be there - - but probably very worthwhile for the best and brightest Washington yuppies who might be there some day. The Ford impulsiveness in rushing to pardon his predecessor without adequately prepping the public, softening the public psyche, changing the public mood from "let's lynch him" to "well, let's get past this rotten thing." Reagan's excellent organization and Clinton's dysfunctional "troika" decision-making process (Hillary and Al Gore sign-offs on everything)and the impeachment gridlock. Toward the end Gergen wants his book to be a primer: what to do and what not to do to have a functional presidency. This is written at least 30 days after I put the book away. All in all Gergen has written a probative, very good book. All of us thought highly of "Eyewitness." as a journey back in time to the Nixon, Ford, Reagan years and some of the Bill Clinton years as well. It was our monthly book club selection. The Nixon "fear and trembling" White House staff.
As a student of leadership this was of great interest to me because it also highlighted the administration challenges when a new president enters office. I liked this book because rather than playing on the politics related to a given President, it focuses on the person and their leadership style.
reign, so you get to see descriptions of Rumsfield and the "talented" Dick Cheney through the rose colored glasses of a decade ago, driving home the point that that administration had potential if everybody hadn't been so insane.Anybody who has enjoyed Gergen's commentary on CNN, particularly during the most recent election, should be right at home in this book. Particularly interesting that this was written prior to the George W. Gergen presents a really good, for the most part fair and balanced overview of the four presidencies of which he's been a part. Obviously has a certain nostalgic bent for Nixon and Ford, but never fully pulls his punches on any of them, regardless of party.
It was amazing reading about the behind the scenes activity at the White House, especially the Nixon White House.Highly recommended. He was pretty young when he started. I used to always see David Gergen on MSNBC and elsewhere as a pundit, or talking head, and he always seemed to have a lot of integrity. (I haven't seen him, however, for a long time - hope he is alright).I rarely read a political book, preferring either fiction or non-fiction related to my hobbies or interests, but after seeing him every night on the news I finally decided to buy his book and found it to be a fascinating read.He was an adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush 1, and even Clinton.
David is as good an author as he is a speaker. It is certainly rare for me to be just as interested in listening to a speaker at the end of their presentation as I am at the beginning of it. I only wish that he too will feel the same way & have the opportunity to hear David Gergan live.
After hearing him in person, I couldn't wait to purchase his book. While being truthful with the information, he finds the good to present to us in an honest way. I was fortunate enough to hear David Gergan speak at my daughter's commencement last month.
I purchased this book for an upcoming young leader in our family, who I hope will gain insight & wisdom from reading this book. An excellent read for present & future leaders. I am not normally interested in political history due to the dull reading of most, but David Gergan really makes the information come alive.
His elaboration of the former presidents really gives you a tremendous sense of his deep interest & admiration of each of these men.
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