The Man Who Ran Washington

The Life and Times of James A. Baker III

By: Peter Baker, Susan Glasser

Narrated by: Michael Quinlan

From two of America's most revered political journalists comes the definitive biography of legendary White House chief of staff and secretary of state James A. Baker III: the man who ran Washington when Washington ran the world.

For a quarter-century, from the end of Watergate to the aftermath of the Cold War, no Republican won the presidency without his help or ran the White House without his advice. James Addison Baker III was the indispensable man for four presidents because he understood better than anyone how to make Washington work at a time when America was shaping events around the world. The Man Who Ran Washington is a pause-resisting portrait of a power broker who influenced America's destiny for generations.

A scion of Texas aristocracy who became George H. W. Bush's best friend on the tennis courts of the Houston Country Club, Baker had never even worked in Washington until a devastating family tragedy struck when he was 39. Within a few years, he was leading Gerald Ford's campaign and would go on to manage a total of five presidential races and win a sixth for George W. Bush in a Florida recount. He ran Ronald Reagan's White House and became the most consequential secretary of state since Henry Kissinger. He negotiated with Democrats at home and Soviets abroad, rewrote the tax code, assembled the coalition that won the Gulf War, brokered the reunification of Germany, and helped bring a decades-long nuclear superpower standoff to an end. Ruthlessly partisan during campaign season, Baker governed as the avatar of pragmatism over purity and deal-making over division, a lost art in today's fractured nation.

His story is a case study in the acquisition, exercise, and preservation of power in late 20th century America and the story of Washington and the world in the modern era - how it once worked and how it has transformed into an era of gridlock and polarization. This masterly biography by two brilliant observers of the American political scene is destined to become a classic.

©2020 Peter Baker (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Enthralling, comprehensive.... The authors rightly highlight the dimensions of Baker’s illustrious career that show so much about what is broken in the current American political system." (The New York Times Book Review)

"An illuminating biographical portrait of Mr. Baker, one that describes the arc of his career and, along the way, tells us something about how executive power is wielded in the nation’s capital...often has the feel of a novel." (The Wall Street Journal)

"To capture the sweep and relevance of one of the most influential figures in American life requires two of the great reporters and observers of our time. Peter Baker and Susan Glasser have written a grand, precise, and engaging American tale that gallops from Houston Country Club to the convention floor, to the Oval Office and all over the globe, capturing James Baker’s ambition, influence, and style as well as telling the story of power and America at the end of an age.” (John Dickerson, author of The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency)

They Just don’t make them like they used to

An excellent book on the life and Times of James Baker III, Chief of Staff, Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State, but most importantly of all Fixer, Handler.

James Baker’s rise as a political handler and international fixer was not predetermined. A meeting with George Bush would change all of that.

The book gives an excellent account of James Baker’s rise to the apex of power politics, from his days as a Houston lawyer to his days in Ford’s administration and then as Reagan’s Chief of Staff and treasury secretary to his days as Bush’s Secretary of State.

Very well written and documented. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Baker the man, and politics and International Relations in general.

Baker Explains Reagan

Baker made Reagan work. The price of believing in Reagan is that we never looked at the big picture, things like climate change. Carter wanted to move away from oil, but oil lives and the Middle East will never work. Reagan was the architect of the greed culture, and that is now financial tech. Everything is a piece of paper that can be made to release a lot of money. It's not a culture that solves problems. Baker, with his totally dysfunctional family, is hard to really like. But the people he diluted were much worse. Still, we got Cheney and that segment of the GOP, Iraq and Afghanistan. There is so much truth in this book, but it is dark, depressing truth.

A front row seat to an important era in American history.

A good amount of details that cannot be found in contemporary reporting of the era.

Great Storytelling

I never knew that Jim Baker was the man behind Washington. His kids did a great job of telling his story. I'd highly recommend this book to people interested in politics from Reagan to Trump.

We Need Baker Now More Than Ever

I finish this wonderful audiobook the day after the rioters/protesters stormed the capital in order to prevent the reading of the electoral college votes. We are living in a very hot and angry time. Baker knew how to make deals that works for everybody. We need to get back to the middle together. We need calm. Also, The narrator does a wonderful impression of Baker.

Awesome story superbly written and read!

The entire book was fascinating. Never a dull moment and so much to enjoy learning about.

Amazing life story

So very glad I decided to listen. As I look back at those times they seemed very different. Experiencing the up and down economy, wars and political strife in person. It is nice to meet the men behind it.
Once again the world through the filter of the media. Thank you for sharing. Some of us are meant to be the supporting cast, albeit the true power brokers.
A heartfelt thank you for your dedication Mr. Baker.

Great book about a great man!

A very detailed and well written book about one of the most important Americans of the last several decades! I loved every bit of it and once I started it I did not want to stop.

A Great Man

Jim Baker provided leadership when this country needed it. We need to find leaders like him soon. This country needs a leader like him these days.

Good bio, fake accent

Fake Texas accent detracted from engaging biography. Please get real Texan to read his voice, or don’t try.