The Presidents Club

Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity

By: Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy

Narrated by: Bob Walter

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)

This book just "blew me away"

Who was your favorite character and why?

Richard Nixon was my favorite character because of the influence he had on all the presidents after his resignation up to and including Bill Clinton.

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

He was outstanding portraying all the characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found myself laughing out loud and weeping all through the book. It just drove my two dogs crazy.

Any additional comments?

I am 66 years old, have always been interested in politics, and a news junkie but nothing you thought you ever knew can prepare you for the revelations in this book. It's one of those "I didn't even know that I didn't know" kind of things. "The President's Club" will blow your mind and you will come away with a new respect for the President be they Republican or Democrat.

brings the fraternity to life

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

the many anecdotes and insights re presidential relationships kept me from stopping until i was finished with book

What other book might you compare The Presidents Club to and why?

the books about washington,adams and jefferson, interacting

Which scene was your favorite?

the work of Hoover with Peron and the grain deal for eastern europe.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

it sometimes brought me joy that these personages could let politics and prior disagreements go and work together for the common good and for their growing friendshipas

Any additional comments?

it was well read

A compelling, engaging history

The Presidents Club is real. It had an official founding (after Eisenhower's inauguration, when Truman and Hoover agreed on it), and over the years has acquired a newsletter, a clubhouse, and a variety of perks as well as the responsibility of being there when the sitting President needs them. Only other people who've held the office truly understand its pressures and demands; in that sense they are sometimes the only source of truly informed advice.

And sometimes, a former President is the best or the only appropriate emissary for a trip the President can't make himself.

The authors do an excellent job of reconstructing and recounting the history of the club. Interviews with several of the presidents of the last thirty years, as well as aides, family members, and colleagues, help make this rich in detail and insight. We get to know he club members from Hoover onward. We get a real sense of their strengths, weaknesses, and particular quirks, as well as both the rivalries and the unexpected friendships they formed.

It's a rich and well-informed narrative, told mostly chronologically, with divergences from that to follow up on themes and specifics where it seems appropriate. In addition to the strong writing, the narrator has a strong, clear voice, making for good listening even in traffic. I learned a lot, and enjoyed learning it.

Highly recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

The People Magazine of the Presidents since Truman

This book is well written and filled with juicy scenarios, tidbits of conversation, explanation of relationships between the presidents since Truman. I have an amateurs interest in history and appreciated this recounting of relationships between the presidents in my lifetime. Learning more about The egos, the graciousness, kindness and surprising relationships that developed between the various presidents makes me feel that I have an inside track on understanding how this democracy experiment continues to work. It ends with Obama still in office. I’d certainly be interested in an update in a few years.

few active members, many alumni

Interesting and detailed glimpse of the evolving relationships and machinations between past, present and sometimes future presidents. Sprinkled in are some very interesting moments before and after the old guy leaves and the new guy starts. Also included are many stories about the role of former presidents have played in a wide range of global skirmishes.

A Cliff Notes on Presidents Hoover through Obama

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

A fantastic review of the key events and relationships of former presidents

What other book might you compare The Presidents Club to and why?

none

Which scene was your favorite?

all

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

yes

Any additional comments?

A great incite into history and how the former Presidents handled the critical events in their own time with the former Presidents. A great way to gain a powerful understanding of the presidential history from 1940 until today

Highly informative historical contribution

A very well narrated look into the historic interrelationsof our former presidents, with substantial accompanying historical analyies and context.

FASCINATING ELECTION YEAR BOOK!

If we include The Drift (Rachel Maddow) and Game Change (John Halperin and John Heilmann) with this book, we have an unintended Voter Trilogy for the 2012 elections! I recommend all three for their insight, research and even-handed analysis of our politics in the last decades of the 20th and early years of the 21st centuries. Compelling listening.

The President’s Club is probably the most exclusive club ever formed. The prerequisite is to be a former PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. It has a variable membership as elections and deaths occur. The actions and contributions of these ex-presidents fascinate and surprise the reader (listener}. In some cases their post-presidential contributions were more significant than those made during their tenure in office.

Gibbs and Duffy examine crises faced and lessons learned during their respective presidencies that led to redeeming contributions after they became members of the President’s Club. How did President (General) Eisenhower relate to JFK? To whom did LBJ turn for help about foreign affairs after the assassination? How was Richard Nixon accepted after his resignation? How helpful was The Club when Gerald Ford was catapulted into the presidency after the resignation of Nixon?

These are just a few questions explored. Jimmy Carter and subsequent presidents are all included. Sometimes you will laugh; sometimes you will swear like a sailor. The book is interesting, revealing and infuriating. A great listen!

Great Story Telling From the Authors, Good Listeni

The authors told the stories for the US presidents from Truman all the way till now. This book distilled sixty more years history into slightly over 20 hours, while leaving you some very vivid images of each president. You can see the changes of each former president, and stories are told about the frustration of current presidents with fromer presidents. A great listening!

Interesting perspective

This was such a balanced and well researched book. I have read and listened to many presidential bios and a learned a lot of new in the book. Well done!