2024 the best president of the world review

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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.

Reviewer: Wayne A. Smith
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Interesting and Well Written
Review: 'This pair of authors knows how to write history that both informs and entertains, as displayed in their book "The Presidents Club."This is not a book about major historical events involving 20th Century American presidents (though some do form the backdrop for various tales). The book gives a fascinating portrait of presidents in retirement and how they interacted with subsequent occupants of the Oval Office and other presidential retirees.It is a book of very interesting anecdotes and a catalogue of the huge egos that are pretty much a requirement for someone to rise to the office. Truman is magnanimous in inviting Herbert Hoover, the Democrat's favorite whipping boy at the time and someone party members did not want to see rehabilitated, back into service to both find a way to avoid European starvation after WWII and reorganize the Executive Branch. This started the President's Club. Their dance at the beginning of this episode over who would invite/ask who to meet and under what circumstances reveals two wary politicians in the arena. They ended up becoming fast friends.The office, the authors point out, has a way of becoming larger and more important than the present occupant or their policies to those who have sat in the White House. Thus, our ex-presidents largely are ready to help current occupants, or at least the institution, in matters large and small. By and large, they wish for the president to succeed in a general sense and the influence of the Executive Branch to remain decisive in our system of government. Only Jimmy Carter consistently fails to adhere to the unwritten rules of the club. His continual willingness to subvert foreign policy initiatives and walk his own line when talking to foreign leaders presents the only consistently discordant line in a tale of men who come to revere the office and generally see their role in retirement as, if not supporting the current inhabitant, at least supporting the institution and the power of the office.Some of the presidents don't like each other. JFK called Eisenhower "that old ass****" and Eisenhower didn't think much of JFK either. But he willingly came to Camp David in the wake of the Bay of Pigs fiasco to both give advice and be photographed with Kennedy so the world would know there was no division between the former president and current occupant. Clinton thought Bush 43 would hate him because he beat his father for reelection. However, working together and time have yielded a very friendly relationship between both Bushes and Bill Clinton -- so much so that 43 refers to Clinton as his brother because of the fondness 41 and Clinton feel for each other.For presidential or history junkies, this book is a treasure trove. Nixon and Johnson both colluded and conspired against each other around the 1968 election as both attempted to beat Humphrey (in the election in Nixon's case and into submission to his Vietnam policies in Johnson's). These were two men cut out of the same cloth and they both realized that about the other. Reagan taught a new President Clinton how to correctly salute his military guards so the young president wouldn't be embarrassed with an effort any veteran would recognize as deficient. Clinton frequently called Nixon for advice and counsel on foreign affairs and considered him an expert on the matter. Ford gave helpful advice during Clinton's impeachment scandal having handled the matter with his own predecessor during his presidency and being fearful of the cost to the nation of a president removed. Bush 43 and Obama summoned predecessors to deal with humanitarian crisis and the club answered the call. Touchingly, sometimes a departing president asks an incoming one for a small policy favor. Bush 41 asked Clinton to keep his Points of Light initiative and Clinton asked Bush 43 to keep his Americorps program. Both survive.The authors do a great job of interweaving dialogue, background and the political environment into each of these sketches portraying presidential interaction. They were able to interview some of the surviving presidents for the book and aides to many who have passed. Their narrative strikes the right balance of facts without being turgid and dialogue without being breezy. Their assessment and conclusions and "lessons learned" strike in the main the right balance and don't seem too ideological (though I thought they did seem to portray Eisenhower as more of a cold fish and grouch than I've seen in other places).A good read that will entertain and provide insightful personality sketches of this century's Presidents.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent book if you are interested in the topic
Review: This book is very well written. It is very insightful and captivating. A lot of the information is stuff that you may have heard of, but the author always goes deeper into the subject revealing and exploring angles that I dont believe the general public is aware of unless you have read a lot of former presidents' memoirs.If the title of the book caught your attention and you are reading reviews to decide whether or not you might enjoy the book, go ahead and buy it. You will enjoy it. I believe a little more effort could have gone into Obama. I understand that there is not a lot of history from which to extract a story, but more effort could have been put forward so the reader is not left with the feeling of a "pre-climatic pull-out." That is kind of how I felt. Throughout the whole book my mind kept racing forward to Obama, then we we got there it all ended "prematurely." Wasn't Obama president when the earthquake hit Haiti?? I believe the President's Club got involved in that, but it was not mentioned (the book focused on how the club got involved when things happened). No mention of Biden. No mention of the first black first lady...lots of angles to include more about our current president.I look forward to reading about this topic 20 years from now...does the President's Club allow black folks?? Or is it a whites only club???? The future will tell how far we are from our past.

Reviewer: Voltaire
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Ultimate Boys' Club
Review: Highly entertaining and very informative, « The Presidents' Club » provides fascinating vignettes into how the current and former Presidents, have interacted in their all-boys club.Though I thought I knew everything there was to know about Nixon (and have been trying to forget), the amount of conniving Nixon engaged in after his ill-fated Presidency (sometimes with good results) was news to me. He sought a role as the puppet-master pulling Ronald Reagan's strings (better Nixon I suppose, than Nancy's astrologer.. but that's another story) and frequently succeeded. For all his dastardly deeds, there is no denying Nixon was a brilliant man and an innovative foreign policy tactician. It was amusing to discover he developed a political crush on fellow policy wonk Bill Clinton.I was also unaware what a kamikaze Jimmy Carter could be when he went rogue. His work post-Presidency (which is largely admirable) is interspersed with episodes of Carter trying to conduct a parallel US foreign policy and embarrass the current occupant of the Oval Office - whoever he might be - always in front of the cameras of CNN, his hometown TV channel. Carter comes across as a principled man but bitter and prone to waspish comments (in public) about other members of the Club. An easy man to admire and a very hard man to like.JFK comes across as an enigmatic figure, surrounded by arrogant, inexperienced advisers, whose disdain for Eisenhower comes crashing down in the wake of the débâcle of the Bay of Pigs. A great quote from Ike about Kennedy's commanding that disaster: "I don't run no bad invasions."A couple of the relationships that developed into close friendships (across party lines) was that of the instigators of the Presidents' Club (Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover) and the father-son affection that grew between Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush - to the point that in a Bush family photograph, Bill Clinton was included as the other Bush brothers had decided Clinton was "The Brother of Another Mother". This goes a long way (in my mind) to explaining Clinton's reticence in criticizing George W. (and how I had wished he would), but also Clinton's view of the Presidents' Club as a support group for the man in the loneliest job on Earth. Though I loathe George W., I have been impressed by his discretion and lack of criticism of Barack Obama since he left the White House. His father (who comes across in this book as the man everybody wants as his Dad - maybe even Barack Obama) taught him well.I was struck by the fact that former Presidents of the same party, don't seem to get along as well as former Presidents from different parties. Sibling rivalry?

Reviewer: Robert P. Brown
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: At the 1953 Inauguration of Eisenhower, Truman greeted Herbert Hoover on the platform. "I think we ought to organize a former Presidents Club", Hoover suggested. "Fine" Truman replied. "You be the President and I will be the Secretary."So was born the modern day Presidents Club.By Nixon`s inauguration in 1973, it`s membership had dropped to one, Truman and Johnson having recently died. Nixon later commented on this when he observed that he had no predecessor to call on for advice during his Watergate struggles.The Club reached a high of six members upon the inauguration of Clinton in 1993, only the second time this had happened. (It could happen again after the 2016 election provided Carter and Bush Sr. can hold on that long.)Through research and personal interviews with the Club members, their aides and relatives, Gibbs and Duffy have produced an informative and intriguing book into how the Presidents interrelate.Truman and Eisenhower despised each other, until they met at JFK`s funeral and began putting aside their differences. Johnson conferred regularly with Eisenhower, calling him "the best chief of staff I`ve got."Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson and Ford had all served together in Congress. Nixon had known Reagan for years and had begun his rehabilitation during his tenure. Carter delivered Ford`s eulogy in 2007. Clinton had a close relationship with Nixon, calling upon him a number of times for foreign policy assignments. He also called upon Carter but was exasperated by his independence and lack of protocol.Bush2 asked his father and Clinton to team up to raise funds for the Tsunami and Katrina relief, which they accomplished successfully. Later, Obama used Clinton and Bush2 to raise funds to aid Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.Overall, a tremendously interesting book, not only for those interested in American Presidential history, but for the general reader as well.

Reviewer: Foca Claude
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This book wonderfully describes the relationships between the sitting and the former - never really retired - presidents. It is interesting to see that the most fruitful relationships do occur when they both are at the opposite of the political spectrum.The most striking example is the alliance forged after the end of the second world war between Hoover and Truman. The help and the restless travels that Hoover did averted another tragedy in Europe for bringing food and restoring the economies to a functioning state.Eisenhower and JFK relationship remains also essential since they very much despised each other at begin of their encounter but finally manage to form an almost workable relationship . Eisenhower was proved to be a definitive help and a loyal ally during the Cuban crisis when he advised JFK to pursue and announce the quarantine of Cuba.The example of Jimmy Carter in this book is also striking, the very fact that he criticizes publicly Clinton's foreign policy decisions labelled him as "black sheep" of the club.The relationships between Senior Bush and Clinton are also worth to read, notably in the role they both play following the contentious election in 2000 between Al Gore and Junior Bush.Reagan and Nixon remains a fascinating relationship . It is Reagan whom restated Nixon by seeking his advice during the most dangerous years of the Cold War.The open question remains with whom 44 will be friend with when his term finishes in 2016 ??

Reviewer: JPV
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Une étude magistrale sur les coulisses de la présidence américaine. Des recherches poussées qui donnent un nouvel éclairage à de nombreux événement historiques majeurs. En américain uniquement, pour l'instant, mais qui mérite largement d'être traduit. Il y a quelques longueurs, mais ce livre est palpitant et apporte énormément de culture générale. Je le conseille donc vivement, même si en attendant la traduction française, il faut un très bon niveau d'anglais...

Reviewer: David
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Als Amerikaner habe ich einiges nie über die eigene Geschichte meines Landes gewusst, das Buch hat's aber schnell ausgebessert. Ein Muss für jede Person, die moderne Geschichte gerne liest.

Reviewer: camtripper
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: As a non-American, fantastic history and stories which were unknown to me. Timely given there will be a new member of the club soon.