When I saw the title of this book, I didn’t realize that there is an actual club–very exclusive–of presidents and ex-presidents who work together to give advice and aid the sitting president. Their contributions have been invaluable in helping to bring about much good in the world.
I started at the beginning of the story which is to say with the presidency of Harry Truman and then continued to Dwight Eisenhower’s . I have now skipped to George H.W. Bush. It is the type of book that does not have to be read from cover to cover; the reader can definitely skip around. The writing style of the authors, Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, is very readable but crammed with information and new insights in the world of the American presidents from Truman to Obama.
The first section of the book explains how Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover worked together to deal with many of the problems facing the post WWII world.This collaboration was the beginning of the President’s Club. Hoover was a brilliant organizer. However, after his term as president, at the start of the Great Depression, all the good he had done was forgotten by the American public. Truman needed help, and he turned to Hoover whose help proved to be invaluable in solving the problems facing Europe after the war. Truman’s relationship with D.D.Eisenhower is also discussed. Great friends during the early days of Truman’s presidency, their relationship changed dramatically when Eisenhower began to explore the possibility of running for president in 1952. The analysis of Eisenhower’s presidency runs counter to many ideas about the type of individual he was. He did not seek out Truman’s advice during his terms in office. It wasn’t until he left the presidency that he and Truman worked together again.
I highly recommend “The President’s Club” to any reader interested in the politics of the American presidency. As a research tool or just entertaining reading, this is a very good book.