Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton

The second section of this book is an analysis of President Ford and his Administration. Mr. Gergen points out that Speaker of the House Carl Albert said that they forced Nixon to pick Gerald Ford as his second Vice President. The author describes Ford's successes and failures in office. Ford was successful in helping to bring America out of recession. And the author believes Ford eventually assembled the best Presidential cabinet in recent times. Gergen explains some of the mistakes of the Ford White House. And he describes how things could have been done better. Gergen admits he underestimated Ford even after Ford left office. But the author was clearly an admirer of President Ford. He liked Ford's personality and character. Some of the stats Gergen lists are interesting. Ford served 895 days in office. Ford used the veto 66 times, more than any other recent President. There were 485 people on Ford's White House staff. Mr. Gergen's analysis of Presidential leadership is indeed worth reading.

This is written at least 30 days after I put the book away. It was our monthly book club selection. 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. The Nixon "fear and trembling" White House staff. 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. 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. All in all Gergen has written a probative, very good book.

For the reader of presidential histories, be sure and enjoy this insightful book. Dozens of books have been and will continue to be written about the administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Opinions will vary - that's what makes readers like me pick and choose authors I feel will honestly portray their "inside" information.In my view, this is a good read written by a man intimately connected to the above four presidents while they served in the White House. He compares each of them insofar as their abilities to inspire, work with Congress, vision for America's future, and of course, character. There is not much new information, just an interesting perspective on Gergen's White House years. I enjoyed the book. Voters would do well to commit to memory the major things to look for in future presidential candidates as put forth by Gergen.

David Gergen is an interesting person in American politics as one who basically comes from the Republican side of the equation, but was prepared to join the Clinton White House when asked to do so. I remember raising my eyebrows up to the ceiling when I first learned that he was doing so, but that's beside the point. This is a very interesting memoir about the author's service to presidents, as the title says, from Nixon to Clinton. He discusses the situation in each presidency in great detail, and although in some places the book gets a little bit repetitive, the story he tells is fascinating, and I thank Mr. Gergen for having written the book.

I have been watching David Gergen for years on CNN and the news and this book gave me a different insight to him. I enjoyed how Gergen goes into detail about the Presidents that he served; Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Gergen gives a fair and balanced review of each President's pluses and minuses in this book. I loved how Gergen didn't demonize the Presidents. He takes a fair look at each of their administrations and at each of them as individuals. I highly recommend this book. It will be hard for you to put down if you're interested in American history.

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. He was pretty young when he started. It was amazing reading about the behind the scenes activity at the White House, especially the Nixon White House.Highly recommended.

After watching David Gergen on various panels on CNN, I view him as a voice of wisdom, experience, and moderation. He leans quite a bit further to the right than I do, but this book is still a good read for insight into how our leaders function behind the scenes. He has definitely seen a lot of presidents in action. It's politically correct and measured in its criticism - I expected Mr. Gergen to be a bit more hard-hitting in his assessments. However, I still enjoyed it and learned a lot.

This book is SO insightful into the workings of any Presidential administration. David Gergen's book should be a must read for anyone seeking political office, as well those who want to understand how the White House should be run. A fun & interesting read with lots of insider anecdotes and perspectives. Also, a good read for anyone in a large scale leadership position, civilian or military.

A good book

an amazing read