Eyewitness to Power: The Essnece of Leadership from Nixon to Clinton

This book really helped coalesce in my mind that sometimes it's not the party, it's the man. By serving Presidents from both parties, Gergen forces Republican and Democratic readers to set aside their party loyalty to confront the reality that both parties have had recent Presidential successes and failures. For example, I was a proud Reagan youth who didn't vote for Clinton in 1992 However, by 1996 I had to admit that Clinton was doing an excellent job of leading the country in spite of my party's obstructionist activities that only hurt the country. Gergen explains how Clinton was able to overcome and succeed in spite of opponents intent on political destruction rather than serving their country. Gergen also provides excellent examples of what many of us realized by 1984 about Reagan, that while his rhetoric mainly appealed to the conservative right, Reagan was truly a President to all Americans and governed from the middle. If are you interested in presidential politics and care more about the country than you do about your party, this is a great case study. If you are a senior manager responsible for large numbers of people, this book is also an excellent manual on managerial success using your own style and approach. If you are looking for ammunition to do battle against ideological opponents, this is not the book for you.

In the days of tell all books written for a quick buck, Gergan's work is not only impressive but also refreshing. Gergan leaves the dirty little secrets writing to others while he shares his experiences severing four different Presidents. He focuses a lot not only on the personality of the presidents but also their management style. He also takes into account the factors that influenced each administration.Eyewitness to power mixes together part of Gergan's autobiography, presidential history, and lesson on management. If your interested in the inner workings of White House, stop watching television shows and read Gergans work for true insight on how four different Presidents operated their White House staffs.

EYEWITNESS TO POWER is an excellent book on several levels. One, David Gergen is obviously a pro who has, "been there, done that," and has some truly fascinating insights into the daily workings of the White House under Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. I was most taken with his fair treatment of all of these leaders.He tells many tales of the men - warts and all. Gergen offers praise that might surprise you at times and gets tough at times on presidents he clearly admired.Two, Gergen does a remarkable job of describing the Nixon White House - before, during and after Watergate. He has plenty bad to say about the demons that haunted Nixon and the hurt it did our country. However, he also looks at Nixon in a balanced perspective that stresses the intellect of the former president and his truly amazing abilities in the international arena. It is during Gergen's look at the Nixon presidency that we see the highs and lows all equally presented and Gergen telling it as he saw it. It is clear he had a great respect for Nixon's strategic mind. At the same time, he gives us an intriguing look at Nixon's personality that foretold his downfall.Three, This is a book about leadership. EYEWITNESS TO POWER should be read by all of those in positions of leadership - whether in the public sector, private enterprise or running a local organization. He focuses on the leadership abilities of all four of these men and has some very astute observations that will benefit men and women to become better and more effective leaders.Four, Gergen comes from the communications field. This brings a superb look at these presidents from the perspective of a speechwriter and offers much help to those starting out in public relations and/or journalism.Finally, Gergen, as a Republican, had an interesting tenure with President Clinton that is described with wit and with a sense of disappointment with what might have been. He is clear about his respect for Bill Clinton's political mind and calls him one of our brightest presidents. On the other hand, he saw a president not quite grown up and "settled down" (no further explanation necessary). However, the bottom line on Bill Clinton is he thinks he is a good man who has a few character flaws that prevented him from being a possibly great president. This portion of the book is very fair and balanced from a lifelong Republican political operative.I can highly recommend EYEWITNESS TO POWER, not just for political or history junkies, but for anyone who is looking to lead a company, an organization, or maybe even a nation! Gergen, with great insight - gives us a great read.

I found this book very informative for three reasons:a) Mr. Gergen is an insider to American Presidencies for the last 30 years. His writing is skillful (as a former speechwriter it is no surprise) and he is a very good observer putting the day-to-day activities of a White House into a larger perspective.b) Mr. Gergen is exceptionally fair. He tries (from my point of view successfully) to give a fair account of the strengths and weaknesses of the presidents from Nixon to Clinton without going black and white. He is often very critical without ever going negative.c) I think this book is a must for everybody in charge of running larger (profit or nonprofit) organizations. He points out what makes an Organization or a CEO successful - or not.

I was fascinated to read about the day-to-day working behavior of Clinton, Ford, Reagan and Nixon from a true insider. Without being a "kiss and tell" author, Gergen gave me keen insight into the personal behavior of four fascinating Presidents and their use of power. Gergen also draws 7 relevant guidelines for evaluating future Presidents -- a timely roadmap for November 2000 !