Overview

In 1940, inventor J. Ripley Kiel was taken by Secret Service men to the Oval Office, where he planted a microphone in FDR's desk lamp and connected it to an experimental sound recording machine. Since that day, almost every president has found some use for recording. The tapes and transcripts left behind are a cockpit voice recorder of the presidency, time capsules from crucial moments in American history. During four years of research in the National Archives and presidential libraries, William Doyle unearthed scores of White House tapes and transcripts, many never before published. He interviewed over one hundred Oval Office insiders, Cabinet members, and White House aides, from FDR's personal secretary to Henry Kissinger, to present this riveting flesh-and-blood drama of the presidency in action.

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9781433234538

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Reviews

An interesting sidelight on history. -- Booklist Thoroughly researched, finely written...strongly recommended for public and academic collections. -- Library Journal An impressive, illuminating account of how presidents from FDR to Clinton managed the day-to-day operations of 'the world's most dangerous office'...Reading this book is a little like peering through a keyhole at history. -- Publishers Weekly A valuable history and comparative survey. -- New York Times Book Review

Author Information

William Doyle is a New York Times bestselling author and the winner of the 1998 Writers Guild Award for Best Documentary for the A&E special, The Secret White House Tapes. He was also coproducer of the PBS special Navy SEALs: Their Untold Story. He lives in New York City. Edward Lewis (a.k.a. David Hilder) is a stage, film, and television actor. He has narrated unabridged audiobooks for over eighteen years and has recorded more than two hundred titles, spanning works of fiction and nonfiction.

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