First published 2009
Historian Taylor Branch sits across from Bill Clinton in the White House residence, tape recorder running between them. For eight years, Branch conducts secret recording sessions with the president, capturing Clinton's unguarded thoughts on everything from Monica Lewinsky to Middle East peace negotiations. Clinton speaks freely about his battles with Republicans, his regrets over Rwanda, and his frustrations with the media. Branch listens as the president reveals his private calculations behind public decisions, his relationships with world leaders, and his struggles to balance political survival with governing. The recordings create an unprecedented archive of presidential candor. Branch must navigate his dual role as Clinton's friend and as a historian duty-bound to preserve an honest record. The tapes expose the gap between Clinton's public persona and private anxieties, showing a president both confident and insecure, brilliant and flawed. Through their conversations, Branch captures the loneliness of presidential power and the weight of decisions that affect millions of lives.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: White House
Period: 1990s
668 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster