The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House

by Nancy Gibbs, Lecturer in History Michael Duffy

At a time when the nation is increasingly split over the place of religion in public life, The Preacher and the Presidents reveals how the worlds most powerful men and worlds most famous evangelist, Billy Graham, knit faith and politics together.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Politics, Presidents, American History, Christian

413 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Nancy Gibbs is the author of nearly 100 TIME cover stories, including four "Person of the Year" essays and dozens of stories on the 1998 impeachment fight and the 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns. She wrote TIME's September 11th memorial issue as well as weekly essays on the unfolding story and its impact on the nation. Ms. Gibbs's article "If You Want to Humble an Empire..." won the Luce Awards' 2002 Story of the Year and the Society of Professional Journalists' 2002 Sigma Delta Chi Magazine Writing Award.
Ms. Gibbs joined TIME in 1985, first in the International section. She then wrote feature stories for five years before joining the Nation section.
She graduated in 1982 from Yale, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and also earned a degree in politics and philosophy from Oxford University. In 1993 she was named Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, where she taught a seminar on Politics and the Press. Her writing is included in the Princeton Anthology of Writing, edited by John McPhee and Carol Rigolot.

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

found this book as interesting as "Just As I Am" was tedious.

The insights are countless:
* Harry Truman hated Graham
* Eisenhower's bland civil religion policies may have obscured some real spiritaul awakening during his presidency.
* LBJ considered Graham one of his best friends. He would phone Graham in the middle of the night to come to the White House bedroom to kneel and pray with him. Long after LBJ left office and was demonized by both Republicans and Democrats, Graham regularly visited him on his ranch. Graham was truly a pastor to him.
* Nixon used and manipulated Graham, but also cared about him. The "Two Nixon" portrait rings true.
* JFK was thoroughly secular and was amused but fairly disinterested in Graham. JFK once asked him why Protestants believed in a 2nd Coming while his own Catholics did not. Graham gently reminded JFK that the 2nd Coming was a part of the Apostles' Creed and Catholic dogma.
* Carter despised Graham. Not surprising, given that Carter's theology is not remotely evangelical and that Carter liked very, very few people in general.

I ended up respectinga nd liking Graham more AND less as a result of this book. Most horrifying was to learn more of his almost complete lack of ecclesiology. To him the Church seems to have value only as an instrument to bring people into a personal relationship with Christ. There is no sense of the centrality of community, or how the Church is not the means but the end. So when Graham sees Nixon criticized for starting Sunday worship inisde the White House, Graham's response is "Mr. President, the critics are pastors who fear peopel worshipping outside church."

Graham also was often too quick to allow his political favorites to be known even if he technically avoided all out endorsements.

And yet, it is also clear that Graham's pastoral heart and care for the presidents as men was sincere.

The book partly clears up what appeared to be a major inconsistency in Graham's approach to various presidents. Graham has been eager to support presidents currently in office regardless of whether they are Right or Left, Dem or Rep. The authors show that this is probably less about pandering to power and more about a deeply held theological conviction that God has ordained our rulers and we must help them whether or not we voted for them.

The authors are very knowledgable in both politics and contemporary church life and thought. The writing style is clear. They are thorough without being slow or ponderous.

A truly wonderful book.

[Aaron Million · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy have written a very interesting book about the reverend Billy Graham and his really extraordinary relationship with every U.S. President from Harry Truman through George W. Bush. Although it appears that Graham did know Herbert Hoover, he is not one of the presidents focused on here. And with the book being written in 2007, it was too early for Barack Obama (he did meet with Graham in 2010). The book appealed to me for two reasons: 1) I am interested in presidential history and biography, and 2) I know very little about Billy Graham. This is not a biography of Graham nor of any of the presidents. Rather, it is a chronological account of Graham's proximity to men who held the most powerful office in the world, well-written and researched, and evenly portrayed. I read their more recent work The Presidents Club and enjoyed it quite a bit. It is similar to this book in that multiple presidents appear throughout the story and that is indeed part of the premise of the book: in this case, how Graham was able to establish relationships with men of significantly different political and social backgrounds and orientations, and with vastly contrasting personalities.

First, there are the presidents whom Graham was unable to forge close relationships with due mainly to personality differences or just the lack of interest on the part of the president. Those in this category are: Truman, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. The first two do not surprise me at all. Truman was really of the old school and was not one to speak about such things as faith and religion with hardly anyone except his family. Plus, in his case, Graham was very young and just becoming established in his own field. Also, due to his inexperience, he did not handle his interaction with Truman particularly well. Kennedy was probably burnt out on discussing religion as it was such a major issue for him in the 1960 campaign. Added to that, he was not very religious. Graham was very close to Nixon, which somewhat tainted him with the Ford White House, although Ford had no personal issues with him. Carter is a surprise though; here is a man who was also extremely religious, and like Graham, came from the South. Perhaps because of that, he felt little need to open up to Graham or bring him in for spiritual guidance.

The next group are presidents whom Graham managed to forge really good relationships with, yet they were somewhat at arm's length. Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan would fit in here, with Reagan being the closer of the two. I don't think that Graham's influence with Eisenhower was as great as it would have been had Graham been older and much more of a world figure. He was still young during Eisenhower's presidency, and Eisenhower could be a very cold man at times. With Reagan, Graham kept somewhat of a low profile after being burned by Richard Nixon over Watergate. And, like Eisenhower, there seemed to be an inner space that nobody except Nancy Reagan seemed to be able to reach, and perhaps not even her at times.

The last group are the ones that Graham really tended to and nurtured long-standing relationships with: Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. He had an extremely close relationship with Bush 41, which helped lead to him being a source of strength to Bush 43 before he got into politics while he was struggling to come to terms with the direction that he had taken his life and how he needed to change it. Graham seemed to agonize with Johnson over the destruction that the Vietnam War caused to the world, America, and Johnson himself. Graham steadfastly stood with Clinton when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, and was a pillar of strength for both Clintons as they struggled to save their marriage in front of the whole world. As for Nixon, he is the president of all of them listed here whom the authors devote the most time to, partially because Graham knew him for forty years, but mainly because of how naive Graham was exposed as being after Watergate exploded. Graham had defended Nixon all the way until the tapes were made public, and Graham was on some of the tapes, not talking about Watergate but nonetheless saying things that he certainly shouldn't have been saying. Graham was embarrassed and realized that he had gone too far and become too close to someone with the potential cause such damage. Following that, his relations with succeeding presidents, while close in some cases, were never as public as was Graham's backing of Nixon.

Gibbs and Duffy are eminently fair to everyone throughout this book, especially Graham. Just like Graham apparently had no political agenda in all of the decades that he was close to all of these presidents, neither do they. They intermix later recollections by Graham with the point they are at in the story. They provide an appropriate level of analysis that seems neither too superficial nor too overbearing. Graham's flaws are discussed but not dwelt upon. Nor are his virtues over-emphasized. Graham was political, but not in a selfish way. Graham was attracted to power, but not in a way as to benefit himself. While he at times got carried away with his personal relationships to certain presidents (such as Nixon), Graham knew that he had a larger role to play as a world-renowned pastor. Graham seemed to be conservative, and my sense is that overall he definitely favored Republicans for president. However, and this is important, he devoted himself to the Democrats who were in office too. Hillary Clinton herself provides evidence of that. More than his personal predilections, Graham felt an obligation to support whoever was in office regardless of political persuasion. It is extremely doubtful that another Graham will come along today or in the future who would be able to cultivate relationships with so many presidents over six decades. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is difficult to say.

Grade: A-

[Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview - I’m amazed at BG’s desire to live his truth. He just passed away this year. Just a few months short of 100 yr old. After reading this, it becomes apparent that perhaps a large void exists now in the Presidency. Obama was not included in the book so I don’t know if he refused to have a relationship with BG, if BG was too frail at that point .. or if the book was written before O was elected.
Worth reading for sure!

[Amy]

I found this book too boring to finish.
***
I'm leery but we'll see

[Tim Chavel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book that not only gives you an inside view of Billy Graham but also of several presidents and some of their family members. If you are interested in Billy Graham and/or American Presidents this is a book you will enjoy! I trust you will enjoy the quotes below:

The Preacher and the Presidents
Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

We are all sinners, he said, in search of grace. – Billy Graham

The presidents called for comfort; they asked the simplest questions: How do I know if I’ll go to heaven? Eisenhower wanted to know. Do you believe in the Second Coming? Kennedy wondered. Will I see my parents when I die? Johnson asked. They asked about how the world would end, which was not an abstract conversation for the first generation of presidents who had the power to make that happen.

By 1969, Graham was so important--and so well positioned—with both political parties that he could seamlessly spend the last weekend of Johnson’s presidency in the White House and stay over to spend the first night with Nixon as well. The week before Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, he tracked Graham down to talk it through; that conversation, Ford said later was crucial. Nancy Reagan called him to the hospital the day her husband was shot, twenty-three years later he was the first person outside the family she called when he died. When Hillary Clinton felt no one in the world understood how she could forgive her husband, Graham pointedly praised her for it.

p. xiv – “If I had not been a friend of the presidents,” he argued, “in most of these places, they wouldn’t have invited me to see them. The reason Yeltsin invited me was because he knew that I knew the president…. And so it was a way of the Lord using presidents for me to reach other people for Christ.”

His meetings with Reagan—the president with who he says he was closest of all—were almost entirely private, under the radar.

I didn’t have any other motives throughout my life but to proclaim the gospel. I’m amazed myself that I was able to see all those men become president. –Graham on his calling

I know that I didn’t have any fear—and I should have, because I asked him about his personal faith. He said he believed in the Sermon on the Mount, tried to live by the Golden Rule. And I told him, “I don’t think that’s enough! – Graham on his first meeting with Harry Truman

To which Graham replied [to an old friend] in a way he often would to critics he respected. “I want and need your suggestions, counsel, advice,” he wrote back. “And any time you feel like jacking me up and kicking me in the pants, please do. I have enough people patting me on the back…. I need some real friends from time to time who will talk turkey to me.”

Eisenhower would soon become the first president to be baptized in office, and the second, after Calvin Coolidge, to join a church after being elected.

What followed was a burst of official religious promotion such as America had not seen in years. Eisenhower announced that cabinet meetings would begin with a moment of silence. (This took some getting used to; appointments secretary Tom Stephens recalled the time the president emerged from the cabinet room when he suddenly realized, “Jesus Christ, we forgot the prayer!”) The first National Prayer Breakfast was held in 1953, with Eisenhower and Graham both in attendance.

In 1954 the phrase “Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. A newly formed Foundation for Religious Action in the Social and Civil Order brought together all the pillars of Eisenhower’s civil faith; its board included Graham, Norman Vincent Peale, Henry Luce, Henry Ford Jr., Herbert Hoover, and Charles Wilson of General Electric. In 1955 Congress opened a prayer room in the Capitol, and ruled that all coins and bills had to have the phrase “In God We Trust” on them. The following year that became the national motto, an improvement, lawmakers felt, on “E Pluribus Unum.”

When it was all over, Graham was heading to Scotland for a holiday to recover, but on the morning of May 25 he got a surprise call. Could he come have a visit with Prime Minister Churchill?

Churchill struck him as being in one of his dark moods. They talked about the state of the world: “I am a man without hope,” Churchill said. “Do you have any real hope?” Whether he was talking about the world or himself was not clear, so Graham acted a pastor.
“Are you without hope for your own soul’s salvation?”
“Frankly, I think about that a great deal,” Churchill said. And so Graham pulled out his New Testament and did what he always did, explaining the possibilities of grace and God’s plan.
And then, Graham said, he prayed for the prime minister, and as he was leaving they shook hands. “Our conversations are private, aren’t they?”
“Yes sir,” Graham said, having learned his lesson.

Graham’s historic journey through Asia – Graham’s reception was astonishing in its own way, in a country of 380 million with perhaps 5 million Protestant church members. The crowds were immense, curious, captivated: a hundred thousand people came to hear him in Kottayam—a town of forty thousand. William Stoneman, head of the foreign service of the Chicago Daily News, noted that the “objective observers” had concluded that “no American in this postwar period has made so many friends for America and gone so far toward offsetting the widespread conviction that material rather than spiritual matters are America’s sole significant concern as Billy Graham during his amazing tour of Asia.

Graham was on his way to Vietnam when he stopped to see the dying President Eisenhower. So Graham told him one more time, and they prayed together. He told him his whole past had been forgiven and he had nothing to worry about. “I’m ready,” Eisenhower said. “And before I left the room,” Graham said, “he gave his big smile, big wave, and he said ‘You tell those fellows over there that there’s an old doughboy here, thinking about ‘em and praying for them.’”

It was in West Virginia that Kennedy found his lines and his strategy: make the issue not religion, but tolerance; voters who were undecided between the candidates could at least enjoy the satisfaction of showing they were not bigots by voting for Kennedy. Sorenson had quietly drafted a letter to be signed by prominent Protestant clergy, urging their colleagues to fight religious prejudice; he made it clear to the ministers he approached that the statement would not come from Kennedy’s office or have Sorensen’s fingerprints: it was just a nonpartisan appeal for tolerance.

“We regarded Graham as a conservative who was at least implicitly if not explicitly backing Nixon,” Sorenson recalled. Kennedy’s team was more successful with other ministers, like the Very Reverend Francis Sayre, the dean of Washington’s Episcopal Cathedral and grandson of Woodrow Wilson. The ministers’ letter won 144 signatures from clerics testifying, “We are convinced that each of the candidates has presented himself before the American people with honesty and independence, and we would think it unjust to discount any of them because of his chosen faith.”

And now Johnson had one more favor to ask. Would Billy preach at his funeral? And make sure the message got through, because the world listens when a president dies. “Don’t use any notes,” he said, because the wind will just blow them away. And no fancy eulogizing either. “I want you to look in those cameras and just tell ‘em what Christianity is all about. Tell ‘em how they can be sure they can go to heaven. I want you to preach the gospel.” And he paused. “But somewhere in there, you tell ‘em a few things I did for this country.”

Graham wrote to Johnson when he got home, saying he was honored that Johnson would even think of him. “I love you and your family so much that it would be one of the most difficult tasks I have ever performed,” he wrote. “Yet in another sense, it will be a triumph: for I know that not only in your head but in your heart you have put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. We are not saved because of our own accomplishments or good works; we are saved totally and completely because of what Christ did on the cross for us….I am not going to Heaven because I have preached to great crowds or read the Bible many times—I’m going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: ‘Lord, remember me.’”

After Nixon was elected, he asked me to come and see him. He said, “Billy, what job do you want? I’ll appoint you to any ambassadorship if you want it.” I said, “Mr. President, I don’t want anything.” I said, “God called me to preach and I’m never gonna do anything but that.” That’s what I told him. – Graham on political temptation

The first service was held on Nixon’s first Sunday in office, with Graham as the preacher. Nixon’s aides Dwight Chapin and John Ehrlichman picked Graham’s brain for how the service should work: Nixon would preside like a master of ceremonies, welcome the congregation, introduce the preacher, and praise the visiting choir. So which preachers should they invite, should there be a denominational quota? Graham sent them a list that included Norman Vincent Peale, Graham’s brother-in-law and surrogate Leighton Ford, his father-in-law L. Nelson Bell, National Council of Churches head Dr. R.H. Edwin Espy, Christianity Today editor Harold Lindsell, several prominent black preachers, and prominent Christian sports figures like Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry.

If God is, then what God says must be absolute—man must have moral boundaries. He cannot devise his own morals to fit his own situation. ~Billy Graham

“To be President is a great and thrilling attainment,” he [Graham] wrote. “However, there is one thing far greater than being President—and that is being a committed child of God. There is a thrill, a joy, an adventure, an excitement, a satisfaction awaiting you in that direction, no matter what the circumstances around you, that is indescribable.”

Ford began each day in the White House by quietly repeating the same verses from Proverbs that his mother taught him years earlier or help in times of trouble: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.” It was the same verses he had thought of as he clung to the side of an aircraft carrier in a December 1944 typhoon in the Pacific. And it was the passage he and Betty cited in their prayers the night before he became president.

Graham’s worries about Nixon did not abate. That fall, after Nixon was admitted to a hospital with phlebitis, Ruth Graham appealed to a friend to hire a private plane and troll back and forth about the hospital, pulling a banner that read, “Nixon—God Loves You and So Do We.” Nixon saw it from his hospital window, but did not know its source until later. “We would like to think it was an encouragement,” Graham said.

For the most part, Graham watched the Ford presidency from a distance. In May 1975, Billy and Ruth went to hear him speak in Charlotte, sitting in a special section at the front of the crowd. When a shirtless and barefoot demonstrator moved adjacent to Ruth in the aisle, holding up a sign that read, “Eat the Rich,” and apparently blocked her view, Ruth grabbed the sign and placed it under her feet. When he asked for it back, she refused. Later, when he sued her, she vowed to go to jail rather than pay a fine. (The case was dismissed after a forty-five minute hearing, but Ruth caught up with her accuser afterward and presented him with a Bible.)

For the lead epigraph of (Jimmy Carter’s book, Carter chose Niebuhr’s observation that the “sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world.

Graham gathered twelve fellow preachers at a Dallas hotel to talk and pray about the future of the country. Graham didn’t merely attend the early October session; he organized it and composed the guest list, according to Dallas evangelist James Robison. Attending were many of the nation’s regional, if not national, evangelical powerhouses. Among them, Robison, televangelist Rex Humbard, and Adrian Rogers, who had just led a conservative theological takeover of the Sothern Baptist Convention that was to alter the character and direction of the SBC. Joining them were Charles Stanley and Jimmy Draper, who had played key roles in Roger’s SBC election, as well as Clayton Bell, Graham’s brother-in-law. The men took over the entire floor of a hotel near the Dallas airport. These men were not part of the new breed of preachers who had one foot in the pulpit and another in the Republican National Committee. They were older and, at least in public, far less partisan. None was buying, as Falwell’s Moral Majority soon would, millions of dollars in radio spots across the South to defeat Carter. But each was a conservative Christian, who had by 1979 given up on the notion that Carter was a partner worth keeping.

Robison added, “We did not see Carter as the necessary strong leader in the face of a grave threat.” And he said, “No one was talking about Jimmy Carter’s faith. It was his ability to lead.

As president, Reagan would often, before an important speech or meeting, tell his chief of staff, James Baker, “I need a minute.” Baker would turn and see Reagan saying a silent prayer in preparation. “Faith was part of him and always was,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver, who began working for Reagan in 1966. “Whenever there was a disappointment or a setback, his response was always, ‘There’s a reason for this and we’ll find out someday what it is. But it’s all a part of God’s plan.’ He wasn’t sappy about it. He as almost matter-of-fact.”

“You don’t face a problem but what God can help you solve it.” – Billy Graham writing to Ronald Reagan

Reagan wrote both Graham and his wife a letter of thanks for all their help over the previous eight years. “Thank you for your prayers, I know they have been answered, and to steal Lincoln’s words, I have had help from One Who is stronger and wiser than all others.”

Graham sent Reagan off into private life with a letter… the bulk of the letter is devoted to Graham’s dissection of Reagan’s success in office. “You had a philosophy of government and life that did not change, no matter what the circumstances. You believed America could be great…. Secondly, your strong faith in God and your willingness to talk about it publicly, no matter what the critics might say…. Thirdly, you have a compassion for people. God gave you a marvelous charisma that did not come just from your Hollywood days as some would like to assert. It came from something God gave you. No matter how bad the circumstances or how harsh the questions from the reporters were, you always had a smile, you had a way of saying the right thing. I doubt if America will ever see another Ronald Reagan.

“When we come before the Lord in humble prayer, that’s the most we can do.” Billy Graham writing to Nancy Reagan as she cared for her sick husband

Both Reagans asked Graham to preach at the president’s funeral, but when the time came, Graham was too frail from a pelvis injury to make the trip.

When Reagan passed away, the first call that Nancy placed outside the family was to her husband’s old friend in the hills above Montreat.

Her [Hillary Clinton] faith was one place where she touched the ground. It was in the first six months that she joined a bipartisan prayer group; a circle of friends took turns praying for her that spring and throughout her time in the White House. When she traveled out of town, she carried a handmade scrapbook of sayings and scriptures that raised her spirits when they needed a boost.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about Biily Graham and his relationship with the Presidents of the United States. I never paid much attention to Graham and his revivals, sermons and world travels, but after listening to this book I have no doubt that he was working for the Lord in a way few if any others would have been able to do.

[Steve Miyamoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was remarkable to me how Graham was able to become a trusted advisor to some of the most powerful people on the planet over the last 50 years. Graham is shown to be a man who used whatever tools were at his disposal including his name and reputation to build the Kingdom of God and spread the message of the gospel.

I thought this was a politically well balanced book. It presents the failings of the Presidents on both sides of the aisle fairly and often very critically. It also portrays the Presidents as flawed and as human as anyone else on the planet and just as in need of grace.

One of the best stories was how, during the dedication of the George Bush library, Hillary Clinton pulled Graham aside privately and told him that Bill had cheated on her and asked for prayer and guidance. While I can disagree with her politics, this was a personal and private story of a woman who when faced with one of the most crushing moments of her life turned to a man who embodied grace.

Graham was often criticized for befriending and advising Nixon and other Presidents, without judgement or condemnation. Yet that is what makes his demonstration of grace, and his very personal witness of God's grace even more powerful. Long after Nixon was disgraced, he turned to Graham to perform his mother's funeral. At the end of the day, Graham was there for Nixon, who collapsed weeping in Graham's arms. That's what grace is all about.



----------------------------------------------
My initial comments:
Just read the excerpt from the August 20 issue of Time Magazine. I have always admired Billy Graham's ability to build relationships with some of the most powerful people in the world. He doesn't get too theological, he just preaches the hope in Christ.

From http://www.time.com/time/magazine/art...



The President even scripted his own exit. One day [Lyndon] Johnson took Graham on a walk around his Texas ranch, to a clearing in the trees near where his parents were buried. Johnson wanted to know if he would see them again in heaven. And then another question: Would Billy preach at his funeral? Johnson knew the world listens when a President dies. "Don't use any notes," he said, and no fancy eulogizing either. "I want you to look in those cameras and just tell 'em what Christianity is all about. Tell 'em how they can be sure they can go to heaven. I want you to preach the Gospel." And just one more thing. "Somewhere in there, you tell 'em a few things I did for this country."

When he got home, Graham wrote to Johnson, expressing his love and reassurance, in case Johnson still had any doubts. "We are not saved because of our own accomplishments," Graham reminded the President. "I am not going to Heaven because I have preached to great crowds or read the Bible many times. I'm going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: 'Lord, remember me.'"

[Robert Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I don't give out five stars flippantly. I debated whether this should get four or five; it's not the best book I've ever read, but I really enjoyed it. Very informative. The book moves quickly (over half a century in 350 pages), but does a good job of providing enough details to intrigue without getting bogged down in too much policy and jargon. I loved the insights into the Presidents as men with doubts and needs much like any other man, and yet also unlike anyone else; the office of President is certainly a great burden. Without further ado, I'll let a few passages speak for themselves.

"During Graham's final visit, Eisenhower asked the doctors and nurses to leave ... 'Billy,' he said 'I want you to explain once again what you did in Gettysburg, about how you can know you're going to heaven.' So Graham told him one more time, and they prayed together. 'I'm ready.' Eisenhower said."

"And now Johnson had one more favor to ask. Would Billy preach at his funeral? And make sure the message got through, because the world listens when a president dies. 'Don't use any notes,' he said, because the wind will just blow them away. And no fancy eulogizing either. 'I want you to look in those cameras and just tell 'em what Christianity is all about. Tell 'em how they can be sure they can go to heaven. I want you to preach the gospel.' And he paused. 'But somewhere in there, tell 'em a few things I did for this country.'"

"In January 1973, Johnson talked about the odds that history would remember him kindly - or at all. 'I'd have been better off looking for immortality through my wife and children and their children in turn instead of seeking all that love and affection from the American people. They're just too fickle.'"

"I did misjudge (Nixon). It was a side to him I never knew, yet I'd been with him so many times. He was just like a whole new person. I talked to Julie about that and she felt that about her own father. I almost felt as if a demon had come into the White House, and had entered his presidency, because it seemed to be sort of supernatural, I mean it was so ugly and so terrible, especially the cover-up and the language and all that. It was just something I never knew." (Graham)

"But sometimes even that (personal faith) is not enough. No matter how deep one's faith is, sometimes you need the guidance and comfort of a living, breathing human being. For me, and for so many other Oval Office occupants, that person was Billy Graham." (George H. W. Bush)

[Caleb Gerber. (Right makes Might) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. In this well researched book on the intertwined lives of the most famous evangelist of the twentieth century and eleven presidents, from Truman to Bush, Nancy Gibbs looks at the relationship that Graham, a conservative Southern Baptist preacher had with a ard-swearing Baptist career politician from Missouri, a four star general turned president, a morally bankrupt yet somehow sincere Catholic millionaire, a cowboy political boss who declared a war on poverty, a master politician and diplomat who resigned In disgrace, a normal Michigan representative turned accidental president, a liberal Southern born again peanut farmer, a Hollywood actor who became the voice for anticommunist sentiment, an oil tycoon who served in three successive administrations, a southern governor who's presidency was plagued with allegations of sexual misconduct and a born again texan who fought the war on terror. Drawing from primary sources, direct interviews with Graham, and half a century of political maneuvers, the authors, though liberal in their leanings, do a good job of providing a balanced view of Graham and the Presidents, from getting burnt by Watergate to becoming the spiritual advisor to troubled president Clinton, to his influence in the spiritual journey of George W Bush, and leading Eisenhower to Christ. Though slightly biased against what Gibbs terms the "hard right" including figures like Norman Vincent Peale and Jerry Falwell, it was still a great read and would recommend it to most people.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really disappointed in this book. It made out like Billy Graham was the preacher to 11 presidents...however he wasn't. Some didn't even like him enough to send him cards. The presidents that he wasn't friends with they don't spend much time on. You don't even get into too much about what Rev. Graham is doing. However, when you get to LBJ and Nixon then you get almost too much. There are numerous quotes and letters that are talked about ad naseum. Then you get into Carter who didn't want to give Rev. Graham the time of day. This book just moved so slow. It was like slogging through mud especially if you know your history already. Not sure about recommending this book to anyone. If you do read then make sure it's a library book.

[Jeff Berger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rev. Billy Graham, now 99 years old, has been out of the public eye for over a decade (his last crusade was in 2005, in New York). Today’s young adults, if they have heard of him at all, would likely be shocked to know that a Christian evangelist once was consistently listed in opinion polls as one of the most admired people in the world; that he had a weekly column that ran in newspapers across the nation; that he regularly appeared on late-night talk shows, and that his periodic TV specials were among the highest-rated programs. But most of all, they would be surprised to learn how much time this preacher spent in the White House; how close he was to nine presidents, from Harry Truman to George W Bush, and how often the most powerful men on earth relied on his guidance and comfort.
That’s the subject of this book by Gibbs and Duffy, former writers for TIME. The book was written in 2007, and was based on a series of interviews with Graham at his home in North Carolina, as well as interviews with people close to those presidents, assorted biographies, and most interesting of all, presidential papers including letters of correspondence between Graham and the presidents. It all makes for a great read for anyone who is interested in presidential history, Graham’s life, or both. It presents the great evangelist as a man of sincere faith and impeccable character, a man worthy of his widespread admiration. According to these authors, Billy Graham isn’t just a great man, he’s also a genuinely good man. My favorite quote from the book, in fact, comes from Chuck Colson: “One of the greatest miracles of the twentieth century is that Billy Graham stayed humble.” But it also shows Graham’s flaws and missteps: He flubbed his first meeting with a president so badly he was banned from the White House, and his closeness to another president turned out to be the biggest public mistake of his life.
The story begins with Graham, a young evangelist just entering the national consciousness, having wrangled an invitation to visit Harry Truman’s White House. The Graham team arrived in flashy suits and white dress shoes, providing a contrast to Truman’s plain, buttoned-down appearance. Truman was raised a Baptist and held strong biblical beliefs, and he entertained the flamboyant preacher boys politely. Afterward, Graham met with reporters on the White House lawn who asked him about his meeting with President. Naively, Graham told them everything he and the President had said to one another, including his conversations about Truman’s personal faith. He and his team even knelt on the lawn so the reporters could take pictures of them re-enacting the prayer he had prayed over the President. When Truman read the papers the next day, he was furious. He ordered his aides to ignore Graham’s correspondence from then on. When the Graham crusade came to Washington not long after, many celebrities and politicians attended, but not the nation’s leader. Years later, Truman still held a grudge; he told an interviewer that Billy Graham was a phony who just wanted to be in the news. Much later, Graham visited Truman at his home in Independence, Missouri, and the two men mended things.
Graham learned from his mistakes with Truman. When Dwight Eisenhower was still weighing whether to step down as chairman of NATO to run for President, Graham wrote to him, telling him that the country needed him at this critical hour. The two men became close friends. They shared a love for golf, but also Eisenhower, never a religious man before, was convinced religion was a key in America’s struggle against atheistic communism. He needed Graham to help him with his own faith, and with his hopes to turn the country in a more spiritual direction. Graham was thrilled to do what he could.
During the Eisenhower years, Graham became very close with the Vice President, Richard Nixon. During the 1960 Presidential campaign, he publicly made little secret of his hope Nixon would win, and privately advised his friend on how to win over evangelical voters. For this reason, it’s not surprising that John Kennedy, when he became the next president, didn’t confide in Graham the way Eisenhower had. But the two did play golf together once, and Kennedy asked the preacher pointed questions about Scripture, including his beliefs about the End Times. Graham was much closer to Kennedy’s Vice President, Lyndon Johnson, in a relationship that went back to Johnson’s days in the Senate.
Johnson was a very different man, with none of Kennedy’s easy charm or well-bred manners. He was a brilliant politician and had a compassionate heart for the less fortunate, but he could also be profane, moody, even abusive. But family members and staff alike agreed that he was a completely different person when Graham was around. The preacher brought him peace, counseled him about the salvation of his soul, which Johnson was constantly insecure about. Both Ruth and Billy Graham spent a lot of time at the White House and the Johnson ranch in the Hill Country during those years. Ruth and Lady Bird Johnson became good friends. When LBJ gave up the presidency to Nixon, the Grahams stayed with the Johnsons for their last weekend in the White House, and stayed the first night with the Nixons. When Johnson died just a few years later, Graham officiated his funeral under an oak on the Pedernales.
It was the era of the Civil Rights movement, and Billy Graham had a part to play in that great drama, too. Early on, Graham insisted that all of his crusades be fully integrated. Sometimes local organizers would protest that this would lead to violence, but Graham stood firm: If it’s not integrated, I’m not coming. He and Martin Luther King had met before King became a household name, and found they agreed on many things. They even talked for a while of doing a crusade together. But as the sixties went on, King grew impatient with Graham. With all his access to the president, King wondered, why doesn’t Graham push him to move faster on civil rights? At the same time, Graham was facing criticism from many for not speaking out against the Vietnam War, not convincing LBJ to pull out the troops. Through it all, Graham maintained a policy of not criticizing the man in office. This was seen by his critics as opportunism; if he spoke out, he would lose his access to the seat of power. But Gibbs and Duffy believe that Graham was led by better motivations: He knew these men, and saw what kind of daily pressure they were under. He cared about their souls, and knew he would lose any ability to witness to them if he squandered their trust.
That earnest faith in the men he befriended would come back to haunt him in the Nixon years. Graham and Nixon had been friends for years, and Graham spent more time in the Nixon White House than with any other president. Graham loved his friend, and wanted to draw out of him the strong Christian faith he knew must be there. After all, Nixon was raised by a devout Quaker mother, and spoke often of the lessons he had learned from her. Nixon, for his part, often tried to protect Graham from being seen as politically partisan, although he would use his friendship with America’s pastor on a couple of occasions. Graham was a constant defender of the president; even during Watergate, he insisted Nixon was too moral and ethical to be involved in such a mess. Then he heard the tapes, and heard a side of his friend that he had never known was there. Years later, Graham was still puzzled over whether a demon had entered the White House and highjacked his friend’s presidency, or whether he had simply built up Nixon into more than he actually was.
As much as those years brought Graham criticism and person pain, it was decades later that the biggest damage came to light. Audio was released in 2002 of Nixon and his men talking about Jewish domination of the media in terribly anti-Semitic terms, and there was the voice of Billy Graham in that meeting, agreeing with them. Graham, who had always had a respectful relationship with the Jewish community, was horrified to hear conversations he had forgotten. The book details Graham’s apologies and the fallout that occurred.
Ironically, although the next two presidents were much more outspoken about their faith, especially Jimmy Carter, Graham did not have a close relationship with either one. Gerald Ford already had a minister who he corresponded with, who sent him weekly devotional thoughts and prayed with him. Carter, the president who has had the most in common with Graham theologically, simply didn’t seem to need a White House chaplain; he was spiritually self-fed, and an intensely private man as well. Graham kept in touch with both men and supported them in his public statements, but was not a frequent guest of the Oval Office as before. But Ronald Reagan and George Bush were different. The Grahams and Reagans had been friends for years. During the 1950s, there was even talk of Reagan starring in a film based on Graham’s life. The Grahams had often vacationed with the Bushes at their home in Kennebunkport. Once again, America’s preacher found himself invited often to the White House, and was even sent by the Reagan administration to do diplomatic work in places like the Soviet Union and North Korea, sending private messages from the President to leaders of these enemy countries. But Graham was older and wiser by now, and no longer made public statements on political issues. During this era, the Religious Right was rising; men like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson were making headlines for trying to sway elections. Meanwhile, Graham was headed in the opposite direction, avoiding saying anything that would distract from the Gospel.
One of the surprising sections of the book details how close Graham was to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Bill had attended a Graham crusade as a teenager, and often donated to the ministry out of his allowance. As governor of Arkansas, he had sponsored a crusade in Little Rock. When the President’s sexual failings came to light, Graham supported Hillary both publicly and privately as she forgave her husband. In interviews for the book, he spoke of his deep love for both of them. George W Bush also had a long-standing admiration for Graham. As a young man, he had asked the preacher penetrating questions about Scripture and faith during their times together at Kennebunkport. Later, a spiritually searching lost soul struggling with alcoholism, he had shared a walk along the beach with Graham. He would later point to that as the moment when he solidified his desire to follow Jesus, and turned his life around.
The Preacher and the Presidents is a great look at the spiritual lives of our leaders. They ranged from the very devout to the barely religious, but they were all drawn in some sense to Billy Graham, the man who had spoken to more people than anyone else in history. Some wanted to use him for political gain; others just needed a pastor. It’s also a cautionary tale about the dangers of getting too close to power. Even the best of us, even someone with the purest of intentions, can be tempted to compromise our principles to maintain that relationship. It’s a history of the spiritual life of America in the second half of the Twentieth Century as well. It is hard to imagine a Christian preacher having the kind of national influence and access in Washington today that Graham had in those decades. There will never be another Billy Graham.
But my favorite aspect of the book is what it taught me about Graham himself, a man I have deeply admired my entire life. I attended a Graham crusade in the Astrodome when I was a child, my little country church having chartered a Greyhound bus to take the entire congregation. Two decades later, when I was pastor of that same church, we drove to San Antonio for another crusade. His standards of integrity (never be alone with a woman who is not your wife, let someone else handle all the money) have helped me build moral fences in my own life. And his passion for the Gospel, his graciousness toward people who disagreed with him, and his deep humility have challenged me in my own walk with Christ. I enjoyed reading about his own personal growth, from a brash young preacher who shared his opinions on anything with the press, to an older, wiser man who stuck to what he knew was true…what mattered eternally.
It was also interesting to see how much criticism this man took: From mainline Christians who mocked his simple preaching, to fundamentalists who condemned him for working with Catholics; from segregationists who were angered that he would preach to integrated audiences, to liberals who condemned him for not urging Johnson and Nixon to pull out of Vietnam sooner, to conservatives who railed against him for publicly forgiving Clinton; from Democrats and Republicans, who accused him of kissing the ring of the President so he wouldn’t lose his access. Graham always weathered the criticism graciously, sometimes even agreeing with his critics and promising to do better. But to the last charge, that he had impure motives for his relationships with the Presidents, he defended himself on two grounds: 1) His closeness to these men gave him credibility when he traveled to foreign countries. He might never have been able to preach the Gospel in places like the Soviet Union and South Africa without it. 2) He knew the loneliness these men and their families felt. He had a deep yearning to care for their souls. To him, these two motives outweighed any desire to make public statements disagreeing with their policies. In the end, I think Gibbs and Duffy believe those were worthy motives, and so do I.

[Gary Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book examines how religion, especially Billy Graham, has played into the political world. Graham used individual presidents to give him more prestige especially in the beginning of his career, but the presidents also used him. They saw the huge crowds he was able to attract and so they realized it would be good to be on the good side of Graham. They used each other.

Graham has endorsed candidates (though he prefers to indicate neutrality), informed candidates which states to focus on during the election and how best to use advertising dollars. Graham came from a Democratic home, but leans towards Republican candidates, but who has supported Democrats.

Graham quoted some survey that said 72% of the membership of places of worship didn’t agree that clergy should become social activists. (What did they think Christianity was all about?) Graham, “they want nurture for their spiritual welfare not guidance as to what political or social posture they ought to assume”. (That may be, but should clergy be leaders and explain Christianity is about being involved in social issues)

Graham on the Bible. He doesn’t believe in evolution because that is not what the Bible says. Graham said, “I don’t have the time or the intellect to examine all sides of each theological dispute, or I’ve decided one and for all, to stop questioning and to accept the Bible as God’s Word”.

Graham on sex. “We have had so much sex in this country, people are getting tired of it”. Frankly, I don’t think we will ever tire of it.

Graham on war. Though Graham “preached the Gospel”, he never spoke against capital punishment or war (“sometimes it becomes necessary to fight the strong in order to protect the weak”), but Graham did come out for weapon controls. “We live on the brink of starvation each year, while the nations of the world spend $550 billion on weapons”.

During the Bush II administration and the war in Iraq, he said, “I don’t want to take sides…I’m getting a little depressed about Iraq….Think what it is doing to Bush”. No mention of the people who died or people in Iraq, his only concern was what the war was doing to Bush.

In spite of all the efforts by Graham to have people “accept Jesus”, he obviously believed that some wars were worth fighting. In spite of the fact he was “preaching the Gospel”, he didn’t want to be drawn into the moral implications of Vietnam. (From my understanding of the teachings of Jesus, we, as Christians would have no choice to be involved). It was obvious, Graham was able to set aside whether to take a position on controversial issues so as not to alienate people who might have an opposite point of view.

Graham and Truman. Truman told Graham that he tried to follow the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule. Graham’s response was that is not enough. Graham visited Truman once in the White House. Truman was so turned off by the way the visit played in the press, he never invited Graham back. Truman was very sensitive (perhaps overly so) to the issue of separating church and state.

Graham and Eisenhower. Graham was one of the leaders of the draft Eisenhower movement. Eisenhower’s religious background was interesting. Parts of his family was involved in a Mennonite group, but his parents where Jehovah Witnesses. (It would be interesting to read how Eisenhower came from such a family that not only did not vote---which probably explains why Eisenhower did not vote until he ran for president----and a pacifist family to become a general in the military and president of the US).

Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard Nixon, came from a pastoral programmed Friends Church. Nixon’s mother once said, “I am sure other Quakers understand my son….Quakers are gentle and tolerant people. But they are also stubborn in defending their opinions and high minded in pursuing their ideals”. I am sure there are some Quakers who understood Nixon, but there were plenty who didn’t.

Eisenhower had considered dropping Nixon from the ticket in 1956 because Eisenhower did not think Nixon was that smart and therefore might hurt the chances of re-election. Nixon stayed on the ticket and Eisenhower decided to wage a war on communism. He felt it was important that religious people succeed over an atheist government, because “religion ordinarily tries to find a peaceful solution to problems”. (Which is not necessarily true).

Eisenhower was the first president to appoint a black person to be a special assistant to the presidential staff. Graham felt we should go slowly on civil rights. “If only the Supreme Court would go slow and the extremists will quiet down, we can have a peaceful social readjustment over the next ten year period.” Credit must be given to Graham for his refusal to hold segregated crusades. He often told organizers, he would pull out unless they were intergraded.

Graham praised Martin Luther King as “an example of Christian love”. Graham had concerns about civil disobedience. “No matter what the law may be---it may be an unjust law—I believe we have a Christian responsibility to obey it. Otherwise you have anarchy.”

Students at Bob Jones University were instructed not to pray for success for Graham crusades because of this issue. Jones University administrators denounced Graham as a “false teacher” who ‘is doing more harm to the cause of Jesus Christ than any living man”.

Graham and Kennedy. Graham was one of the founders of Christianity Today. One of their editorials declared that it was “perfectly normal” for Protestants to oppose election of a Catholic for president.

Nixon was pleased with the support of Norman Vincent Peale and Billy Graham in his presidential race in 1960 against Jack Kennedy.

Martin Luther King’s father had come out also in favor of Nixon, based primarily on religious grounds. It was about this time when Martin Luther King had been arrested. John and Robert Kennedy intervened and were able to get King released. This involvement by the Kennedy turned into a massive strong vote by the black community (including King’s father) towards the Democratic nominee.

Graham and Johnson. According to the author of the book, Kennedy described Johnson as “a very insecure, sensitive man with a huge ego” and “mean, bitter, vicious--an animal in many ways”. Kennedy had put Johnson on the ticket to primarily shore up the Southern Democratic vote.

When Kennedy was killed, Johnson began to gear up for the 1964 election. Johnson was nervous about appointing Humphrey as his VP. Johnson felt Humphrey “talked to much” and was concerned about Humphrey’s strong record in the area of civil rights. Johnson had a concern about whether Humphrey had the ability to become president. Johnson would have had more respect for Humphrey if “he showed he had some balls”.

There was a movement to try to draft Graham for president in 1964. His wife informed Billy of her thought about his running, “If you run, I don’t think the country will elect a divorced president.

Graham and Nixon. Graham told an audience that Richard Nixon was the American he admired most and that it would be good to have someone like Nixon, who could provide a religious example, to lead the country.

When Nixon became president, Nixon thought about attending unprogrammed Quaker services where Herbert Hoover attended, but they were strongly anti-war and he was afraid of what might be said during worship had he attended.

Once when Graham had received notice from the IRS that he was going to be audited, Nixon went to his behalf. He wanted to know why the IRS wasn’t looking into the major Democratic donors. Nixon, on the other hand, listed his largest donation on his tax return as the Billy Graham Evangelical Association to the tune of $4500. His total charitable giving was about $10,000 based on an income of $3 million.

As Watergate began to unravel, Graham continued his support as long as he could “I’m sticking with Nixon, one hundred percent”. He understood Eisenhower was a lapsed Christian and Johnson was no angel, but he never questioned Nixon’s piety and strong religious belief. Graham was shocked to find out that his good friend, Nixon, was trying to cover up a crime. Graham lobbied hard asking Ford for a pardon for Nixon

Even though Graham tended to lean towards Republicans, he saw himself as the pastor for the presidents. He came to really like the Clintons. Referring to Bill, Graham said, “He’s the easiest guy to get to know….has a brilliant wife who can be of help to him”. Graham introduced the Clinton’s by saying they were, “wonderful friends for many years”.

So who does this preacher, who has known every president since Truman and who usually supports Republican candidates, who will he be supporting in the 2008 race? It is anyone’s guess, except he did say, “I think a lot of Hillary”.

When I was a teen growing up in the Methodist Church, I wanted to grow up and become a minister. One day my mother announced to the entire family, “Gary wants to become a preacher just like Billy Graham”. I was horrified and embarrassed. Even then his religion was not mine. So I piped up and said, “Not so much Billy Graham and Martin Luther King”. At which point, my family was horrified and embarrassed.

I still feel the same way. I don’t understand this kind of Christianity, but the book was interesting none the less.

[Regan Hess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read biographies of the modern presidents mentioned in this book, I was drawn to the story of the one man who influenced them all. The author maintains a tight focus on Graham's personal pastoral ministry and his intersection with national politics.

Gibbs is often critical of Graham, questioning his motives. However, she ultimately concedes that he wasn't driven by money and that the public relationship was often more advantageous for the president than for Graham. While his presidential relationships opened doors for his international evangelical ministry, the author doesn't detail these crusades. The book effectively shows the times Graham strayed from his non-partisan ideals (e.g. supporting Nixon) as well as the criticism he received from the evangelical community for not taking a stronger political stand (e.g. supporting Clinton).

"Those who believe that politics and religion do not mix, understand neither." - Einstein.

[Jeanie Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an eye-opening book about a part of American history we don't know about. The author uses several resources to write this enlightening work. The reader is able to get inside the Oval Office during private meetings between the President and Billy Graham. We learn more about the true personalities of each President as they visit with, and at times use, Rev. Graham.
Throughout the entire book Rev. Graham wants to remain humble as a servant of God. Being friends with the Presidents is sometimes difficult for Rev. Graham. He had to tread carefully to remain a true evangelist and a secular citizen of the United States.

I would recommend this book to everyone who studies Presidential history.

[Robert Sparrenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are several interesting points to be made about this book.

1. I didn’t know how much billy was involved without of the presidents and how political he was for a lack of a better term. He was definitely more involved with some of them versus others. I think his relationship was Nixon was particularly close from his point of view and caused home the most pain.

2. It’s a super interesting to look at the presidents from the perspective of
One man Especially a preacher.

3. I remember being a kid and billy Graham’s show being on tv and him giving the word to the attendees. Just a side note.

He had a full and interesting life. Definitely worth a look.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating, respectful look at Graham's relationships with every president from Truman onwards. Gibbs and Duffy are respectful and insightful, and I left freshly grateful for Graham's integrity and moral character (even though there are places where I would differ with his choices). Unfortunately, I didn't discover until the final thirty seconds of the audio that Audible only present an abridged version. I loath abridged versions, so that's left a slightly bad taste in my mouth and made me wonder what was cut out...but still very enjoyable.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meticulously researched, engaging, and at times deeply moving, this excellent book is a model for what I would hope to do when I turn my dissertation on the presidents' National Prayer Breakfast speeches into a book. It helped that, due to my research, I knew every single person, situation, and reference they included in this book, and thus found it all incredibly compelling. It was also quite touching to be reading it the week Graham died.

[JD' · Rating 4 out of 5]

The man, the myth & the legend. Billy Graham is one of my all time favorite heroes. He was an evangelist who made full proof of his ministry. Thus a subject about this preacher and presidents from Truman to Bush is fascinating. The author wrote about all the most controversy and showed the human and gritty side of US History. The Preacher Ave the president's we are assured are mortals and not gods.

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I looked forward to the behind the scenes look at Graham's relationships with presidents, but enjoyed learning more about the aspirations of Billy Graham. I did enjoy that research. Chronologically, I found it somewhat difficult to follow. Finally, as an audiobook, I thought the readers were often times annoying as they attempted to change "voices" and accents.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Gibbs crafts a narrative telling an aspect of a story or series of stories that I thought I knew well. Like "The Presidents Club," Gibbs adds to the complex facets of presidential and American history through the lens of relationships, this time the relationships between Billy Graham and the presidents both through their time in office and after.

[Greg Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how much influence Billy Graham had on the decision-making, domestic and foreign policy of the various presidents over the years. That could be good, bad, or even dangerous depending on how one looks at it. It does make you understand how fragile the presidency really is, maybe not the way we believe it to be.

[Brook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating journey through the years with my hero in the faith, Billy Graham. As a pastor, I find the intersection of faith and politics compelling. And what made this even more interesting is to learn where his political involvement worked against him. A terrific read.

[B-right · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read to every Christian that cares about the role of the church to the nation. Billy Graham had modeled an outstanding example for us to emulate. Our sole duty as a church is to pray for our leaders regardless of our agreement and disagreements.

[Rebecca McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much more about Dr. Graham and his relationships with each President. What was surprising is learning about each President & their beliefs. This is a book that will give you insight into all of these amazing men.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I just tried to be myself, I think……each of (us) has their own temperament, their own ideas, (we) have grown up in different cultures, and (we) have different points of view….I accept (everyone). And love ‘em all…”

[Michelle Helms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Inspiring. Billy Graham was “a man who never failed to live his faith.”
The last chapter did a great job of summarizing the book and Graham’s heart for God and for ministering to the presidents, and countless others.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly fascinating

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on an interesting and incredible man. The authors do not shy away from some of Graham’s mistakes, and they show a side of many of the presidents that you would not expect.

[Brit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book that shows both the good and bad side of Billy Graham. You also get history seen from the spiritual angle of life.