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The Shadow Presidents: The Secret History of the Chief Executives and Their Top Aides
Covering every presidential staff from Lincoln to Carter, Medved explores the fascinating, sometimes frightening relationship between a president and his top aide, a man who quietly assumes great power and influence
401 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1979
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63 people want to read
About the author
Michael Medved
44 books85 followersAmerican radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic.
MICHAEL MEDVED’s daily three-hour radio program, The Michael Medved Show, reaches five million listeners on more than three hundred stations coast to coast.
He is the author of twelve other books, including the bestsellers The 10 Big Lies About America, Hollywood vs. America, Hospital, and What Really Happened to the Class of ’65?
He is a member of USA Today’s board of contributors, is a former chief film critic for the New York Post, and, for more than a decade, cohosted Sneak Previews, the weekly movie-review show on PBS. Medved is an honors graduate of Yale with departmental honors in American history. He lives with his family in the Seattle area.
MICHAEL MEDVED’s daily three-hour radio program, The Michael Medved Show, reaches five million listeners on more than three hundred stations coast to coast.
He is the author of twelve other books, including the bestsellers The 10 Big Lies About America, Hollywood vs. America, Hospital, and What Really Happened to the Class of ’65?
He is a member of USA Today’s board of contributors, is a former chief film critic for the New York Post, and, for more than a decade, cohosted Sneak Previews, the weekly movie-review show on PBS. Medved is an honors graduate of Yale with departmental honors in American history. He lives with his family in the Seattle area.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
gone-gave-away
November 20, 2025I think I gave this away without reading it. Had it for ages, and of course, I want to look it over now.
Guessing it was Colonel House for Woodrow Wilson, a dirtbag.
YEP...I googled this up since GR has jack on it.
Medved, not Modred...good grief.
THE SHADOW PRESIDENTS: The Secret History of the Chief Executives and Their Top White House Aides
by Michael MedvedRELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1979
There is absolutely nothing ""secret"" about this glorified directory of White House bureaucrats from Lincoln to Carter. Sources include familiar books and articles, documents (nothing newly released), and interviews with Clark Clifford, Sherman Adams, Theodore Sorensen, Bill Moyers, H. R. Haldeman, Richard Cheney, and ""members of the Carter White House staff""--although these contemporary portraits are no livelier than the rest. Michael Modred (coauthor of Whatever Happened to the Class of '65 ?) struggles to convince us of the book's urgency and his credentials as author. Detailing Hamilton Jordan's tasteless gaffes, Medved explains that ""without a sense of historical perspective,"" it would be ""fruitless"" to try to understand Carter's risking ""continued criticism and humiliation"" by keeping him on; and since Modred once wrote speeches for an unsuccessful Senate candidate, he does understand the ""extraordinary interdependence"" between politicians and top aides. Then comes the parade of historical trivia: Lincoln's secretary John Nicolay; Andrew Johnson's alcoholic son Robert; Colonel Edward House, whose relationship with Wilson had ""deep sexual resonances""; Sorensen, ""the bit of yeast that allowed the cake [Kennedy] to rise."" Worse is Medved's analysis: a Carter aide admitting that the President ""likes to be smarter"" than associates leads Modred to conclude that ""Carter's emotional needs cause him to confine himself to aides of limited ability""; and comparing Lincoln's staff of two with Carter's 600, Medved suggests that a 19th-century aide may have been more powerful than today--eliminating the need for this book. Wait for the TV series supposedly on the way.
Guessing it was Colonel House for Woodrow Wilson, a dirtbag.
YEP...I googled this up since GR has jack on it.
Medved, not Modred...good grief.
THE SHADOW PRESIDENTS: The Secret History of the Chief Executives and Their Top White House Aides
by Michael MedvedRELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1979
There is absolutely nothing ""secret"" about this glorified directory of White House bureaucrats from Lincoln to Carter. Sources include familiar books and articles, documents (nothing newly released), and interviews with Clark Clifford, Sherman Adams, Theodore Sorensen, Bill Moyers, H. R. Haldeman, Richard Cheney, and ""members of the Carter White House staff""--although these contemporary portraits are no livelier than the rest. Michael Modred (coauthor of Whatever Happened to the Class of '65 ?) struggles to convince us of the book's urgency and his credentials as author. Detailing Hamilton Jordan's tasteless gaffes, Medved explains that ""without a sense of historical perspective,"" it would be ""fruitless"" to try to understand Carter's risking ""continued criticism and humiliation"" by keeping him on; and since Modred once wrote speeches for an unsuccessful Senate candidate, he does understand the ""extraordinary interdependence"" between politicians and top aides. Then comes the parade of historical trivia: Lincoln's secretary John Nicolay; Andrew Johnson's alcoholic son Robert; Colonel Edward House, whose relationship with Wilson had ""deep sexual resonances""; Sorensen, ""the bit of yeast that allowed the cake [Kennedy] to rise."" Worse is Medved's analysis: a Carter aide admitting that the President ""likes to be smarter"" than associates leads Modred to conclude that ""Carter's emotional needs cause him to confine himself to aides of limited ability""; and comparing Lincoln's staff of two with Carter's 600, Medved suggests that a 19th-century aide may have been more powerful than today--eliminating the need for this book. Wait for the TV series supposedly on the way.
July 13, 2020
A riveting, compelling history of the chief executives and their aides.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews