Preparing to Be President: The Memos of Richard E.Neustadt Book

Shortly after the publication forty years ago of "Presidential Power," the most influencial book on the presidency, Richard E. Neustadt was asked by then-senator John F. Kennedy to write a series of memos to plan for the transition into office. He obliged the request and later penned transition memos for Reagan, Dukakis, and Clinton too. "Preparing to Be President" presents the previously unpublished memos of the man Arthur J. Schlesinger, Jr., calls "our most brilliant commentator on the Presidency" along with new essays by Neustadt and volume editor Charles O. Jones.

Neustadt's historically important memos provide new information about the workings of several presidential campaigns and administrations. Neustadt addresses questions such as how to organize a transiton team, how to staff the president-elect and then the White House, whether there is value in cabinet government, and what the roles of the vice president and first lady should be. In addition to the memos, "Preparing to Be President" features substantial original scholarship by Neustadt. He reveals for the first time how he came to advise the various presidents-elect and candidates and the thinking behind the recommendations he made in the memos. He also offers some reflections on how the role of transition adviser has changed over the years and what is relevant for transitions today. Jones contributes to the volume an analysis of the memos and a bibliographical essay looking at the relationship between the Neustadt memos and transition memos written by others.

This fall, as public attention turns from presidential campaigns to the next administration, "Preparing to Be President" will provide interesting historical accounts and critical insights for anyone who wants to understand how a new administration takes shape--and what happens behind the scenes between Election Day and inauguration.