White House: Confidential Book

Most Americans believe that in the past our presidents were smarter, more honest, and behaved more like gentlemen than those we elect today. "Not so," say Gregg Stebben and Austin Hill. "Long before Watergate, Contragate, Travelgate, Nannygate, and Monicagate, our presidents were lying, cheating, stealing, and womanizing." White House: Confidential is a clear-eyed look at America's long line of presidents, warts and all. Focusing on the qualities that never made it into the press releases, the authors look at the subjects presidential image-makers try to keep out of the news. Included are presidents' often-strange family relationships, scandals that engulfed their administrations, fights with enemies, and questionable money matters. A "presidential score card" of which presidents cheated on their wives (and with whom), random acts of goofy presidential behavior, their frequently accurate predictions of their own demise, their comments on leaving office, how they died, presidential firsts, and the role of vice presidents?all of these topics and much more made the first edition of White House: Confidential controversial when it was published in 1998. Two new chapters have been added in this revised and updated edition. The first, "Impeached!" looks at how impeachment and the threat of impeachment have affected several presidents. The second, "Nepotism! A Family Affair!" shows how presidential relatives have exploited their connections. Yet others have used a relative's presidency as a springboard to their own. Also included are all kinds of goofy family-related high jinks (in the spirit of characters like Billy Carter).Read More