| Counsel to the President - A Memoir
(1991)
|
| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Biography; Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Clifford, Clark M., 1906-1998; Lawyers - United States - Biography; Statesmen - United States - Biography; United States - Politics and government - 1945-1989 |
| Publication Date |
5/21/1991 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.3
x
6.3
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Random House |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover |
|
| Personal Details |
| Acquire Date |
6/10/2010 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E840.8.C55 .A3 1991 |
| Dewey |
973.9092 |
| ISBN |
9780394569956 |
| Edition |
[1st ed.] |
| Cover Price |
$25.00 |
| No. of Pages |
709 |
| First Edition |
Yes |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
I've had this book on my shelf for several years but was uninterested in reading it. The name Clark Clifford was only vaguely known to me. It was when I read George Ball's memoirs that Clifford's role in history started becoming clear to me.
Clifford, for much of has Washington career, was somehow both an insider and outsider. He was an insider in that he was close to the levers of power during the Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations, and to a lesser degree, Carter. He was an outsider in that he never held a cabinet post or high government position until the last year of Johnson's presidency.
You could easily break the book down into three sections, corresponding to the presidents he advised: Truman, Kennedy, Johnson. These sections cover the major issues of the day, international and domestic. The most in-depth part of the book covers 1968 when he served as Secretary of Defense. The entire book is 665 pages of text; about 130 of that is 1968. That was a year of great events, but great events don't happen in isolation; they're an integral part of the mosaic of people and happenings. Clifford does a great job of placing the events of 1968 in their greater context and gives us his analysis of how 1968 affects us even today, nearly two decades after the book was written.
Anybody looking to learn more about the Democratic presidents of the Cold War era would be rewarded by reading this book. |
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