CHRIS WHIPPLE is an acclaimed writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and speaker. A multiple Peabody and Emmy Award-winning producer at CBS's 60 Minutes and ABC's Primetime, he is the chief executive officer of CCWHIP Productions. Most recently, he was the executive producer and writer of Showtime's The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs.
Praise for Chris Whipple's The Gatekeepers
New York Times Bestseller "Entertaining and engaging."
--Wall Street Journal "Compelling and insightful... destined to
take its place alongside classic works by Richard Neustadt,
Theodore White and other White House chroniclers... A
must-read."
--Huffington Post
"Carefully researched and eminently readable, The Gatekeepers...
provides a fresh view of the modern presidencies. Whipple cuts to
the heart of what, or more to the point who, makes a presidency
succeed or fail."
--Newsday
"A treasure trove of stories about 'the second-most-powerful job in
government.'"
--Fort Worth Star Telegram "Could not be more timely...There are
valuable lessons in The Gatekeepers for Trump's chief, the
embattled Reince Priebus."
--TIME.com "Captivating...This is a tale told by a journalist, and
in a way that makes for better history."
--USNews.com "[Whipple's] prose is clear, crisp and often
evocative...his observations ring true as he tracks the development
of the office."
--Washington Times "Observers of the political scene will find this
book well worth their time and attention. Whipple's style is lively
and engaging, and he peppers the pages with colorful quotes and
marvelous anecdotes."
--History News Network "A candid and exhilarating history about the
development of the office of Chief of Staff."
--Missourian "Chris Whipple takes us deep inside one of the most
important and demanding jobs in Washington--White House chief of
staff. Here we get to know how great power is managed, and
exercised by those who have held the job. If you're a political
junkie or merely curious, this is the book for you."
--Tom Brokaw, former anchor, NBC Nightly News
"A vivid, enthralling, and brilliantly reported account of White
House chiefs of staff, who are--with all respects to US vice
presidents--the actual second-most-powerful people in Washington.
This is US history through the fascinating prism of the men who
guard the door to the Oval Office, and a learned, welcome, and
important addition to the study of the executive branch."
--Christopher Buckley, author of Thank You for Smoking, No Way to
Treat a First Lady, and The Relic Master
"Understanding how government really works, what Presidents
actually do, and what is the range of 'normal' versus
'unprecedented' behavior, is more important now than ever before.
As The Gatekeepers makes vividly clear, White House chiefs of staff
are at the center of the process that determines how presidents
succeed or fail. This is an enlightening work of history with
important lessons for our immediate future."
--James Fallows, The Atlantic, former White House speechwriter
"Chief of Staff is a role of recent vintage--the most powerful job
in government never mentioned in the Constitution. Chris Whipple
has done a wonderful job humanizing the crushing nature of the 24/7
job (literally 24/7) in which all credit or blame goes to the
President who is served. This is a book of insights, but so too is
it an important manual on how the executive branch of our
government functions."
--Charles Gibson, former anchor, ABC World News Tonight
"The story of White House chiefs of staff--often second only to the
president in power--is an especially fresh and engaging way to
chart the ups and downs of recent American presidents. And through
Chris Whipple's discerning lens, we learn scores of new things
about how government really works at the highest level."
--Jonathan Alter, author of The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies
and The Promise: President Obama, Year One "The real power in
Washington since 1968 has passed through the hands of twenty-one
men -- no women so far--who were never further than a phone call or
a few feet down the hall from the presidents they served. Their job
title is chief of staff but Chris Whipple in his new book calls
them The Gatekeepers. What the chiefs do is what politics is. The
president may run the country but his chief of staff runs the
president--what he reads at night and who he sees by day, what he
does and says, what he pushes or ignores. For success the chiefs
get little credit, for failure all the blame. Every page of
Whipple's book casts fresh light on the great events of the last
fifty years."
--Tom Powers, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author of The
Killing of Crazy Horse
"What is it like to have the toughest job in America? Using his
access to seemingly every top White House official of the past half
century, Whipple has asked all the right questions and written a
book that is at once riveting and highly informative. It is also
extremely relevant in the new Age of Drumpf."
--Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon "I loved The Gatekeepers! The
reporting is superb, the writing engaging and wonderfully
fair-minded. Unbuttoned at last, these chiefs have wonderful
stories to tell. This book serves as a compellingly readable
thank-you note to a motley crew of policy nerds, fixers, maniacs,
and soon-to-be-ex-best friends of the president who have lost
sleep--and probably several years off their lives--in the service
of the White House, and of their country."
--Alex Beam, author of The Feud, Gracefully Insane, and American
Crucifixion
"Chris Whipple is one of our era's most accomplished multimedia
journalists. Drawing on access to senior officials most reporters
can only dream of, his documentary The Spymasters brought Americans
inside the U.S. intelligence community as never before. Now,
Whipple has done it again, exploring the inner workings of the last
eight presidencies - from Nixon to Obama - through exclusive
interviews with current and former White House chiefs of staff. The
Gatekeepers is first-rate history, as told by the men who lived it
to a man who knows, with supreme assurance, how to write it."
--James Rosen, Fox News chief Washington correspondent and author
of The Strong Man and Cheney One on One "History, drama, intrigue.
Every page is engaging. Required reading for every Washington power
player."
--David Friend, Vanity Fair, author of Watching the World Change
"Having interviewed all 17 living former chiefs of staff and two
former presidents, Whipple offers a scintillating behind-the-scenes
look at an office that is all but invisible to the public. This is
page-turning catnip for political junkies, who will read it with an
eye to what lies in store for Reince Priebus and the Drumpf
administration."
--Booklist (starred review)
"A vibrant narrative of the real-world West Wing...confident and
fast-paced... In this page-turner of a history, readers will
discover new facets of historical events that they felt they
already knew."
--Publishers Weekly "Whipple reviews the high and low points of the
past eight administrations, and he greatly enhances the narrative
with his many interviews....A well-researched, well-written review
of a unique government position--informative for the general public
and an insightful blueprint for the new administration."
--Kirkus Reviews "Highly recommended for those seeking a history of
the modern presidency or political insight. Through firsthand
accounts of the presidency, it gives valuable understanding of the
position and would be a great tool for Reince Priebus as President
Donald Drumpf's chief of staff."
--Library Journal "A must-read book for all who want a backstage
view of the presidency, from the Richard Nix-on years through
Barack Obama's two terms.... The remarkably candid interviews and
reader-friendly narrative of this book make for very informative
and entertaining reading."
--Bookpage
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