Rating: 
Summary: "Leading" versus "governing" in the era of mass media
Review: In reviewing David Gergen's book, "Eyewitness to Power", it is instructive to look at its subtitle: "The Essence of Leadership from Nixon to Clinton".Gergen distinguishes between "governing" and "leading" - and with this useful distinction, one can understand clearly why Jimmy Carter, certainly one of the more intellectually gifted of recent presidents, failed so completely to articulate a clear vision of his administration and its goals; and why Ronald Reagan, who succeeded Carter following the 1980 Republican landslide, became, in Gergen's opinion, "the best leader in the White House since Franklin Roosevelt" - although Reagan was usually considered anything but intellectual. One could, however, flip Gergen's distinction on its head, and reasonably argue that, while Reagan may have been a great leader, he failed at governance - defaulting on his responsibilities for overseeing the actions of individuals in his administration, a default leading to the Iran-Contra scandal, the nature, scope and occurrence of which would have been well-neigh unimaginable in the Carter White House. Gergen's premise seems to be that "good government" presidents - what he calls "goo-gooers" for short - cannot survive by mere administrative competence alone. Without the ability to sell the public on policy initiatives through exceptional persuasive and inspirational abilities, the performance of a "goo-gooer" president at best may be a good administration, but a poor show. In our media-saturated era, that bodes ill for potential presidents who may possess all the gifts and abilities to serve the Republic well, save stage presence and telegenic good looks. As the Professor in the movie "Back to the Future" said about Ronald Reagan: "No wonder your President has to be an actor!" Gergen fails to contemplate this consequence of his definition of effective leadership upon effective governance, and what in turn may be the effect upon our pool of potential leaders and how we select them for office. It is doubtful that Thomas Jefferson, were he alive today, with his unassuming manners, poor speaking voice, and reticent personality, would satisfy Gergen's criteria for great leadership.
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful and Interesting
Review: In the days of tell all books written for a quick buck, Gergan's work is not only impressive but also refreshing. Gergan leaves the dirty little secrets writing to others while he shares his experiences severing four different Presidents. He focuses a lot not only on the personality of the presidents but also their management style. He also takes into account the factors that influenced each administration. Eyewitness to power mixes together part of Gergan's autobiography, presidential history, and lesson on management. If your interested in the inner workings of White House, stop watching television shows and read Gergans work for true insight on how four different Presidents operated their White House staffs.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and Interesting
Review: In the days of tell all books written for a quick buck, Gergan's work is not only impressive but also refreshing. Gergan leaves the dirty little secrets writing to others while he shares his experiences severing four different Presidents. He focuses a lot not only on the personality of the presidents but also their management style. He also takes into account the factors that influenced each administration. Eyewitness to power mixes together part of Gergan's autobiography, presidential history, and lesson on management. If your interested in the inner workings of White House, stop watching television shows and read Gergans work for true insight on how four different Presidents operated their White House staffs.
Rating:
Summary: Still Searching for the Essence of Presidential Leadership
Review: In the preface to this meditation on presidential substance and style, Author David Gergen makes one of the great understatements of our time: "I do not promise that these thought will be strikingly original." As Gergen predicts, this book shows little imagination, and he could just as easily have written that he is, in fact, presenting an extended exercise in the conventional wisdom. Nevertheless, Gergen worked for Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, as well as on President Bush's campaign, and with President Carter after he left office. As a result, Gergen has had the opportunity to know every chief executive of the United States since1969, and he must have some insights into the essential elements of presidential leadership. At least that is what I expected. What I am about to do is a bit unfair because I am taking Gergen's words out of context, but here are a few examples of Gergen's less-than-incisive observations: "Like so much else in the Nixon operation, the zeal to win, to control every detail, to make the trains run on time, went completely overboard;" "Jerry Ford had a mind of his own about what he wanted;" "There was a continual jockeying for power and for Reagan's ear;" and "Clinton had slipped on one banana peel after another." Gergen is one of the current crop of journalists who have raised political punditry to an art form. He is not Walter Lippmann, but neither is Gergen, a graduate of Harvard Law School, an ink-stained wretch or a hack. And that is why I expected more from him. Why does this book fail to provide depth of insight? This is what I suspect happened: The publisher, and perhaps Gergen himself, wanted to get it into print during the 2000 campaign. The text covers a lot of ground, and given the self-imposed deadline pressure, there simply was not time for judicious rewriting and careful editing. As a result, a lot of the prose is flabby, and there is at least one embarrassing gaffe, when Gergen refers to "Mr. Chips goes to Washington." (Film enthusiasts certainly will recognize "Mr. Chips" as the much-beloved English schoolteacher, while "Mr. Smith" was the unsophisticated senator.) Nevertheless, I believe that this is a good book which has the potential for greatness. For instance, about midway through the book, Gergen writes: "At the heart of leadership is the leader's relationship with followers." That may border on triteness, but I believe it is an important concept. If Gergen had carefully examined the leader-follower relationship for each of the presidents he studies, we might have gained real insight into how the public decides who will lead and then how the president goes about leading. Instead, too much of this book is devoted to inside-the-Beltway blather. The descriptive chapters of this book are, therefore, somewhat disappointing. The final chapter, entitled "Seven Lessons of Leadership," is prescriptive but also less than persuasive. For instance, Gergen asserts that "integrity is the most important [personal attribute] for a president." That may be a valuable principle for a civics class, but I submit that it has little to do with practical reality. Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were well known for their ethical lapses and each got elected president twice. Jimmy Carter was a man of high character but a nearly utter failure as president. And telling us the president must have a "capacity to persuade," tells us little we do not already know. No one can get nominated, let alone elected, without the power of persuasion, but some presidents are better preachers from the bully pulpit than others. The question, of course is: Why? For all of his experience in public life, Gergen has not yet given enough thought to the lessons he can draw from that experience. Sometime before the election of 2004, I urge Gergen to return to his computer, cut the text by about one-third, but triple the penetrating analysis. The result, I predict, would be a genuine contribution to the popular literature about what it takes to be a leader in the most powerful elected office in the world.
Rating: 
Summary: A unique perspective on the White House
Review: Many people have written insider memoirs of the White House. Gergen's is different primarily because he draws interesting contrasts among the different administrations (and different political parties) for which he worked. The book is at its best when Gergen steps into the background: his career, while often impressive, is not especially interesting, and he doesn't have terribly profound insights into himself. When making observations about Reagan and (especially) Clinton, however, he's at his best.
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Summary: Stay-at-home mom and political junkie loved this book
Review: Ok, I admit it--I watched FOX News constantly throughout the election crisis. And MSNBC once in a while--when I could stomach the elite media's liberal bias. Please--us regular people just want someone to be reasonable and tell us the truth! Someone who can switch sides once in a while to just do what is right! Someone who isn't a lapdog (see George Stephanopolous)! And we finally found him: David Gergen! Fabulous book. Got it for Christmas and took New Year's Day off to read it all the way through--a minor miracle in this household. Buy it and you won't be disappointed. Keep it on your bookshelf and read it again every 10 years--it'll be a wonderful history book in a few decades.
Rating:
Summary: adulation for a retired actor
Review: The book is fun to read and gives a feel for the byzantine workings of the White House. The politics of being President seem only slightly more arduous than those of being effective in the competitive environment of the White House. The book has the feel of a objective analysis but really is a testimonial to Ronald Reagan, the author's idol who with his quips and organizing competence made the Presidency work and made the people happy. In contrast, Carter and Clinton fall to the bottom of the bag- the former because of his misreading of the Presidency and its imperial function, and Clinton by permitting his wife to have so much power. All in all, the book is well worth the price and the time, is well written, and provides some peeks into areas most of us would never see.
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Summary: Eyewitness to Power: the Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Cli
Review: This book examines four Presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. Gergen looks at the highs and lows of each president. This is not the typical airing of dirty laundry, but a serious examination of the faults and attributes of each president. For example many historians and talking heads can only discuss the watergate incident with regards to Nixon's presidency, yet he opened China and and set up the EPA. He is one of the few presidents to view foreign policy like the British "Now matter whether we like the regime we will have to deal with them." This attitude could only have come from an anticommunist politican in America. At the same time Gergen does not excuse Nixon's faults or any other president. He addresses Clinton in the same way. Ford and Reagan are lucky not to spark such emotions that Nixon and Clinton do. This is a fair book that has some real lessons on the role of leadership and the president. This is a classic along with: On War by Von Clausewitz, The Discourses and The Prince by Machiavelli, How to be a Minister by Gerald Kaufman, and How to be a Civil Servant by Martin Stanley.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Analysis of Leadership
Review: This book is an incredible book about leadership. Gergen; who was in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations; writes about leadership as an insider. This is not a memoir, a book about dirt, or a biography of any sort. Gergen looks at the qualities of each President and shows how they exemplified leadership. His analysis is first-rate and he weaves examples that shows both the positive and negatives of leadership seamlessly. I do not agree with his politics, but this is a well-written book and well worth buying!
Rating:
Summary: Gergen good, jargon bad.
Review: This is a well-written piece by a brilliant author but Gergen needs to trim back on the political jargon which seems to have infiltrated this book so thoroughly. Gergen is the quitessential Washington insider: appearing regularly as a political commentator on PBS's NewsHour and works as editor for U.S. News & World Report. His first book, Eyewitness to Power, drew upon this unique experience. It's part memoir, part political history, part portrait of White House culture, but it's mostly a meditation on what it takes to be a great political leader. Gergen focuses on the four presidents he has known best--Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton--and offers pointed assessments of each. Really, really good writing but please Mr. Gergen, for your next tome, gear it more towards the Washington outsider, you'll definately get my respect!!
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