White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters
by: Robert Schlesinger
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In White House Ghosts, veteran Washington reporter Robert Schlesinger opens a fresh and revealing window on the modern presidency from FDR to George W. Bush. This is the first book to examine a crucial and often hidden role played by the men and women who help presidents find the words they hope will define their places in history.
Drawing on scores of interviews with White House scribes and on extensive archival research, Schlesinger weaves intimate, amusing, compelling stories that provide surprising insights into the personalities, quirks, egos, ambitions, and humor of these presidents as well as how well or not they understood the bully pulpit.
White House Ghosts traces the evolution of the presidential speechwriter's job from Raymond Moley under FDR through such luminaries as Ted Sorensen and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., under JFK, Jack Valenti and Richard Goodwin under LBJ, William Safire and Pat Buchanan under Nixon, Hendrik Hertzberg and James Fallows under Carter, and Peggy Noonan under Reagan, to the "Troika" of Michael Gerson, John McConnell, and Matthew Scully under George W. Bush.
White House Ghosts tells the fascinating inside stories behind some of the most iconic presidential phrases: the first inaugural of FDR ("the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ") and JFK ("ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country"), Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook" and Ronald Reagan's "tear down this wall" speeches, Bill Clinton's ending "the era of big government" State of the Union, and George W. Bush's post-9/11 declaration that "whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done" -- and dozens of other noteworthy speeches. The book also addresses crucial questions surrounding the complex relationship between speechwriter and speechgiver, such as who actually crafted the most memorable phrases, who deserves credit for them, and who has claimed it.
Schlesinger tells the story of the modern American presidency through this unique prism -- how our chief executives developed their very different rhetorical styles and how well they grasped the rewards of reaching out to the country. White House Ghosts is dramatic, funny, gripping, surprising, serious -- and always entertaining.
In White House Ghosts, veteran Washington reporter Robert Schlesinger opens a fresh and revealing window on the modern presidency from FDR to George W. Bush. This is the first book to examine a crucial and often hidden role played by the men and women who help presidents find the words they hope will define their places in history.
Drawing on scores of interviews with White House scribes and on extensive archival research, Schlesinger weaves intimate, amusing, compelling stories that provide surprising insights into the personalities, quirks, egos, ambitions, and humor of these presidents as well as how well or not they understood the bully pulpit.
White House Ghosts traces the evolution of the presidential speechwriter's job from Raymond Moley under FDR through such luminaries as Ted Sorensen and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., under JFK, Jack Valenti and Richard Goodwin under LBJ, William Safire and Pat Buchanan under Nixon, Hendrik Hertzberg and James Fallows under Carter, and Peggy Noonan under Reagan, to the "Troika" of Michael Gerson, John McConnell, and Matthew Scully under George W. Bush.
White House Ghosts tells the fascinating inside stories behind some of the most iconic presidential phrases: the first inaugural of FDR ("the only thing we have to fear is fear itself ") and JFK ("ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country"), Richard Nixon's "I am not a crook" and Ronald Reagan's "tear down this wall" speeches, Bill Clinton's ending "the era of big government" State of the Union, and George W. Bush's post-9/11 declaration that "whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done" -- and dozens of other noteworthy speeches. The book also addresses crucial questions surrounding the complex relationship between speechwriter and speechgiver, such as who actually crafted the most memorable phrases, who deserves credit for them, and who has claimed it.
Schlesinger tells the story of the modern American presidency through this unique prism -- how our chief executives developed their very different rhetorical styles and how well they grasped the rewards of reaching out to the country. White House Ghosts is dramatic, funny, gripping, surprising, serious -- and always entertaining.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Great lessons for any speech writer
Schlesinger describes the men and women who acted as speech writers to every President from FDR in 1932 to George W. Bush in 2001. Each administration is given a chapter. Each President's relationship with his speech writers is outlined with an analysis of one or more key speeches. Sometimes an Inaugural Address; sometimes the State of the Union address; or a speech on foreign or domestic policy; once a resignation speech.
What's fascinating is the unique relationship each President ... Read More
Rating: 
- good stories- added a key point?
Great inside stories. Very interesting material that you probably can't get elsewhere. However, for a book so big on detail, I am surprised that the author missed the point that Harry Truman's middle name is S and does not stand for any name. Therefore, it should not have a period after it as it does in the book.
Rating: - Great Read about Great Speech
Abraham Lincoln, probably the finest presidential speech writer of them all, allegedly said, "For those who like this sort of thing, they'll like this sort of thing." Well, I think Abe and anyone with even the slightest interest in US politics won't just like this book, they should be very impressed with it. White House Ghosts is a powerful, interesting, entertaining read.
As a keynote speaker (business, humorous,cancer - quite a juxtaposition I admit), I am enthralled by the art of ... Read More
Rating: - interesting perspective
Schlesinger reviews each of the Presidential speech writers, from FDR through W.I found the book became increasingly engaging as he approached the modern presidential speech writers though that may be because they were the Presidents that I grew up with.The chapters on Reagan, Clinton and W are particularly interesting in that they provide a glimpse behind the idiosyncratic personalities that shaped much of our modern policy.
Of the Bush team, he writes, "The troika [Skully, Gerson, ... Read More
Rating: 
- Amusing, Quick & Easy Light Reading
It was quick, easy, amusing read; lots of historical anecdotes from each White House since FDR....but apart from that, I can't say I know much more about what makes for a good speech, a good speechwriter, or a good Presidential speaker now than I did before I read the book.
Apart from figuring out that speeches written by committee don't make for memorable prose, the anecdotes don't really add up to much---not much insight as to what FDR, JFK, and RR shared in common, if anything, that made them ... Read More
- Great lessons for any speech writerSchlesinger describes the men and women who acted as speech writers to every President from FDR in 1932 to George W. Bush in 2001. Each administration is given a chapter. Each President's relationship with his speech writers is outlined with an analysis of one or more key speeches. Sometimes an Inaugural Address; sometimes the State of the Union address; or a speech on foreign or domestic policy; once a resignation speech.
What's fascinating is the unique relationship each President ... Read More
- good stories- added a key point?Great inside stories. Very interesting material that you probably can't get elsewhere. However, for a book so big on detail, I am surprised that the author missed the point that Harry Truman's middle name is S and does not stand for any name. Therefore, it should not have a period after it as it does in the book.
- Great Read about Great SpeechAbraham Lincoln, probably the finest presidential speech writer of them all, allegedly said, "For those who like this sort of thing, they'll like this sort of thing." Well, I think Abe and anyone with even the slightest interest in US politics won't just like this book, they should be very impressed with it. White House Ghosts is a powerful, interesting, entertaining read.
As a keynote speaker (business, humorous,cancer - quite a juxtaposition I admit), I am enthralled by the art of ... Read More
- interesting perspectiveSchlesinger reviews each of the Presidential speech writers, from FDR through W.I found the book became increasingly engaging as he approached the modern presidential speech writers though that may be because they were the Presidents that I grew up with.The chapters on Reagan, Clinton and W are particularly interesting in that they provide a glimpse behind the idiosyncratic personalities that shaped much of our modern policy.
Of the Bush team, he writes, "The troika [Skully, Gerson, ... Read More
- Amusing, Quick & Easy Light ReadingIt was quick, easy, amusing read; lots of historical anecdotes from each White House since FDR....but apart from that, I can't say I know much more about what makes for a good speech, a good speechwriter, or a good Presidential speaker now than I did before I read the book.
Apart from figuring out that speeches written by committee don't make for memorable prose, the anecdotes don't really add up to much---not much insight as to what FDR, JFK, and RR shared in common, if anything, that made them ... Read More
