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The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis Hardcover – May 14, 2024
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
George Stephanopoulos, the legendary political news host and former advisor to President Clinton, recounts the history-making crises from the place where twelve presidents made their highest-pressure decisions: the White House Situation Room.
No room better defines American power and its role in the world than the White House Situation Room. And yet, none is more shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Created under President Kennedy, the Sit Room has been the epicenter of crisis management for presidents for more than six decades. Time and again, the decisions made within the Sit Room complex affect the lives of every person on this planet. Detailing close calls made and disasters narrowly averted, THE SITUATION ROOM will take readers through dramatic turning points in a dozen presidential administrations, including:
- Incredible minute-by-minute transcripts from the Sit Room after both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan were shot
- The shocking moment when Henry Kissinger raised the military alert level to DEFCON III while President Nixon was drunk in the White House residence
- The extraordinary scene when President Carter asked for help from secret government psychics to rescue American hostages in Iran
- A vivid retelling of the harrowing hours during the 9/11 attack
- New details from Obama administration officials leading up to the raid on Osama Bin Laden
- And a first-ever account of January 6th from the staff inside the Sit Room
THE SITUATION ROOM is the definitive, past-the-security-clearance look at the room where it happened, and the people—the famous and those you've never heard of—who have made history within its walls.
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherGrand Central Publishing
- Publication dateMay 14, 2024
- Dimensions6.35 x 1.38 x 9.3 inches
- ISBN-101538740761
- ISBN-13978-1538740767
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Get to know this book
Popular highlight
These staffers serve the person who lives in the White House, but they work for the presidency, not the president.106 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
It had been activated only once before, in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.98 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
A good Sit Room officer must be focused, organized, intelligent, judicious, apolitical, a fast reader, a critical thinker and cool under pressure.85 Kindle readers highlighted this
From the Publisher
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“I know the gold standard of journalism when I see it, and George Stephanopoulos is it. This new book, The Situation Room, is simply mesmerizing. It delivers on the dream we all have of going behind the scenes to learn what was being said and done during some of the most dramatic moments in history. You don’t want to miss this book. I know I can’t put it down.”―Patricia Cornwell
“There are few more iconic spaces in the American imagination than the Situation Room in the White House—a tiny place where the largest of decisions are made. In this original and lively book, George Stephanopoulos takes us inside the room through years of crisis, enabling us to experience the human drama of life at the highest levels.”―Jon Meacham
"This is a colorful and intimate--but also deeply informative--look at one of the most critical set of rooms in the world. It literally makes real the saying 'if these walls could speak' by combining inside tales with audio transcripts of the most exciting moments in the Situation Room, from John Kennedy to Joe Biden."―Walter Isaacson
"An effective blend of political analysis and personal stories, tied together at the epicenter of crisis management."
―Kirkus"Takes the reader on a thrilling tour of this little known but crucial facet of the United States government...a must-read for history and political wonks."―Booklist
“Stephanopoulos takes readers behind the scenes of a legendary White House location in this sprightly history…Presidential history buffs will find much of interest here.”―Publishers Weekly
“This is just full of extraordinary new reporting…Lets us in a room most Americans will never see.”―Willie Geist, co-anchor MSNBC / Morning Joe
“It’s amazing! I hope to see it on the big screen someday. It’s an incredible story, everybody should read it…Go buy it. Go read it!”―Nicolle Wallace, anchor MSNBC / Deadline Whitehouse
“The book is terrific. It is terrific! And I love that you [George] are narrating it.”―Whoopi Goldberg, co-anchor ABC / The View
“Stories from the Situation Room’s colorful history run the gamut from heroic to silly… also tales that sound like they could be something out of a sitcom.”―New York Post Book Review
“What keeps readers engaged in Stephanopoulos’ history isn’t any behind the scenes schematics or technology… it’s the stories Stephanopoulos and Lisa Dickey share of the normally nameless and faceless public servants, the duty officers who have staffed the center since its inception.”―Associated Press Book Review
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Grand Central Publishing (May 14, 2024)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1538740761
- ISBN-13 : 978-1538740767
- Item Weight : 10.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.35 x 1.38 x 9.3 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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The Situation Room by George Stephanopoulos
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Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the writing quality well-written and excellent at capturing the context. They also find the content informative, fabulous, and apolitical. Readers also find it interesting.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book very interesting, easy to read, and fantastic. They also appreciate the intimate details and background information. Overall, they say the book is worth their time and money.
"...“warts and all” history of the White House Situation Room, laden with intimate details from the founding of the Situation Room itself just after the..." Read more
"...Starting with the Kennedy Administration, the book captures several well-known scenes -- e.g., Johnson becoming obsessed about Vietnam, the..." Read more
"Although well written and a best seller, it is clear that the writer also inserted his personal political agenda." Read more
"...It is a well done and a fascinating book filled with interesting and informative information about how our presidents made difficult and..." Read more
Customers find the book filled with great information about United States presidential history. They say the author is very thorough in separating facts from non-facts. They also say the book is important, sobering, and fabulous. Customers also mention that the book has no detectable bias of a political nature.
"...It’s current, excellent, and through. The supporting documentation of each chapter is well done and complete, also." Read more
"...times of crisis, is an excellent, fast-paced, entertaining, and informative book...." Read more
"...I recommend to everyone to read this book. It is filled with a lot of great information about United States presidential history and what was it..." Read more
"...Incredible detail offered in clear, factual writing. No detectable bias of a political nature. Read it." Read more
Customers find the writing quality of the book well written, easy to read, and clear. They also appreciate the incredible detail and factual writing. Readers also mention that the book highlights some unsung political heroes.
"...There are a great many highs detailed. From the aforementioned “Tear Down This Wall!”..." Read more
"...While author Stephanopolous does an excellent job of capturing the context, without bogging down in details, the book clearly shows how America has..." Read more
"Although well written and a best seller, it is clear that the writer also inserted his personal political agenda." Read more
"...The authors did a great and an excellent job. I love the book...." Read more
Customers find the plot riveting, inspiring, terrifying, and engrossing. They also say the research and honesty are frightening.
"...juicy stories, of which there are many, but there are also tremendous stories of courage, and strength in the face if great evil...." Read more
"I ended up gifting this book for Fathers Day. It’s a gripping read if you like history and the book is apolitical; told from a historical standpoint..." Read more
"...doubts about the election, please read this, it’s eye opening and frightening! I loved the book even if trump has been left out!" Read more
"...It is well written, and engrossing. Just as I knew it would be. If you want to learn how "it" works inside the..." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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This is a tremendous volume with over 100 interviews conducted by the authors, and research assistants over time and they paint some flattering and less than flattering portraits of behaviors of Commanders-in-Chiefs over the past 63 years that will explain much of what we have seen in this country and abroad during our lifetimes.
Every major crisis in each administration, all of the information gatherers, decision makers, and leaders, as well as their decision-making processes are reviewed, including many of the equipment updates and reconfigurations of the White House basement that became the Situation Room that, as President Kennedy described it, was a “pigsty” in 1961.
Among the many stories and interviews related in the book, are the stories of key figures who were missing or, when they were desperately needed in the Situation Room, were nowhere near the location, preferring to have information relayed to them from below.
Where Lyndon Johnson micromanaged the Vietnam War from the Situation Room during his administration, Richard Nixon was described as such an introvert that he could hardly stand to be in the spaces at all. He preferred to take work, and a bottle of scotch whiskey with him to Room 180 at the Old Executive Office Building across the street. Some staff interviewed said that in his last weeks in office during the Watergate scandal, he was fairly inebriated all the time.
Not to give away all the juicy stories, of which there are many, but there are also tremendous stories of courage, and strength in the face if great evil. Such as the Ford Administration’s handling of the Saigon withdrawal at the end of Vietnam, and the disastrous handling of the attempt to free the American hostages in Iran at the end of the Carter Administration.
Such was the case at many times in recent history that are revealed in these pages. Many lessons were learned and applied from previous crises that avoided worse ones, when the right people were on hand to exercise the calls that had to made. This happened often as many of us watched the collapse of the Soviet Union and its client states 34 years ago. Events, as this book showed, don’t happen by accident.
There are a great many highs detailed. From the aforementioned “Tear Down This Wall!” moment by President Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate to the actual fall of the Berlin Wall in George H.W. Bush’s Administration to the terrible lows of 9/11, The Iraq/Afghanistan War, and WMD intelligence failings, then back to the elimination of Osama bin Laden. Included in this are lessons in leadership, or style over substance as we see how decisions were made during the Covid Crisis and various Trump-era situations.
Stephanopoulos’s time as White House Communications Director allowed him a certain level of access and trust with the people that were interviewed for the book that is unprecedented, in recent memory. Even though he hasn’t worked in the White House in over 30 years, his level of expertise, and even-handed approach go a long way to accomplishing a detailed and forthright history of current events from the most important office in the world.
With that, this reviewer highly encourages anyone with a sense of why the world is the way it is to read this book soon. It’s current, excellent, and through. The supporting documentation of each chapter is well done and complete, also.
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