1ST LINE - Softcover

Brower, Kate Andersen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062668951 ISBN 13: 9780062668950

Publisher: HarperPb, 2019

Synopsis

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers First Women and The Residence, an intimate, news-making look at the men who are next in line to the most powerful office in the world—the vice presidents of the modern era—from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden to Mike Pence.

Vice presidents occupy a unique and important position, living partway in the spotlight and part in the wings. Of the forty-eight vice presidents who have served the United States, fourteen have become president; eight of these have risen to the Oval Office because of a president’s death or assassination, and one became president after his boss’s resignation. John Nance Garner, FDR’s first vice president, famously said the vice presidency is "not worth a bucket of warm piss" (later cleaned up to "warm spit"). But things have changed dramatically in recent years. In interviews with more than two hundred people, including former vice presidents, their family members, and insiders and confidants of every president since Jimmy Carter, Kate Andersen Brower pulls back the curtain and reveals the sometimes cold, sometimes close, and always complicated relationship between our modern presidents and their vice presidents.

Brower took us inside the lives of the White House staff and gave us an intimate look at the modern First Ladies; now, in her signature style, she introduces us to the second most powerful men in the world, exploring the lives and roles of thirteen modern vice presidents—eight Republicans and five Democrats. And she shares surprising revelations about the relationship between former Vice President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama and how Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump interact behind closed doors.

From rivals to coworkers, there is a very tangible sense of admiration mixed with jealousy and resentment in nearly all these relationships between the number two and his boss, even the best ones, Brower reveals. Vice presidents owe their position to the president, a connection that affects not only how they are perceived but also their possible future as a presidential candidate—which is tied, for better or worse, to the president they serve. George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan had a famously prickly relationship during the 1980 primary, yet Bush would not have been elected president in 1988 without Reagan’s high approval rating. Al Gore’s 2000 loss, meanwhile, could be attributed to the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal and Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Current Vice President Mike Pence is walking a high-stakes political tightrope as he tries to reassure anxious Republicans while staying on his boss’s good side.

This rich dynamic between the president and the vice president has never been fully explored or understood. Compelling and deeply reported, grounded in history and politics, and full of previously untold and incredibly personal stories, First In Line pierces the veil of secrecy enveloping this historic political office to offer us a candid portrait of what it’s truly like to be a heartbeat away.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Bestselling author Kate Andersen Brower introduces us to the second-most-powerful men in the world, exploring the lives and roles of thirteen modern vice presidents—eight Republicans and five Democrats—and the lives of their wives, who are known as the Second Lady. In interviews with more than two hundred people, including all six living former vice presidents, their family members, insiders, and confidants, Brower pulls back the curtain to reveal the sometimes close, often chilly, and always complicated relationship between our modern presidents and their vice presidents. She shares surprising revelations about the relationship between former vice president Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama and how Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump interact behind closed doors.

As Brower reveals, the president and vice president share a very tangible sense of admiration mixed with jealousy and resentment—even when the relationship appears to be ideal. Vice presidents owe their position to the president—a connection that affects not only how they are perceived but also their possible future as a presidential candidate, which is tied, for better or worse, to the president they serve. George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan had a famously prickly relationship during the 1980 primary, yet Bush would not have been elected president in 1988 without Reagan’s high approval rating. Al Gore’s 2000 loss, conversely, could partly be attributed to the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal and Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Current vice president Mike Pence is walking a high-stakes political tightrope as he tries to reassure anxious Republicans while staying on his boss’s good side.

First in Line lifts the veil of secrecy surrounding this historic political office to offer us a spellbinding portrait of what it is truly like to be a heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world.

About the Author

Kate Andersen Brower is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Residence and New York Times bestseller First Women. She is a CNN contributor and has spent four years covering the Obama White House for Bloomberg News and is a former CBS News staffer and Fox News producer. She has written for the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Time, the Washington Post, and Bloomberg Businessweek. She lives outside of Washington, D.C., with her husband, their three young children, and their wheaten terrier.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperPb
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 0062668951
• ISBN 13: 9780062668950
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352