The Ring of Power (Signed)

Explains the role of the White House staff, looks at examples of their work in the administrations of Truman through Reagan, and discusses the vice president's staff

As Patterson points out, members of the president's staff "have zero authority in their own right, yet 100 percent of presidential authority passes through their hands." In this useful handbook, the author, a veteran of 14 years on the White House staff, describes the complex system and explains how it works. Fourteen of the major subgroups in the staff family serve the specialized policy and political needs of the president. One staff office reports directly to the First Lady, another to the Vice-President. Four are what Patterson calls the centralizing points: the Staff Secretary, the Office of Cabinet Affairs, the President's Personal Office and the Chief of Staff. In addition, the White House has a nonpartisan staff of 24 support units; these include the telephone operators and 50 chauffeurs. An upbeat, non-evaluative overview, the book raises no hackles as long as the reader is comfortable with statements such as the following: "White House staff can have no personal agendas other than helping the president."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Drawing on his 14 years experience on White House staffs, Patterson has written a strong defense of this unheralded and misunderstood group. The thesis of this well-documented and lively book is that "the White House staff is playing an expanded and surprisingly underestimated role in the policy process." He examines the 20 major staff offices and focuses on four "centralizing points" of power. He defends the staff as a whole, in spite of occasional scoundrels, and argues that it serves as the best means of implementing a president's policies. Highly recommended for academic libraries and as a supplementary text in American government courses. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.