{"product_id":"first-in-line-presidents-vice-presidents-and-the-pursuit-of-power-isbn-9780062668943","title":"First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“An intimate, compulsively readable account of the dynamics that have shaped—and sometimes destroyed—relations at the top of the American political hierarchy.... [and] a valuable addition to the literature of the modern presidency.” — \u003cem\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the author of the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestsellers \u003cem\u003eFirst Women\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Residence,\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVice 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrower 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis 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, \u003cem\u003eFirst In Line\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn intimate, news-making look at the men who are first in line to the most powerful office in the world—the vice presidents of the modern era—from Richard Nixon and LBJ to Dick Cheney, Joe Biden, and Mike Pence\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBestselling author Kate Andersen Brower took us inside the lives of the White House staff in \u003cem\u003eThe Residence.\u003c\/em\u003e She followed that with an in-depth look at the modern first ladies in \u003cem\u003eFirst Women\u003c\/em\u003e. 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. 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. 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Brower reveals, the president and the vice president, whether they began as allies or rivals, 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\u003cbr\u003eto 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe rich dynamic between the president and the vice president has never been fully explored or understood—until now. Compelling and rigorously reported, grounded in history and politics, and full of deeply personal stories told here for the first time, \u003cem\u003eFirst in Line\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Kate Andersen Brower has a wonderful reporter’s eye for the telling detail that makes history engaging and real. In \u003cem\u003eFirst in Line\u003c\/em\u003e, she explores the fraught relationship between president and vice-president up to the present day in a pithy, revealing, and timely fashion. Her many fans from \u003cem\u003eThe Residence\u003c\/em\u003e will not be disappointed.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEvan Thomas, author of Ike’s Bluff and Being Nixon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eFirst in Line\u003c\/em\u003e is a nonfiction book that reads as quickly as a novel you can’t put down. As Kate Andersen Brower pulls back the curtain on the relationships between Presidents and Vice Presidents, readers will be delighted by a trove of stories, secrets, and life lessons. Her interviews and research supplemented my own experience in watching the importance of a strong, loyal, and trusting relationship between the two highest officeholders in the land.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDana Perino, Former White House Press Secretary and author of And the Good News Is... Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Combining fascinating inside stories with astute political insights, \u003cem\u003eFirst in Line\u003c\/em\u003e fills a long-missing hole in American history. We learn here how men from Richard Nixon to Mike Pence have played their sometimes essential, sometimes useless roles in the prestigious but peculiar job of Vice President.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCokie Roberts, author of Ladies of Liberty\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The queen of inside-Washington storytelling has extended her reign. With \u003cem\u003eFirst in Line\u003c\/em\u003e, Kate Andersen Brower finds yet another one of the political world’s most intriguing untold stories and delivers it to readers with the unparalleled reporting and compelling, fast-moving prose that have made her one of the few must-read authors of our time. Americans’ understanding of vice presidents — how they’re chosen, how they’ve maneuvered for more power and how they’ve increasingly shaped modern politics — will never be the same.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJonathan Allen, co-author, Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Crisp, engrossing.... Brower delivers what she did in her previous books\u003cem\u003e, \u003c\/em\u003ea readable, insightful account of how the vice presidency has evolved and the men could end up in the Oval Office some day.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An intimate, compulsively readable account of the dynamics that have shaped—and sometimes destroyed—relations at the top of the American political hierarchy.... [and] a valuable addition to the literature of the modern presidency.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888465604837,"sku":"NP9780062668943","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062668943.jpg?v=1730229147","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/first-in-line-presidents-vice-presidents-and-the-pursuit-of-power-isbn-9780062668943","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}