Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump

My book for September was Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump by Kate Andersen Brower. Wallen recommended the book.

Several parts of the book were particularly poignant for me. The relationship between Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush is fascinating. After a heated campaign against each other, they came together to support a number of projects and initiatives later in life. It almost seems like H. W. became a surrogate father to Clinton.

I particularly like George H. W. Bush's core values. “His life code was: Tell the truth. Don’t blame people. Be strong. Do your best. Try hard. Forgive. Stay the course.”

I continue to be fascinated by Jimmy Carter. Carter has obviously accomplished an enormous amount in this post presidency. Nevertheless, he is a prickly person. As highlighted in the biography that I read last year, Carter is not a collaborative person. he exists on the edge of this group of past presidents.

The book also reenforces a number of things that I continue to be uncomfortable with about Trump. He lies. As Obama said while he campaigned for Democratic candidates, Trump lies “blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly.” He is thin skinned. As highlighted in this book, Trump just won't take anyone else's counsel. As John Bolton said, Trump wanted to do what he wanted to do, based on what he knew and what he saw as his own best personal interests.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it. I need to read biographies of all five of these presidents. Sharon started reading it on the way back from the Balkans. She is also enjoying the book.