Praise for Chris Whipple's The Gatekeepers

New York Times Bestseller

Entertaining and engaging. -Wall Street Journal

Compelling and insightful... destined to take its place alongside classic works by Richard Neustadt, Theodore White and other White House chroniclers... A must-read. -Huffington Post

Carefully researched and eminently readable, The Gatekeepers... provides a fresh view of the modern presidencies. Whipple cuts to the heart of what, or more to the point who, makes a presidency succeed or fail. -Newsday

A treasure trove of stories about 'the second-most-powerful job in government.' -Fort Worth Star Telegram

Could not be more timely...There are valuable lessons in The Gatekeepers for Trump's chief, the embattled Reince Priebus. -TIME.com

Captivating...This is a tale told by a journalist, and in a way that makes for better history. -USNews.com

[Whipple's] prose is clear, crisp and often evocative...his observations ring true as he tracks the development of the office. -Washington Times

Observers of the political scene will find this book well worth their time and attention. Whipple's style is lively and engaging, and he peppers the pages with colorful quotes and marvelous anecdotes. -History News Network

A candid and exhilarating history about the development of the office of Chief of Staff. -Missourian

Chris Whipple takes us deep inside one of the most important and demanding jobs in Washington-White House chief of staff. Here we get to know how great power is managed, and exercised by those who have held the job. If you're a political junkie or merely curious, this is the book for you. -Tom Brokaw, former anchor, NBC Nightly News

A vivid, enthralling, and brilliantly reported account of White House chiefs of staff, who are-with all respects to US vice presidents-the actual second-most-powerful people in Washington. This is US history through the fascinating prism of the men who guard the door to the Oval Office, and a learned, welcome, and important addition to the study of the executive branch. -Christopher Buckley, author of Thank You for Smoking, No Way to Treat a First Lady, and The Relic Master

Understanding how government really works, what Presidents actually do, and what is the range of 'normal' versus 'unprecedented' behavior, is more important now than ever before. As The Gatekeepers makes vividly clear, White House chiefs of staff are at the center of the process that determines how presidents succeed or fail. This is an enlightening work of history with important lessons for our immediate future. -James Fallows, The Atlantic, former White House speechwriter

Chief of Staff is a role of recent vintage-the most powerful job in government never mentioned in the Constitution. Chris Whipple has done a wonderful job humanizing the crushing nature of the 24/7 job (literally 24/7) in which all credit or blame goes to the President who is served. This is a book of insights, but so too is it an important manual on how the executive branch of our government functions. -Charles Gibson, former anchor, ABC World News Tonight

The story of White House chiefs of staff-often second only to the president in power-is an especially fresh and engaging way to chart the ups and downs of recent American presidents. And through Chris Whipple's discerning lens, we learn scores of new things about how government really works at the highest level. -Jonathan Alter, author of The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies and The Promise: President Obama, Year One

The real power in Washington since 1968 has passed through the hands of twenty-one men - no women so far-who were never further than a phone call or a few feet down the hall from the presidents they served. Their job title is chief of staff but Chris Whipple in his new book calls them The Gatekeepers. What the chiefs do is what politics is. The president may run the country but his chief of st