The President's Book of Secrets; The Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to American Presidents

New York: PublicAffairs, 2017. First paperback edition [stated]. Second printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Good. Renee Priess (Author photograph). xiii, [1], 384, [2] pages. Illustrations. Notes. Index. Some ink underlining/marks noted. Foreword by George H. W. Bush. David Priess is a writer on national security, intelligence, and the presidency. He served at the CIA during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations as an intelligence officer, manager, and daily intelligence briefer as well as at the State Department as a desk officer in the Near East Bureau. Priess's intelligence and diplomatic career focused on Middle Eastern politics and terrorism. His role as daily intelligence briefer to FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General John Ashcroft involved presenting the highlights of the of President's Daily Brief and other intelligence materials each morning; he also filled in as the PDB briefer for the National Security Advisor, the Deputy National Security Advisor, and the CIA's Deputy Director. For his book The President's Book of Secrets: The Untold Story of Intelligence Briefings to America's Presidents, Priess became the first author to interview for one book every living former President, Vice President, and CIA Director from previous administrations as well as nearly 100 other national security and intelligence leaders of the past half century—most National Security Advisors, Secretaries of State, Secretaries of Defense, and White House Chiefs of Staff. His book, How To Get Rid of a President: History's Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives tells the rich stories of the various ways Presidents have left office. Priess obtained his Ph.D. in political science from Duke University. Every president has had a unique and complicated relationship with the intelligence community. While some have been coolly distant, even adversarial, others have found their intelligence agencies to be among the most valuable instruments of policy and power. Since John F. Kennedy's presidency, this relationship has been distilled into a personalized daily report: a short summary of what the intelligence apparatus considers the most crucial information for the president to know that day about global threats and opportunities. This top secret document is known as the President's Daily Brief, or, within national security circles, simply the Book. Presidents have spent anywhere from a few moments (Richard Nixon) to a healthy part of their day (George W. Bush) consumed by its contents; some (Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush) consider it far and away the most important document they saw on a regular basis while commander in chief. The details of most PDBs are highly classified, and will remain so for many years. But the process by which the intelligence community develops and presents the Book is a fascinating look into the operation of power at the highest levels. David Priess, a former intelligence officer and daily briefer, has interviewed every living president and vice president as well as more than one hundred others intimately involved with the production and delivery of the president's book of secrets. He offers an unprecedented window into the decision making of every president from Kennedy to Obama, with many character rich stories revealed here for the first time.