Synopses & Reviews
Robert Scheer's interviews with and profiles of US presidents have shaped journalism history. Scheer developed close journalistic relationships with Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush I. His reporting on them had a tangible impact on national debate, such as the eminent 1976
Playboy interview in which Jimmy Carter, the then-presidential candidate, admitted to have lusted in his heart; and the 1980 interview with the
L.A. Times, during which Bush I confessed to Scheer his dream of a "winnable nuclear war.”
In Playing President, Robert Scheer offers an unparalleled insight into the presidential mind. He analyses each administration since Nixon, and including George W. Bush, offering insights that will surprise the readerparticularly those with rigid preconceptions about the decision-making processes of our leaders. The volume will also include reprints of Scheers famous presidential interviews, along with previously unpublished interview transcripts and select previous writings.
Robert Scheer is the author of six books, including Thinking Tuna Fish, Talking Death: Essays on the Pornography of Power; With Enough Shovels: Reagan, Bush and Nuclear War; and America After Nixon: The Age of Multinationals. Along with Christopher Scheer and Lakshmi Chaudhry, he is the coauthor of The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq (Seven Stories/Akashic). Scheer is currently a clinical professor of communications at the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. He is a nationally syndicated columnist based at the Los Angeles Times, a contributing editor at the Nation, and a host of NPR-affiliate KCRW's Left, Right, and Center.
Synopsis
Cultural Writing. Politics. Journalism. Over the past thirty years covering presidential politics for the Los Angeles Times, award-winning journalist Robert Scheer has conducted in-depth interviews with Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush I. These conversations have shaped journalism history and significantly impacted national debate--such as his eminent 1976 Playboy interview in which then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter admitted to lusting in his heart; and a 1980 Los Angeles Times interview with George Bush I, who bungled his campaign against Reagan in the Republican primary by detailing for Scheer his vision of a "winnable nuclear war." In PLAYING PRESIDENT, Scheer offers an unparalleled insight into the presidential mind. He anchors his seminal interviews and profiles with new analyses of each President, offering insights that will educate readers of all political stripes.
Synopsis
"Robert Scheer is one of the best reporters of our time." --Joan Didion
"Impressive . . . Deftly analyzed to create a sound basis for understanding each of these former Presidents, Playing President offers readers a wealth of insights into their lives, minds, and decisions . . . Very strongly recommended." --Midwest Book Review
Robert Scheer's interviews with US Presidents, and his profiles of them, have shaped journalism history. Scheer developed close journalistic relationships with Presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush I. His reporting on them had a tangible impact on national debate--such as the eminent 1976 Playboy interview in which Jimmy Carter, the then-presidential candidate, admitted to lusting in his heart; and the 1980 interview with the Los Angeles Times during which Bush I confessed to Scheer his dream of a "winnable nuclear war."
In Playing President, copublished with Truthdig.com, Robert Scheer offers an unparalleled insight into the presidential mind. Through both new writing and reprinted material, he analyzes each administration since Nixon, including George W. Bush, offering insights that will surprise the reader--particularly those with rigid preconceptions about the decision-making processes of our leaders. The volume also includes Scheer's famous presidential interviews, along with previously unpublished interview transcripts and select previous writings.
Synopsis
Award-wnning L.A. Times columnist Scheer offers unique insider perspectives on every president from Nixon to Bush Jr.
About the Author
Robert Scheer is the author of six books and is currently a clinical professor of communications at the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. He is a nationally syndicated columnist based at the Los Angeles Times, a contributing editor at The Nation, and a host of NPR affiliate KCRW's Left, Right, and Center.