The Highest Calling

PRAISE FOR THE HIGHEST CALLING

“A rare feat…  An invaluable record of what some of the greatest minds on the presidency have to say about some of the greatest presidents.”
—THE WASHINGTON POST

“With this formidable, wise, riveting book, David Rubenstein draws on his own White House experience and his long study of American presidents to show us some of the most important lessons of presidential leadership—both the failures and the triumphs. The author here collaborates with a dazzling, well-chosen array of experts on crucial past presidents, as well as George W. Bush and the Clintons. At this moment of political crisis, Rubenstein has brought us fresh history that can throw a vital light on the decisions that we Americans have to make about our future."
—MICHAEL BESCHLOSS, award-winning historian and New York Times bestselling author of Presidents of War

“At this critical moment for our country, David Rubenstein uses his consummate skill as an interviewer to explore the history of the U.S. presidency with a dazzling array of historians, journalists—and even some presidents themselves. This is a book of stimulating conversations and deep insights—both historical and contemporary—that illuminate the lives, times and legacies of American leaders over the course of nearly two and a half centuries. Rubenstein's reflections on his own interactions with presidents since the years of his work in the Carter White House provide a powerful framework for his interviews and remind us of our responsibilities as citizens in a story that is still being written.”
—DREW G. FAUST, author of This Republic of Suffering, and President Emerita and Lincoln Professor of History of Harvard University

“David Rubenstein’s latest book, The Highest Calling: Conversations on the American Presidency, is a masterful journey through the history of those who stood at the center of the world stage to lead mankind’s most powerful nation. His probing interviews with scholars and biographers detail the strengths and frailties of 21 presidents from Washington to Biden who shaped the history of the United States and the consequences of their time in the White House. As someone who served six of those presidents, I highly recommend The Highest Calling for anyone wanting a full-throated understanding about how this critical component of the American experiment in democracy truly works.”
—JAMES A. BAKER, III, 61st U.S. Secretary of State

“David M. Rubenstein’s The Highest Calling is an exemplary, close-up study of twenty-one U.S. presidents from George Washington to Joe Biden. Based on interviews with first-rate biographers like Annette Gordon-Reed (Thomas Jefferson) and Ron Chernow (Ulysses S. Grant) Rubenstein—our foremost expeditionary on the evolution of the U.S. presidency—brilliantly illuminates the distinctive personalities and visionary policies of past residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. His sharp portraits of misunderstood leaders like James Garfield, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter are especially good. The Highest Calling is also a timely reminder that Barack Obama’s famous dictum “Don’t boo, vote” constitutes the beating heart of our democracy. Highly Recommended!”
—DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University and author of American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race