cover image In the Shadow of the Oval Office: From JFK to Bush II: The Presidents' National Security Advisers

In the Shadow of the Oval Office: From JFK to Bush II: The Presidents' National Security Advisers

Ivo H. Daalder, I. M. Destler, . . Simon & Schuster, $27 (386pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-5319-9

The position of national security adviser is by far the most powerful unelected (and unconfirmed by Congress) post in the federal government, with tremendous influence over American foreign policy (for good and for ill). Daalder (coauthor, America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy ) and Destler (coauthor, American Trade Politics ), foreign policy experts at, respectively, the Brookings Institution and the University of Maryland, do an excellent job of examining the different philosophies and styles of all who have filled the role, from McGeorge Bundy to Condoleezza Rice, as well as how different presidents have deployed the skills of their national security advisers. Unlike Cabinet secretaries, the national security adviser maintains an office in the White House and operates free of the politics and bureaucratic demands of running federal departments. There is no one-size-fits-all mold, and no standard résumé for this vital job. Some advisers have been college professors, others diplomats, still others veterans of the military. Each, as the authors astutely show, has brought unique talents and prejudices to the assignment, and each has left an indelible mark on history. (Feb.)