Partner to Power: The Secret World of Presidents and Their Most Trusted Advisers

A former senior advisor to members of Congress, Cummings debuts with an uneven look at 11 close advisers to nine presidents, from George Washington to George W. Bush. Cummings uncovers much fascinating presidential history, including how Alexander Hamilton helped buoy Washington’s administration by shepherding through Congress a controversial treaty with Britain and the jockeying for power between Sherman Adams, Eisenhower’s chief of staff, and then-secretary-of-state John Foster Dulles. Cummings writes clearly and often colorfully but sometimes overstates his case, as in maintaining that Washington and Hamilton had “a seamless partnership so close it was as if they knew each other’s thoughts.” Also, some of his chapters are far too brief; the one on F.D.R. and Louis Howe, for example, inexplicably focuses almost entirely on their relationship before F.D.R. was elected president and Howe was appointed secretary to the president. While these flaws are significant, this is still an original, insightful exploration of how the presidency has evolved and of how presidents have functioned. Agent: Andrew Stuart, the Stuart Agency. (Feb.)