“Having interviewed all 17 living former chiefs of staff and two former presidents, Whipple offers a scintillating behind-the-scenes look at an office that is all but invisible to the public. This is page-turning catnip for political junkies, who will read it with an eye to what lies in store for Reince Priebus and the Trump administration.”

—Booklist, starred review

“A vibrant narrative of the real-world West Wing…confident and fast-paced…in this page-turner of a history, readers will discover new facets of historical events that they felt they already knew.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Whipple reviews the high and low points of the past eight administrations, and greatly enhances the narrative with his many interviews….A well-researched, well-written review of a unique government position—informative for the general public and an insightful blueprint for the new administration.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Highly recommended for those seeking a history of the modern presidency or political insight. Through firsthand accounts of the presidency, it gives valuable understanding of the position and would be a great tool for Reince Priebus as President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.”

—Library Journal

“Chris Whipple takes us deep inside one of the most important and demanding jobs in Washington—White House chief of staff.  Here we get to know how great power is managed, and exercised by those who have held the job. If you’re a political junkie or merely curious, this is the book for you.”

—Tom Brokaw, former anchor, NBC Nightly News

“The story of White House chiefs of staff—often second only to the president in power—is an especially fresh and engaging way to chart the ups and downs of recent American presidents. And through Chris Whipple’s discerning lens, we learn scores of new things about how government really works at the highest level.”

—Jonathan Alter, author of The Center Holds and The Promise

“Understanding how government really works, what presidents actually do, and what is the range of ‘normal’ versus ‘unprecedented’ behavior, is more important now than ever before. As The Gatekeepers makes vividly clear, White House chiefs of staff are at the center of the process that determines how presidents succeed or fail. This is an enlightening work of history with important lessons for our immediate future.”

—James Fallows, The Atlantic,
former White House speechwriter

“Chief of staff is a role of recent vintage—the most powerful job in government never mentioned in the Constitution. Chris Whipple has done a wonderful job humanizing the crushing nature of the 24/7 job (literally 24/7) in which all credit or blame goes to the president who is served. This is a book of insights, but so too is it an important manual on how the executive branch of our government functions.”

—Charles Gibson, former anchor,
ABC World News Tonight

“A vivid, enthralling, and brilliantly reported account of White House chiefs of staff, who are—with all respects to U.S. vice presidents—the actual second-most-powerful people in Washington. This is U.S. history through the fascinating prism of the men who guard the door to the Oval Office, and a learned, welcome, and important addition to the study of the executive branch.”

—Christopher Buckley, author of Thank You for Smoking, No Way to Treat a First Lady, and The Relic Master

“The real power in Washington since 1968 has passed through the hands of twenty-one men who were never further than a phone call or a few feet down the hall from the presidents they served. Every page of Whipple’s book casts fresh light on the great events of the last fifty years.”

—Thomas Powers, Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter and author of The Killing of Crazy Horse former White House speechwriter

“What is it like to have the toughest job in America? Using his access to seemingly every top White House official of the past half century, Whipple has asked all the right questions and written a book that is at once riveting and highly informative. It is also extremely relevant in the new Age of Trump.”

—Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon

“I loved The Gatekeepers! The reporting is superb, the writing engaging and fair-minded. Unbuttoned at last, these chiefs have wonderful stories to tell…compellingly readable.”

—Alex Beam, author of The Feud, Gracefully Insane, and American Crucifixion

“Chris Whipple is one of our era’s most accomplished multimedia journalists. The Gatekeepers is first-rate history, as told by the men who lived it to a man who knows, with supreme assurance, how to write it.”

—James Rosen, Fox News chief Washington correspondent and author of Cheney One on One

“History, drama, intrigue. Every page is engaging. Required reading for every Washington power player.”

—David Friend, Vanity Fair, author of Watching the World Change