BOOK - "FIVE PRESIDENTS" by CLINT HILL and LISA McCUBBIN (Nonfiction)

WHAT A BOOK!! And I LOVE the cover. CLINT HILL is probably in his 30's or 40's in this photo. What a fascinating career he had in the SECRET SERVICE, working for all 5 of these Presidents.

I joined a NON-FICTION BOOK CLUB because I normally didn't read non-fiction and wanted to be exposed to some things I wouldn't normally gravitate towards. Several years ago my Sorority Alumni Book Club read "MRS. KENNEDY AND ME", also co-authored by CLINT HILL and LISA McCUBBIN and we all LOVED IT!  

If you don't know CLINT HILL by name, you would certainly know him as the man who climbed onto the back of the limousine that PRESIDENT and MRS. KENNEDY were riding in when PRESIDENT KENNEDY was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

CLINT HILL gives you a detailed accounting of the steady pressure he was under as a SECRET SERVICE AGENT - to protect the life of the President, Vice President and/or The First Lady. He was constantly planning for the next "outing" - was always on the lookout for strange movements or people who looked out of place or threatening and the stress finally took it's toll in his 40's. As co-authors, he and LISA McCUBBIN beautifully describe his life's work, his daily routine (that wasn't really "routine" at all) and the pressures he faced as a dedicated employee and protector.

Besides learning about CLINT HILL'S life, I also really enjoyed learning more about each of the 5 Presidents from his "insider perspective". Several things fascinated me about these 5 Presidents - including what they each had in common: 

1. During EVERY Presidency, there was SOCIAL and/or POLITICAL UNREST.
2. Every PRESIDENT had an enormous EGO - a NEED for adoration.
3. Many PRESIDENTS spent more time at his "ALTERNATE WHITE HOUSE" than at the actual White House in Washington, DC.
4. They all seem to love GOLF.

SOCIAL/POLITICAL UNREST

THE 1950's - EISENHOWER

Pg 52

"The fear of nuclear war was ever present, hovering like fog in every American's mind, and Eisenhower realized that maintaining our military strength was imperative to sustaining freedom in pursuit of world peace."

THE 1960's - KENNEDY

Pg 85

"Many American's believed war with the Soviet Union was inevitable. Additionally, racial tensions were mounting - especially throughout the South - as the civil rights movement was coming to the forefront."

Pg 129

"Nowhere was the tension greater than in Birmingham, Alabama, where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. had organized a series of marches."

THE 1960's - JOHNSON

Pg 230

"Everywhere you turned there was violence and killing."

Pg 282

"In less than twenty-four hours our nation's capital had turned into a war zone, and similar scenes were playing out in Chicago, Boston, Memphis, Nashville, and Detroit. So many military personnel were brought to D.C. that we were housing some of them in the hallways of the Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House."

Pg 289

"It felt like our country was unraveling at the seams."

Pg 293

"It felt like hatred and violence had taken the helm, thrusting our civilized society into a downward spiral."

THE 1960's - NIXON

Pg 325

"When Richard M. Nixon took office, America was a nation divided, with turbulence in our cities, ongoing protests against the Vietnam War, and still reeling from the assassinations of two more of our leaders."

THE 1970's - FORD

Pg 417

"One thing for sure: Ford's honeymoon period had come to an end, and from that point on, he would be the target of outrage and protests - an additional challenge for the agents on his protective detail."

EGO

Pg 29

EISENHOWER - "In response to the tremendous outpouring of affection, President Eisenhower rose up out of his seat and stood so the people could see him better, his arms outstretched, waving with his hat in his hand."

Pg 145

KENNEDY - "President and Mrs. Kennedy waved to the enthusiastic crowd, and when a group behind the fence line beckoned them to come closer, sure enough, President Kennedy strode toward them with Mrs. Kennedy following behind."

Pg 239

JOHNSON - "He stood on the running board reaching out to shake hands, grinning and shaking his head with glee at the response, and then, suddenly, he hauled himself up to the roof of the car and sat on the roof so the people could see him better."

Pg 332

NIXON - ".... his actions showed me that this president - like all the others I'd seen thus far - had an ego that needed to be stroked so badly that the man was willing to take calculated risks - risks that might cost him his life."

Pg 431

"The five presidents I had the privilege to serve could not have been more different....Yet there was one thing they all had in common: an enormous ego."

"ALTERNATE WHITE HOUSE"

Pg 91

KENNEDY - "The home at 1095 North Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach that would be known as the Winter White House was actually owned by the president's father, Ambassador Joseph Kennedy. ......just another place for the family to gather: their warm-weather getaway."

Pg 105

KENNEDY - "Just as Ambassador Kennedy's residence in Palm Beach became the Winter White House, the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, became the Summer White House."

Pg 219

JOHNSON - "Each president deals with the stress of the office in his own way. Lyndon Johnson found relaxation at the LBJ Ranch, and in 1965 alone he spent more than 110 days there - nearly a third of the year."

NOTABLES

Pg 1

"Eisenhower initiated America's interstate highway system, which created an abundance of jobs as roads and bridges were constructed across the country."

Pg 40

EISENHOWER - "For me, it was a fascinating learning experience to see how heads of state and governments worked together for the betterment of all their people. I was pleased to see the respect each had for one another, knowing they all had different philosophies, but also realizing that if these men did not work together toward a common goal, the result could be the end of humanity as we knew it."

Pg 336

"Raised a Quaker, Nixon was deeply religious....."

Pg 342

"This was the crux of the message he was going to give to the leaders of the countries he visited on this trip: We, the United States, will support you, but you must fight your own battles in protecting your homeland. No more Vietnams. This would become the basis of the "Nixon Doctrine"."

Pg 413

CLINT HILL - "Secret Service agents are supposed to be tough - and we were - but when your mother dies, even the strongest of men need someone to lean on."

Pg 414

".....on August 9, Vice President Gerald Ford would then be sworn in - the first person to become President of the United States not through the process of election but rather as an appointee."

And I have to say that I now realize that the world and the United States has always been in turmoil - there has always been conflict - there has always been fear of the actions from other countries - there have always been BIG challenges - and we are fortunate that men and women take risks to keep the rest of us safe from harm.

One last quote about the NEWS - 

THE 1960's

Pg 276

"Certainly, it is more dramatic to show policeman and rioters locked in combat than to show men trying to cooperate with one another. The face of hatred and of bigotry comes through much more clearly - no matter what its color. The face of tolerance, I seem to find, is rarely newsworthy."

JOAN