First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents Audiobook, by Gary Ginsberg Play Audiobook Sample

First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents Audiobook

First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents Audiobook, by Gary Ginsberg Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Robert Petkoff Publisher: Twelve Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 10.33 hours at 1.5x Speed 7.75 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: July 2021 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781549184611

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

21

Longest Chapter Length:

75:23 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

29 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

44:13 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

1

Publisher Description

In the bestselling tradition of The Presidents Club and Presidential Courage, White House history as told through the stories of the best friends and closest confidants of American presidents.

Here are the riveting histories of myriad presidential friendships, among them:

  • Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Speed: They shared a bed for four years during which Speed saved his friend from a crippling depression. Two decades later the friends worked together to save the Union. 
  • Harry Truman and Eddie Jacobson: When Truman wavered on whether to recognize the state of Israel in 1948, his lifelong friend and former business partner intervened at just the right moment with just the right words to steer the president’s decision. 
  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Daisy Suckley: Unassuming and overlooked during her lifetime, Daisy Suckley was in reality FDR’s most trusted, constant confidant, the respite for a lonely and overworked President navigating the Great Depression and World War II
  • John Kennedy and David Ormsby-Gore: They met as young men in pre-war London and began a conversation over the meaning of leadership.  A generation later the Cuban Missile Crisis would put their ideas to test as Ormsby-Gore became the president’s unofficial, but most valued foreign policy advisor.
These and other friendships—including Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, Franklin Pierce and Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Bill Clinton and Vernon Jordan—populate this fresh and provocative exploration of a series of seminal presidential friendships.

Publishing history teems with books by and about Presidents, First Ladies, First Pets, and even First Chefs. Now former Clinton aide Gary Ginsberg breaks new literary ground on Pennsylvania Avenue and provides fresh insights into the lives of the men who held the most powerful political office in the world by looking at the friends on whom they relied.

First Friends is an engaging, serendipitous look into the lives of Commanders-in-Chief and how their presidencies were shaped by those they held most dear.

Download and start listening now!

“First Friends is an overdue reminder that deep friendship has always played a priceless role in shaping the contours of history. It gives us a fresh reminder of the power of relationships.”

— Tom Brokaw, #1 New York Times bestselling author 

Quotes

  • “An insightful series of biographies, showing just how these friendships thrived and survived and were consequential for the nation’s history.”

    — Booklist (starred review)
  • “Readers will delight in this intriguing look at the human side of the presidency.”

    — Publishers Weekly
  • “With his great research and personal feel for true friendship, Gary Ginsberg has woven together fascinating stories and memorable insights.”

    — Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author
  • “Ginsberg takes a fascinating and utterly original look at the most crucial of questions: How do we best understand those who occupy our highest office and the first friends who supported them?”

    — Malcolm Gladwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author
  • “Rich with well-told anecdotes, new angles on critical historical events, and evidence of the vital importance of friendships.”

    — Lesley Stahl, award–winning American journalist
  • “Shines fresh light on the workings of the highest political office in our government. Best of all, it is a fun read.”

    — John W. Dean, New York Times bestselling author
  • “Charming and original, this examination of largely unexplored terrain—presidents and their best friends—packs a historical punch.”

    — Peggy Noonan, New York Times bestselling author

Awards

  • New York Times bestseller
  • A #1 Amazon bestseller

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About Gary Ginsberg

Gary Ginsberg grew up in Buffalo New York, home to two US presidents. A lawyer by training, he has spent his professional career at the intersection of media, politics, and law. He worked for the Clinton administration, was a senior editor and counsel at the political magazine George, and then spent the next two decades in executive positions in media and technology at News Corporation, Time Warner, and SoftBank. He has published pieces in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal and was an on-air political contributor in the early days of MSNBC.

About Robert Petkoff

Robert Petkoff is an actor and audiobook narrator who has won a prestigious Audie Award and multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards. He has appeared on Chappelle’s Show, Law & Order, and Quantum Leap. His Broadway credits include Sir Robin in Spamalot, Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof, and Tateh in Ragtime.