Inside the President's Team: Family, Service, and the Gerald Ford Presidency

(Hardback)

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An eye-opening and exceptionalview of theFord presidency by one of his closest and most-trusted advisors.

Except for his wife Betty, no one was closer to Gerald Ford during his presidency than Bob Barrett. Bob carried the nuclear footballthe American nuclear codesand could not let Ford out of his sight. This nerve-wracking job led to a deep friendship with the First Family and gave Bob an unparalleled view of Fords historic and unusual presidency. In his memoir, Inside the Presidents Team, Bob takes readers into the White House and the Ford home to show the administration and the couple as few others could see them.

Bob gives new insights into why Ford decided to pardon Nixon and how he responded to criticism of it; how Ford chose his own vice president (and another for his run in 1976); and what he did with potentially difficult members of the former administration, such as Al Haig and the now-infamous Michael Flynn. Bob provides a front-row view of Fords meeting with Leonid Brezhnev in Russia during their famous summit on arms control, and he shows how abandoning our ally South Vietnam put a greater strain on Ford than deciding whether to pardon his predecessor.

Bob reveals what happened during the two assassination attempts and reveals the flawed inner workings of the 1976 campaign. Meanwhile, he became so close to the family that he took part in Betty Fords intervention and recalls scenes that show Ford to be, as Bob describes him, the most decent, honorable, trustworthy person I ever met.

Ford's legacy as a reconciler and a healer of a deeply divided America during a time of strife comes alive in Inside the President's Team, and it is a celebration of the impact of living a life of service.

Author Bio

BobBarrettattended Syracuse University andserved two tours inVietnam with the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of major.He worked at the United States Army War College as its public affairs and communications officer and was offered the position of military aid to President Ford at the start of his administration, where he carried the "nuclear football,"or nuclear codes.After his work in the White House,Barrett played a crucial role in developing the Gerald R. Ford Museum inGrand Rapids, Michigan; the Ford Presidential Library inAnn Arbor, Michigan; and the Betty Ford Center for drug and alcohol rehabilitation inRancho Mirage, California.