Description

Most Americans saw President Bill Clinton and Speaker Newt Gingrich as staunch foes--"the polar extremes of Pennsylvania Avenue." But as Steven Gillon reveals in The Pact, these powerful adversaries formed a secret alliance in 1997, a pact that would have rocked the political landscape, had it not foundered in the wake of the Lewinsky scandal.
A fascinating look at politics American-style, The Pact offers a riveting account of two of America's most charismatic and influential leaders, detailing both their differences and their striking similarities, and highlighting the profound and lasting impact the tumultuous 1960s had on both their personal and political lives. With the cooperation of both President Clinton and Speaker Gingrich, interviews with key players who have never before spoken about their experiences, along with unprecedented access to Gingrich's private papers, Gillon not only offers a behind-the-scenes look at the budget impasse and the government shutdown in 1995--the famous face-off between Clinton and Gingrich--but he also reveals how the two moved closer together after 1996--closer than anyone knew. In particular, the book illuminates their secret efforts to abandon the liberal and conservative wings of their own parties and strike a bi-partisan deal to reform the "third rail of American politics"--Social Security and Medicare. That potentially groundbreaking effort was swept away by the highly charged reaction to the Lewinsky affair, ending an initiative that might have transformed millions of American lives.
Packed with compelling new revelations about two of the most powerful and intriguing figures of our time, this book will be must reading for everyone interested in politics or current events.

Reviews

"Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich were two of the most interesting, gifted and complicated figures ever to grace American politics. Steve Gillon, a thoughtful historian with exceptional political savvy, has turned his ample gifts to capturing the politics of the Clinton-Gingrich moment. He sheds new light on their relationship, and explains not only where they came from but also where their confrontation led us. This is an important book about a fascinating episode." --E. J. Dionne, Jr., author of Souled Out and Why Americans Hate Politics

"Steven Gillon, using a wide range of inside sources, tells a great and absorbing story: how Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, who had fought for years over the meaning of the 1960s, schemed in 1997 to form a centrist political coalition, only to fail amidst the nasty partisan wrangling that led to the impeachment of the president." --James T.Patterson, author of Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush v. Gore

The Pact has an excellent premise and is executed masterfully. Steve Gillon deftly tells the story of this odd couple from the 1990s, showing the surprising similarities between Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, and how they differed. In the process, Gillon insightfully and entertainingly helps us understand the 1990s, the 1960s and the entire Baby Boom generation--and epoch."-- Gil Troy, author of Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents

"A page-turner" --US News & World Report

"Does a masterly job of recreating the diplomacy aimed at bringing the titans together...Unlike chroniclers of recent history who laboriously recount what most of us remember, Mr. Gillon has real news to tell." --The Wall Street Journal "Renders a fraught moment in American political history with clarity."

--Publishers Weekly

"Gillon sheds more light on the political instincts of both men than any other book yet written about either.... this excellent book should be an essential acqisition for all libraries." --Library Journal

Product Details

368 pages; 15 halftones; 6-1/8 x 9-1/4; ISBN13: 978-0-19-532278-1ISBN10: 0-19-532278-9

About the Author(s)