Hamilton Books
Pages: 264
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7618-3905-7 • Hardback • January 2008 • $107.00 • (£82.00)
978-0-7618-3872-2 • Paperback • January 2008 • $54.99 • (£42.00)
Part 1 List of Photographs
Part 2 Foreword
Part 3 Preface
Part 4 Acknowledgements
Part 5 Epigram
Chapter 6 Introduction
Part 7 I: My Early Career
Chapter 8 An Ideal First Job
Chapter 9 Legislative Assistant to Senator Kennedy
Chapter 10 The Hoover Commission
Chapter 11 Return to Senator Kennedy's Office
Chapter 12 The Senate Small Business Committee
Chapter 13 Senator John Sherman Cooper
Part 14 II: The Kennedy White House
Chapter 15 Joining the White House Staff
Chapter 16 The Legislative Agenda and The Legislative Process
Chapter 17 Domestic Programs and Policies
Chapter 18 JFK and Civil Rights
Chapter 19 The Assassination
Part 20 III: The Johnson White House
Chapter 21 The Johnson Years
Chapter 22 LBJ and Civil Rights
Chapter 23 Leaving the White House Staff
Part 24 IV: My Later Career
Chapter 25 The Federal Power Commission
Chapter 26 My Law Practice
Part 27 V: My Personal Life
Chapter 28 Family, Friends, and Heritage
Part 29 VI: Reflections of a White House Counsel
Chapter 30 Reflections on the Role of White House Staff
Part 31 Epilogue
Part 32 A Chronology of My Life, Work, and Times
Part 33 Abbreviations and Acronyms
Part 34 Index
Part 35 About the Editor
An American Dream story of an unusual man who moved quietly and effectively in the corridors of political power. Through informative anecdotes laced with humor, he shares his perceptions of historical characters and events and the varied roles he played in a colorful life of public service. You will agree with his modest assessment that his experiences were 'pretty heady stuff for this kid from Nebraska'.
— Milton Greenberg, Professor Emeritus of Government, Former Provost and Interim President, American University
Lee White—as my classmate, colleague in Kennedy's senate office, and Deputy in the White House—has been an invaluable as well as brilliant friend for more than half a century. His story will inspire many.
— Ted Sorensen, Former Special Counsel to President John F. Kennedy
Government for the People is an anecdotal romp through political Washington of the 1950s and 60s, packed with engrossing asides about the oddities of people's names, their golf games, and their driving habits....It's the kind of humor, gentle yet quick, that shows throughout Government for the People.
— Legal Times, Spring 2008
With a gift for storytelling and an easy conversational style of writing, Lee White brings to vivid life the dramatic decade of the 1960s while taking us on a wonderful journey through an honorable life dedicated to public service.
— Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian
Lee White has written a first-hand account of contemporary American history. Well-written and briskly paced, it takes us from White's early days as a lawyer, through the Kennedy and Johnson White Houses and a fulfilling career beyond those heady days. Great reading for those who want an insider's perspective on the Congress, the White House, and the practice of law in Washington.
— Warren B. Rudman, Former Senator from New Hampshire
Lee White had fun working in the White House for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and gives an intimate picture of both Presidents that only a White House staffer could know. I found it charming, interesting—and suffered a bad attack of nostalgia.
— Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach, Former U.S. Attorney General
I am fascinated with the kids who experienced the Great Depression, because it inculcated values that were very important, among them sacrifice and selfless service. Lee White's memoirs reflect those values as well as his wit. It was a great privilege in his view to serve a President of the United States, and he accepted anonymity in working with the people who made the wheels turn.
— Stewart Udall, Former Secretary of the Interior