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    Write it When I'm Gone
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    Write it When I'm Gone
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    Write it When I'm Gone
    Audiobook8 hours

    Write it When I'm Gone

    Written by Thomas M. DeFrank

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The New York Times bestseller?and the candid voice of an American president

    In 1974, Newsweek correspondent Thomas M. DeFrank was interviewing Gerald Ford when the Vice President blurted out something astonishingly indiscreet. He then extracted a promise not to publish it. ?Write it when I?m dead,? Ford said? and thus began a thirty-two-year relationship.

    During the last fifteen years of their conversations, Ford opened up to DeFrank, speaking in a way few presidents ever have. Here the award-winning journalist reveals these private talks, as Ford discusses his experiences with his fellow presidents, the Warren Commission, and his exchanges with Bill Clinton during the latter?s impeachment process. In addition, he shares his thoughts about both Bush administrations, the Iraq war, his beloved wife Betty, and the frustrations of aging. Write It When I?m Gone is not only a historical document but an unprecedented portrait of a president.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 30, 2007
    ISBN9781429592604
    Unavailable
    Write it When I'm Gone

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    Reviews for Write it When I'm Gone

    4/5

    41 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Great anecdotes about Gerald Ford during his vice presidency through post presidential life. Ford was much more impressive than most ever gave him credit for. Did you know he swam laps every day, even when he was President?The stories are told in an interesting and engaging way, however, the author seems to skip around quite a bit which I find a little disconcerting. Definitely worth the time to read or listen to. Gives great insight into the times as well as a good portrait of Ford's character.
    • 4/5
      Quite an interesting, well written and effective book. I learned a lot that I didn't know about an era in which I grew up. I was roughly 15-17 during the Watergate scandal and already a political junkie. Even though I am liberal politically I was about the only one in Scarsdale High School who supported Ford's pardon of Nixon.

      My only quibble with the book is that Defrank spends far too much time on the excruciating details of Ford's fatal illness. I think that is best left as a private matter, and adds little to public edification.
    • 5/5
      Best I can figure, the unholy combination of the discovery of political satire, a teacher’s ability to make our country’s history and the workings of our republic exciting (Thanks, Mrs. Henderson!), and the unceasing desire of a semi-literate adolescent boy to be a smartass, converged to give me my admiration of President Gerald R. Ford. “Write it when I’m Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford by Thomas Defrank only confirmed and deepened that esteem.Regardless of any political disagreement one might have with President Ford, his decency as a human being is unquestionable. Knowing what the country needed, as well as knowing that by answering that need he was all but certainly destroying any hope he might have of winning re-election, President Ford stepped in from of America and the world to say “our long national nightmare is over.” In an age when finding a politician who actually believes in something is about as likely as Bill Clinton becoming a Jesuit, President Ford’s words and deeds demonstrated what belief in a principle, an ideal – no matter the cost – looks like.The most poignant moments, when the ability of Michigan All-American Center begins to falter, are described by Mr. Defrank with such compassion and earnestness that rather than feel sorrow for President Ford, I began to share Defrank’s grief for such a mentor and great man. Defrank did this by subtly repeating Ford’s comments, and reflecting the slight loss of memory experienced as one ages. Ford’s concern and compassion for others is easily seen in two examples from late in his life. As the war in Vietnam came to it’s conclusion, Ford kept the American embassy open as long as possible. The iconic image of that time became the thousands who climbed the ladder on top of the embassy and onto helicopters that offered freedom and safety. Today that ladder is the center piece of President Ford’s library and is something Ford took great pride in. The other example is his treatment of Ronald Reagan. Ford was no fan of Ronald Reagan, and to his dying day believed that Reagan ultimately cost Ford re-election. If ever Ford had an enemy, it was Reagan. That all changed when President Reagan’s Alzheimer’s was made public in 1994. From that moment until his death, President Ford stood by his rival in every way possible. President Ford knew that the most important aspect of leadership, regardless of all other variables, is the care, empathy and genuine love of one’s fellow man.
    • 3/5
      Thomas DeFrank was a Newsweek reporter assigned to cover newly appointed Vice-President Gerald Ford, who later joined the White House press corps after Ford became President. As one of the few permanently assigned to the vice-presidential entourage, he developed a close relationship with Ford which lasted until Ford's death.Beginning in 1991, DeFrank met periodically with Ford for a series of candid interviews that would be published after Ford's death, the goal being that Ford could offer frank opinions without suffering repercussions. "Write It When I'm Gone" is the result of these interviews.The book contains a motley assortment of stories related to the key players in American politics, particularly presidents, from Nixon to Bush 43. Some are interesting, but very few are terribly earth-shattering. Despite its professed openness, other political books, like Bob Woodward's decision-making process histories or George Stephanopoulos memoir, are much more revealing.This is not to say that there is no benefit to the book. It is helpful to hear Ford's own assessments, particularly of his own legacy, as they develop over the years. There's also a melancholy quality to the book, as it loosely documents the gradual fading away of someone who once was the most powerful many in the country, if not the world.Still, I was troubled by the book. As obvious as the mutual affection for Ford and DeFrank is, and this somewhat mollifies my criticism, I had the nagging sense that DeFrank misrepresented his intent for this book to Ford and maybe is revealing things beyond their original agreement. Perhaps it was a fleeting thing, and I cannot put my finger definitively on this, but I've never felt this way in reading similar books.
    • 4/5
      Thomas DeFrank's insider portrait of Gerald Ford paints a fuller picture of this "accidental" president.I've always believed that President Ford was an honest, decent man faced with succeeding a criminal president during serious foreign policy challenges, and a rapidly deteriorating economy. DeFrank does little to dispel these notions with his observation of Ford during his presidency. However, DeFrank goes on to share additional glimpses of the 39th president after he left office, that presents us a picture of Jerry Ford as, if not Jerry the Plumber, at least as Jerry the Regular Guy (as former president.) De Frank features his annual meetings with Ford at social occasion, documenting the former presidents views on public figures such as Nixon, Carter, Reagan and Clinton, as well as his views on important issues. DeFrank also movingly shares Ford's battle with advancing age: the irony of an aging athlete faced with an inevitable decline, though Ford lived to be 93, our longest lived president. An easy read, with many insightful observations, I often found myself laughing out loud. I can't help but feel that De Frank occasionally misses the opportunity to speak more about some of Ford's political battles with inflation and the Democratic congress, but a good read nonetheless. I definitely feel that "Write it When I'm Gone" contributed to a better understanding of Gerald R. Ford.
    • 5/5
      If this book sounds remotely interesting, or if you're interested in the inside politics of the last few decades (primarily on the Republican side admittedly) or the office of the Presidency of the United States in general, this book is a good choice. It's a fairly easy read for the most part, though I will say that for this reader (born in 1981, I should probably mention), I needed a bit more basic background on some of the events discussed tangentially. There were points when I wanted a bit more depth of explanation (some footnotes would come in handy for those of us not born early enough to remember the Nixon-Ford changeover), but they were fewer than I expected truth be told. I also wish that DeFrank had spent a bit more time on the organization though. Some points/observations were made repeatedly (perhaps four or five times overall) in brief, when one in depth discussion would have been more appropriate/sensible, and perhaps given more information as well.Still, this is a complete and emotional inner look at Ford; it is not a biography, but a book that focuses on perceptions and emotions--both from the public view and the political view--with Ford's own thoughts and intentions as the focal point of the work. Recommended.