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Title details for Write It When I'm Gone by Thomas M. DeFrank - Available

Write It When I'm Gone

Remarkable Off-The-Record Conversations With Gerald R. Ford

by Thomas M. DeFrank
Scott Brick
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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In an extraordinary series of private interviews, conducted over sixteen years with the stipulation that they not be released until after Gerald Ford’s death, the thirty-eighth president of the United States reveals a profoundly different side of himself: funny, reflective, gossipy, strikingly candid–and the stuff of headlines.
In 1974, the award-winning journalist and author Thomas DeFrank, then a young correspondent for Newsweek, was interviewing Ford when the Vice President blurted out something astonishingly indiscreet related to the White House, came around his desk, grabbed DeFrank’s tie, and told the reporter he could not leave the room until he promised not to publish it. “Write it when I’m dead,” Ford said–and that agreement formed the basis of their relationship for the next thirty-two years.
During that time, they talked frequently, but from 1991 to shortly before Ford’s death in 2006, the interviews became something else–conversations between two men in which Ford talked in a way few presidents ever have. Here is the real Ford on his relationship with Richard Nixon; his experiences serving on the Warren Commission; his complex relationships with Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter; his startling, never-before disclosed discussions with Bill Clinton during the latter’s impeachment process; his opinions about both Bush administrations; and much more. Here, also, are Ford’s unguarded personal musings: about key cultural events; his own life, history, and passions; his beloved wife, Betty; the frustrations of aging. In all, it is an unprecedented audiobook, illuminating, entertaining, surprising, heartwarming, and in several cases, historic.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 30, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415945681
      • File size: 257087 KB
      • Duration: 08:55:35

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 29, 2007
      Longtime Newsweek correspondent DeFrank was an untested reporter when he was placed on what seemed like a hard-luck beat: covering Vice President Gerald Ford. After all, what could be less thrilling than reporting on the doings of the congressman from Michigan who had been appointed to replace Spiro Agnew as Richard Nixon's veep? DeFrank was given an unprecedented scoop early in his job, when Ford let spill that he believed Nixon's presidency was doomed, but the reporter agreed to put a lid on it: "Write it when I'm gone," Ford told him. Brick reads dramatically, with fitful stops and starts, giving the patina of history to some of the less fondly remembered elements of 1970s politics. His reading conveys some of DeFrank's sincere fondness for Ford and the friendly relationship they struck up while Ford was vice president and in the White House. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Early in his career, Tom DeFrank began decades of on- and off-the-record chats with the man who would become the 38th president. Through an endearing narration by Scott Brick, listeners feel as if they're in the room as Ford speaks candidly to the longtime Washington reporter. Ford opens up about fellow politicians, his post-presidential schedule, his love of his home state of Michigan, and more. The book covers personalities more than policies and is not to be considered a biography, but it touches on many interesting aspects of Ford's life. Brick changes his voice ever so slightly when expressing Ford's words and DeFrank's empathy. In listening, one develops a good sense of their relationship while learning much about the former president. M.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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