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The hardest job in the world : the American presidency / by Dickerson, John,1968-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Imagine you have just been elected president. You are now commander-in-chief, chief executive, chief diplomat, chief legislator, chief of party, chief voice of the people, first responder, chief priest, and world leader. You're expected to fulfill your campaign promises, but you're also expected to solve the urgent crises of the day. What's on your to-do list? Where would you even start? The American presidency is in trouble. It has become overburdened, misunderstood, almost impossible to do. "The problems in the job unfolded before Donald Trump was elected, and the challenges of governing today will confront his successors," writes John Dickerson. After all, the founders never intended for our system of checks and balances to have one superior Chief Magistrate, with Congress demoted to "the little brother who can't keep up." In this eye-opening book, John Dickerson draws on history and contemporary times to show why we need to reevaluate how we view the presidency, how we choose our presidents, and what we expect from them once they are in office. Think of the presidential campaign as a job interview. Are we asking the right questions? Are we looking for good campaigners, or good presidents? Once a candidate gets the job, what can they do to thrive? Drawing on research and interviews with current and former White House staffers, Dickerson defines what the job of president actually entails, identifies the things that only the President can do, and analyzes how presidents in history have managed the burden. What qualities make for a good president? Who did it well? Why did Bill Clinton call the White House "the crown jewel in the American penal system"? And what lessons can we draw from past successes and failures? Ultimately, in order to evaluate candidates properly for the job, we need to adjust our expectations, and be more realistic about the goals, the requirements, and the limitations of the office."--
Subjects: Trump, Donald, 1946-; Presidents; Executive power;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The seventh floor : a novel / by McCloskey, David,author.;
Six CIA officers. Dear friends and cherished enemies. For a quarter century, they have stolen other people's secrets. Now they must steal each other's. A Russian arrives in Singapore with a secret to sell. When the Russian is killed and Sam Joseph, the CIA officer dispatched for the meet, goes missing, operational chief Artemis Procter is made a scapegoat for the disaster and run out of the service. Months later, Sam appears at Procter's doorstep with an explosive secret: there is a Russian mole burrowed deep within the highest ranks of the CIA. As Procter and Sam investigate, they arrive at a shortlist of suspects made up of both Procter's closest friends and fiercest enemies. The hunt requires Procter to dredge up her checkered past in the service of the CIA, placing the pair in the sights of a savvy Russian spymaster who will protect Moscow's mole in Langley at all costs. What happens when friendships forged by sweat and blood--from the Farm to Afghanistan and the executive "Seventh Floor" of CIA's Langley headquarters--are put to the ultimate test? What can we truly know about the people we love the most?
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Spy fiction.; Novels.; United States. Central Intelligence Agency; Espionage, Russian; Intelligence officers; Moles (Spies);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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First strike / by Coes, Ben,author.;
"The violent terrorist group ISIS has launched a major military campaign to take over Syria. But as they commit more and more public atrocities, their sources for ammunition are drying up. However, their charismatic and tyrannical leader, Tristan Nazir, has a major card left to play, which will get a new secret shipment of arms underway. Dewey Andreas is sent into the field to meet Mallory, the Milan CIA station chief who has explosive proof about the source of the terrorists group's original funding. While ISIS operatives take out both Mallory and his source, Dewey escapes with the proof the group's original munitions were provided by a black-ops program from deep within the Pentagon itself. The program unravels in time for the arms shipment to be stopped before it reaches its destination. But Nazir isn't finished. He launches a bold strike into the heart of America, sending a team to take over a dorm at Columbia University, capturing nearly 500 college students as hostages. Among those hostages is CIA Director Hector Calibrisi's daughter, Daisy. For every hour that the shipment of weapons is delayed, the radicals will publicly execute one student. A frontal assault will result in untold number of dead students. Sending the shipment will give Nazir and his followers the means to capture Syria and its resources, creating a terrorist run nation. In a situation with no solutions, there remains only one option Dewey Andreas"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Intelligence officers; Terrorism; Hackers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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