February 17 is President’s Day in the United States. While Syracuse University Press doesn’t publish extensively on American politics, our subjects and series have occasionally focused on the president’s inner circle, the executive branch, and life in the orbit of the leader of the free world. We’re taking a look back at some of those titles this week.
The press secretary for the President is one of the most visible roles in the administration, fielding questions from reporters and serving as the face of the executive branch’s message. In “Who Speaks for the President: The White House Press Secretary from Cleveland to Clinton,” author W. Dale Nelson drew on his experience as a White House reporter, as well as interviews and other sources, to give a fuller portrait of many of the men and women who have served in the role.
Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Camp David has as often served both as a personal retreat and a diplomatic negotiating table. Nelson again tackled this aspect of presidential life in “The President is at Camp David,” focusing on some of the most famous moments that occurred in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland, as well as how various presidents have viewed and used the retreat during the time in office. Focusing on how presidents have spent time at the camp, both on and off the clock, “The President is at Camp David” offers an intimate look at a place often shrouded in secrecy.
More recent books from Syracuse University Press have placed a spotlight on fictional presidents as well as their administrations and challenges. In “The West Wing: The American Presidency as TV Drama” editors Peter C. Rollins and John E. O’Conner examine Aaron Sorkin’s high-minded drama from all sides, putting particular focus on the show’s often complex relationship between the media and the government, bipartisan and centrist governance, how the show reflected the then-contemporary Clinton administration, and fictional President Jed Bartlet as a president of the times.
Likewise, “Gladiators in Suits: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Representation,” edited by Simone Adams, Kimberly R. Moffitt, and Ronald L. Jackson II puts Shonda Rhimes’ soapy political thriller under the microscope. Essays examine how the series tackled subjects such as race and masculinity, women in power, and the show’s often complicated sexual politics. Multiple essays analyse the relationship between fans posting online and the showrunners themselves, focusing on how hashtags highlighted fan excitement and frustration as well as how viewers reacted to sometimes controversial, ripped-from-the-headlines plots.