Guide to the White House Staff
- Reviews the early members of the White House staff and details the need, statutory authorization, and funding for staff expansion.
- Addresses the creation of the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and a formal White House staff in 1939.
- Explores the statutes, executive orders, and succession of reorganization plans that shaped and refined the EOP.
- Traces the evolution of White House staff from FDR to Obama and the specialization of staff across policy and political units.
- Explores how presidential transitions have operated since Eisenhower created the position of chief of staff.
- Explains the expansion of presidential in-house policymaking structures, beginning with national security and continuing with economic and domestic policy.
- Covers the exodus of staff and the roles remaining staff played during the second terms of presidents.
- Examines the post–White House careers of staff. Guide to the White House Staff also provides easily accessible biographies of key White House staff members who served the presidencies of Richard M. Nixon through George W. Bush.
"This valuable reference...canvasses the evolutionary history of the presidential staff, which, through a skeleton crew up to 1939, has grown to include hundreds of staffers, ranging from personal assistants to policy advisors. Entries are in chronological order and cover a variety of themes, including staff and support services. Primary texts and extensive lists of pertinent personnel are scattered through the work adding to what is an excellent volume of government reference."
"Warsaw here documents the history and composition of the staffing and advisory structures surrounding the U.S. presidency....This companion to Guide to the Presidency and the Executive Branch, edited by Michael Nelson, fills an important gap in readers' understanding of the White House's staffing and advisory structure and its evolving role in shaping policy. Summing Up: Highly recommended."
