Reviving memories of a dozen national administrations, this backstage account traces the running battle between the executive and legislative branches to capture political leadership of the nation. In doing so, it etches the pattern by which the workaday functions of the country's highest office are carried out, not always by the President. Told in an anecdotal style, much of the work is devoted to the administrations of Franklin, D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and President Eisenhower.