Tension City
Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain
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Narrated by:
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Jim Lehrer
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By:
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Jim Lehrer
About this listen
Narrated by the author, this special audiobook recording of Tension City includes exclusive interview and debate excerpts from 1960 through 2008!
"In his quiet but intense way, Jim Lehrer earns the trust of the major political players of our time," notes Barbara Walters. "He explains and exposes their hopes and dreams, their strengths and failures as they try to put their best foot forward."
From the man widely hailed as "the Dean of Moderators" comes a lively and revealing book that pulls back the curtain on more than 40 years of televised political debate in America. A veteran newsman who has presided over 11 presidential and vice-presidential debates, Jim Lehrer gives listeners a ringside seat for some of the epic political battles of our time, shedding light on all of the critical turning points and rhetorical faux pas that helped determine the outcome of America’s presidential elections—and with them the course of history. Drawing on his own experiences as "the man in the middle seat", in-depth interviews with the candidates and his fellow moderators, and transcripts of key exchanges, Lehrer isolates and illuminates what he calls the "major moments" and "killer questions" that defined the debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain.
Often times, these moments involve the candidates themselves and are seared into our collective political memory. Michael Dukakis stumbles badly over a question about the death penalty. Dan Quayle compares himself to John F. Kennedy once too often. Barack Obama and John McCain barely make eye contact over the course of a 90-minute discussion. At other times, the debate moderators themselves become part of the story—and Lehrer is there to give us a backstage look at the drama. Peter Jennings suggests surprising the candidates by suspending the carefully negotiated rules minutes before the 1988 presidential debate—to the consternation of his fellow panelists. Lehrer himself weathers a firestorm of criticism over his performance as moderator of the 2000 Bush-Gore debate. And then there are the excruciating moments when audio lines go dead and TelePrompTers stay dark just seconds before going on the air live in front of a worldwide television audience of millions.
Asked to sum up his experience as a participant in high-level televised debates, President George H. W. Bush memorably likened them to an evening in "tension city". In Jim Lehrer’s absorbing insider account, we find out that truer words were never spoken.
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He's against NIxon
- By James A. Bretney on 01-20-14
By: Jeffrey Frank
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The Front Runner (All the Truth Is Out Movie Tie-In)
- The Week Politics Went Tabloid
- By: Matt Bai
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In May 1987, Colorado Senator Gary Hart seemed a lock for the party’s presidential nomination and led George H. W. Bush by double digits in the polls. Then, in one tumultuous week, rumors of marital infidelity and a newspaper’s stakeout of Hart’s home resulted in a media frenzy the likes of which had never been seen. Through the spellbindingly reported story of the senator’s fall from grace, Matt Bai, Yahoo News columnist and former chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, reveals the Hart affair to be far more than one man’s tragedy.
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Excellent writing and performance
- By S. on 12-06-14
By: Matt Bai
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Three Days in Moscow
- Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In Three Days in Moscow, Baier explores the dramatic endgame of America’s long struggle with the Soviet Union and President Ronald Reagan’s central role in shaping the world we live in today. On May 31, 1988, Reagan stood on Russian soil and addressed a packed audience at Moscow State University, delivering a remarkable - yet now largely forgotten - speech that capped his first visit to the Soviet capital.
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Amazing!
- By Brian W. Barton on 05-20-18
By: Bret Baier, and others
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The Gatekeepers
- How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency
- By: Chris Whipple
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The chiefs of staff, often referred to as "the gatekeepers", wield tremendous power in Washington and beyond; they decide who is allowed to see the president, negotiate with Congress to push POTUS's agenda, and - most crucially - enjoy unparalleled access to the leader of the free world. Through extensive, intimate interviews with 18 living chiefs (including Reince Priebus) and two former presidents, award-winning journalist and producer Chris Whipple pulls back the curtain on this unique fraternity. In doing so, he revises our understanding of presidential history.
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Interesting, but lacking in political objectivity
- By Stephen Watson on 09-04-17
By: Chris Whipple
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All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain's Political Class
- By: Tim Shipman
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 32 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on unrivalled access to all the key politicians and their advisors - including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, George Osborne, Nigel Farage and Dominic Cummings, the mastermind of Vote Leave - Shipman has written a political history that reads like a thriller and offers a gripping day-by-day account of what really happened behind the scenes in Downing Street, both Leave campaigns, the Labour Party, Ukip and Britain Stronger in Europe.
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blow by blow, word by word
- By Christian R. Unger on 11-22-18
By: Tim Shipman
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Under Fire
- Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House
- By: April Ryan, Tamron Hall - foreword
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Veteran White House reporter April Ryan thought she had seen everything in her two decades as a White House correspondent. And then came the Trump administration. In Under Fire, Ryan takes us inside the confusion and chaos of the Trump White House to understand how she and other reporters adjusted to the new normal. She takes us inside the policy debates, the revolving door of personnel appointments, and what it is like when she, as a reporter asking difficult questions, finds herself in the spotlight, becoming part of the story.
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- By Deborah on 09-03-18
By: April Ryan, and others
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Write It When I'm Gone
- Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford
- By: Thomas M. DeFrank
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In an extraordinary series of private interviews, conducted over 16 years with the stipulation that they not be released until after Gerald Ford's death, the 38th president of the United States reveals a profoundly different side of himself: funny, reflective, gossipy, strikingly candid, and the stuff of headlines.
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An easy historical listen...
- By Darrell Rupe on 05-26-08
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Camelot's End
- Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party
- By: Jon Ward
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The Carter presidency was on life support. The Democrats, desperate to keep power and yearning to resurrect former glory, turned to Ted Kennedy. Camelot's End details the incredible drama of Kennedy's challenge - what led to it, how it unfolded, and its lasting effects - with cinematic sweep. It is a story about what happened to the Democratic Party when the country's long string of successes, luck, and global dominance following World War II ran its course, and how, on a quest to recapture the magic of JFK, Democrats plunged themselves into an intra-party civil war.
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Does character count in political office?
- By marwalk on 07-29-19
By: Jon Ward
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Unhinged
- An Insider's Account of the Trump White House
- By: Omarosa Manigault Newman
- Narrated by: Omarosa Manigault Newman
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Few have been a member of Donald Trump’s inner orbit longer than Omarosa Manigault Newman. Their relationship has spanned 15 years - through four television shows, a presidential campaign, and a year by his side in the most chaotic, outrageous White House in history. But that relationship has come to a decisive and definitive end, and Omarosa is finally ready to share her side of the story in this explosive, jaw-dropping account.
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Take if for what it's worth...
- By Clay on 08-14-18
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Frost/Nixon
- By: David Frost
- Narrated by: David Frost
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
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This is Frost's absorbing story of his pursuit of Richard Nixon and is no less revealing of his own toughness and pertinacity than of the ex-president's elusiveness. Frost's encounters with such figures as Swifty Lazar, Ron Ziegler, potential sponsors, and Nixon as negotiator are nothing short of hilarious, and his insight into the taping of the programs themselves is fascinating.
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Great excerpts and interviews, just an okay book.
- By steve on 01-03-13
By: David Frost
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Reagan
- The Life
- By: H. W. Brands
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 31 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Ronald Reagan today is a conservative icon, celebrated for transforming the American domestic agenda and playing a crucial part in ending communism in the Soviet Union. In his masterful new biography, H. W. Brands argues that Reagan, along with FDR, was the most consequential president of the 20th century. Reagan took office at a time when the public sector, after a half century of New Deal liberalism, was widely perceived as bloated and inefficient, an impediment to personal liberty.
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Very little about Reagan
- By Jack Merritt on 07-30-15
By: H. W. Brands
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Master of the Senate
- The Years of Lyndon Johnson III
- By: Robert A. Caro
- Narrated by: Stephen Lang
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Abridged
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Master of the Senate carries Lyndon Johnson's story through one of its most remarkable periods: his 12 years in the U.S. Senate. At the heart of the book is its unprecedented revelation of how legislative power works in America, how the Senate works, and how Johnson, in his ascent to the presidency, mastered the Senate as no political leader before him had ever done. "There is something uniquely mesmerizing about the wily, combative Lyndon Johnson as portrayed by Caro," says Publishers Weekly.
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Abridgement bad
- By Shelly Brisbin on 09-05-04
By: Robert A. Caro
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Believer
- My Forty Years in Politics
- By: David Axelrod
- Narrated by: David Axelrod
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The man behind some of the greatest political changes of the last decade, David Axelrod has devoted a lifetime to questioning political certainties and daring to bring fresh thinking into the political landscape. Whether as a child hearing John F. Kennedy stump in New York or as a strategist guiding the first African American to the White House, Axelrod shows in Believer how his own life stands at the center of the tumultuous American century.
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Love letter to Obama
- By DaWoolf on 03-15-15
By: David Axelrod
What listeners say about Tension City
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- carole
- 05-28-12
Jim Leher is a jewel of a journalist.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
His story of presidential debates is fascinating.
What does Jim Lehrer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
In his voice I experienced his humility, his willingness to pass credit on to family and friends, and his joy at doing the job.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed experiencing the debates backstage and the anecdotes related to each.
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- Jenny
- 10-08-11
Tension City
I had never heard or read anything about the Presidential debates. This book sounded interesting. It is about the "behind the scences" and the things that go on that the viewing audience is not privy to. It gave me another perspective into the candidates and facilitator.
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- Ryan
- 11-23-11
Jim Lehrer is so poignant...and genuine.
I think the audience for this book is VERY specific. His witty political banter mixes well with the jargon and inside jokes that seem to intimate the inner communication circles of elite journalists. This book is wonderful...for those who enjoy this kind of stuff. I definitely do.
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- Patrick Wahl
- 11-28-11
Audio format at its best
This audiobook is a perfect example of those times that the audio experience is superior to the written book. You hear actual excerpts of the debates, not just the transcription that you would see in the printed book format. The actual debate exchanges make this history much more vivid and compelling. Mr. Lehrer's interviews with the major players years after the debates adds a great deal of perspective to the historical record.
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- mr kieran j murphy
- 12-21-11
really enjoyed this book
First things first - if you realise that this is not a definitive coverage of all debates, rather a look at those debates from the position of the moderator in some of them it is a really good read. It goes into minutia and discussion of specific items/debate formats which you some knowledge of to understand at times what Mr Lehrer is talking about. But I found myself time and again going to youtube and watching clips of the sessions spoken about. It also is wonderful from the point of view of hearing snipits from actual interviews, something which would be lacking on the page itself.
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- San Diego Resident
- 02-14-12
Not Just About Presidential Debates
What did you like best about Tension City? What did you like least?
Jim Lehrer is one of the most important news anchors of my lifetime and hearing his anecdotes about the Presidential debates he was involved with was a window into the backstage story. This book is also partly about his philosophy of being a moderator, and about some of his experiences moderating discussions other than Presidential debates.Listening to this book is definitely the best way to go, since he includes audio clips of actual debates and interviews with participants that would just not be as rich if you read them on the page.
Would you recommend Tension City to your friends? Why or why not?
This is a light and easy listen. Enjoyable, though the research is thin and the depth is not great. Still, if you like Jim Lehrer and you're interested in political inside baseball, this is fun.
What about Jim Lehrer???s performance did you like?
Not only is he a good reader - of course - but he is also merciless about his own shortcomings, which was humble and charming.
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- RLV
- 03-05-12
Mildly entertaining series of war stories
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Maybe an introductory chapter which describes the overall history of debates as a vehicle to political decision making.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Perhaps make it a bit less Lehrer-Centric. The author focusses on his own first hand knowledge of the debates he has been involved in, which includes most of the biggies over the last thirty years or so. The book would perhaps be a better read if it had a broader scope of discussion.
Did Jim Lehrer do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
Yes--good birds eye view of high-powered politicians.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
Perhaps. It would depend on who writes the script, and stuff like that.
Any additional comments?
I like the Lehrer News Hour; I liked a Lehrer novel about bus drivers; however this book was kind of a dud to me.
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