The World as It Is

From one of Obama's closest aides comes a revelatory, behind-the-scenes account of his presidency—and how idealism can confront harsh reality and still survive—in the tradition of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.'s A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. For nearly ten years, Ben Rhodes saw almost everything that happened at the center of the Obama administration—first as a speechwriter, then as deputy national security advisor, and finally as a multipurpose aide and close collaborator. He started every morning in the Oval Office with the President's Daily Brief, traveled the world with Obama, and was at the center of some of the most consequential and controversial moments of the presidency—and kept much of it to himself. Now he tells the full story of his partnership—and, ultimately, friendship—with a man who also happened to be a historic president of the United States. Rhodes was not your normal...