The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office,   ISBN:9780520260306

Customer Rating: 

David Blumenthal's and Jame's Morone's extremely readable history of healthcare reform from FDR forward is a must-read even if only for the wonderful stories told that were drawn from an immense amount of research into Presidential archives. Beyond that, it provides a well-constructed analysis of the reasons why health care reform is such a difficult nut to crack and the skills needed for reform to go forward. While they stay away from specific policy recommendations, for very good reasons, it is clear that they support reform that will insure that good health is in reach for all and no individual is wasted.

Customer Rating: 

Wonderful and insightful review of the approach to national health insurance since the 1930's by different presidents, from Franklin D. Roosevelt through G.Bush. In the process, we are made to understand what makes each man tick,his flaws and strengths.
We are also left to wonder some big what if's of national health policy as well as of possible second terms(particularly Lyndon Johnson's). As the authors mention in the introduction, our current president would be well served if he used this book as a road map for promoting his plan. Essential text to understand our current quandary.

Customer Rating: 

At nearly 500 pages in length, this well-researched book may contain more historical information about the politics of health care than many people would care to read carefully.

After a 20-page introduction, the authors survey eleven successive presidents in eleven chapters:

(1) Franklin D. Roosevelt
(2) Harry S. Truman
(3) Dwight D. Eisenhower
(4) John F. Kennedy
(5) Lyndon B. Johnson
(6) Richard M. Nixon
(7) Jimmy Carter
(8) Ronald Reagan
(9) George H. W. Bush
(10) Bill Clinton
(11) George W. Bush

But the 12-page conclusion is worth the price of the book. In the conclusion, the authors set forth what they consider to be "eight rules for the heart of power" -- rules that President Barack Obama and others in his administration might want to consider carefully as the August recess of Congress draws to a close and the battle in Congress over health-care-reform legislation resumes in earnest.

Thomas J. Farrell, author of Walter Ong's Contributions to Cultural Studies: The Phenomenology of the Word and I-Thou Communication (The Hampton Press Communication Series (Media Ecology).)

Customer Rating: 

As a health policy researcher and doctor, I approach this book with some trepidation. I did not want a book that was going to feel like "work" to read, and yet I am genuinely interested in the details. Blumenthal and Marone got it just right. They move through a mountain of material in a well paced mix of interesting (often original) detail and insight. It could not be more timely given the debate in the country right now. This is the best available lense through which to watch how the national health reform process is playing out. Disclosure: Blumenthal used to be my boss.