The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis by George Stephanopoulos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Situation Room is the story of the room in the West Wing of the White House where intelligence professionals gather and collate data to support the decision making process of the president. Mr Stephanopoulos traces the history of the Situation Room from 1961 when it was created by President Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs fiasco to its use by President Biden.

This could have been a very long book, but Mr Stephanopoulos has written in detail about only one crisis for each of the twelve administrations who have used the Situation Room. Each crisis is covered in detail, and some interesting insights into the various presidents, cabinet officials and political appointees on the National Security Council are developed. But the real heroes of the book are the non-political staff members who man the Situation Room.

Mr Stephanopulos has a great sense of the narrative, so the book is an easy read. I really enjoyed the book and found it very worthwhile to read.