The publication of a new book by Tevi Troy is always an important occasion.
Tevi is a presidential historian and former high-ranking public official (full disclosure: He’s also an old friend and mentor, and was my boss in the Bush White House). He has written books about the relationships between presidents and intellectuals, about White House rivalries through history, about presidential disaster management, and much more. These books always manage to take up broad historical questions while also being timely. And that’s very much the case with his new book, which is out today.
The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry is a book about presidents and CEO’s — from Ulysses S. Grant to Joe Biden, from J. P. Morgan to Elon Musk. But it’s also a book about the character of executive power, both public and private. It is particularly and peculiarly in their interactions with each other that our most powerful public executive and our most powerful private executives show the reach and the limits of the powers they have. This book explores that nexus in an absolutely fascinating way. It’s filled with rich anecdotes and analysis, and it weaves them all together compellingly.
In other words, it’s a new book by Tevi Troy, so you should read it. Very highly recommended.