The preacher and the presidents - Nancy Gibbs

Spanning nearly 50 years, THE PREACHER AND THE PRESIDENTS traces the dance between the century's dominant religious figure and 11 presidents, from Harry Truman, who invited Graham to the White House when the preacher was just 31 years old, to George W. Bush.

No one man or woman has ever been in a position to see the presidents, and the presidency, so intimately, over so many years. They called him in for photo ops. They called for comfort. They asked about death and salvation; about sin, and forgiveness. They asked about how the world would end. Eisenhower on his deathbed asked Graham for help in reconciling with Nixon, whose daughter was about to marry his grandson. Lyndon Johnson wrestled with Vietnam on his knees, with Graham beside him. Just before Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, he tracked Graham down to talk it through. Bill Clinton turned to him after Oklahoma City, George W. Bush after 9/11.

At a time when the nation is increasingly split over the place of religion in public life, THE PREACHER AND THE PRESIDENTS reveals how the world's most powerful men and the world's most famous evangelist knit faith and politics together for the last five decades--and why they are likely to remain indivisible for years to come.