"I've always been fascinated by the intersection of sports and politics, and in this book, we get to the heart of who our presidents are by examining the sports they played and watched from an expert who's covered them for over two decades."--Patrick McEnroe, ESPN tennis commentator
"An enjoyable, colorful look at the intersection of sports and politics."--Kirkus Reviews
"Politics is a sport of its own, so no surprise that many modern presidents have loved athletic pursuits--witness the basketball court Barack Obama built on the White House grounds for pickup games--and others used them to an end. Richard Nixon tracked daily baseball box scores as closely as the unemployment rate. While Lyndon Johnson didn't care about baseball, he started attending Washington Senators games to cultivate favor with the powerful Georgia senator Richard Russell, who did. And then there's Joe Biden and his Peloton bike. POWER PLAYERS is smart, lively, and fun, and presidential watcher Chris Cillizza also manages to tie the sporting side of the nation's commanders in chief to larger insights about our leaders and their times."--Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief of USA TODAY and author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power
"Charming and original, Chris's exploration of presidents and sports is a fun read for politicos and sports fans alike."--Jake Tapper, The Lead with Jake Tapper and author of The Hellfire Club
"Chris Cillizza's POWER PLAYERS takes us to the intersection of politics and sports and shows us why presidents like Teddy Roosevelt and John Kennedy and Barack Obama like sports so much--because the only thing that matters in sports and politics is winning."--Tony Kornheiser, PTI and The Tony Kornheiser Show
"Only Chris Cillizza could do such a thoughtful, fresh take on the history of sports and American politics and how the two are inextricably intertwined."--Don Lemon, CNN presenter of Don Lemon Tonight
"Presidential politics and sports go hand in hand, and many of the lessons and skills one learns by participating in sports can be adapted to the world of politics... overall this is a fun and informative addition to the less-serious side of presidential history."--Booklist Reviews
"Sports can hold a mirror to the characters of our presidents, Mr. Cillizza concludes, 'showing them for who they really are when all the spin, hype, and hyperbole are stripped away.'"--Wall Street Journal