The flying White House

the long version

Discusses the various airplanes and crews who have transported American presidents around the world, with anecdotes about the Presidents and events connected with them. In 1943, with his three-day excursion to Casablanca in the wind-battered Dixie Clipper, FDR inaugurated a new era--the airborne presidency. Now, veteran Washington reporter J. F. terHorst and Colonel Ralph Albertazzie, who piloted Air Force One for President Nixon, relate the fascinating, little-known role that Air Force One and its crews played in the lives of eight presidents--and in the shaping of American history. Filled with anecdotes and inside information never before published, this book takes us from the practical jokes on Truman's Independence (he ordered his pilot to buzz the White House to say hello to Bess), to the top-secret shuttle diplomacy of Henry Kissinger. There are tragic flights (JFK's body flown back from Dallas), historic flights (Nixon's trip to Peking), dangerous flights (a near collision with a Soviet MIG) , and unexpectedly funny flights. This is the full story of our Presidents in the air and the events--both important and frivolous--that surrounded them. Enjoyable as it is informative, this is one of the most entertaining books ever written about the presidency.--Adapted from dust jacket.