George Stephanopoulos, the host of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" and the co-anchor of “Good Morning America,” has written a well-researched account of how the Situation Room came to be and the crises that 12 presidents dealt with over 65 years. They include the Cuban Missile Crisis; the JFK assassination; the Vietnam War; Richard Nixon’s resignation; the Iranian Hostage crisis and failed “Desert One” rescue attempt; 9/11 and the subsequent hunt for Osama bin Laden; the early days of the pandemic; and even the war in Ukraine.

The timing of THE SITUATION ROOM coincides with a makeover in 2023 that turned what had been a drab conference room and support offices in the White House basement into, as Stephanopoulos says, Hollywood’s version of the Situation Room: a state-of-the-art center for communications and decision-making. It’s now known as WHSR, or “whizzer.”

"[T]his is a well-rounded portrait of what arguably is the nerve center of U.S. policy and an important read for history buffs or any concerned citizen."

Working mostly chronologically and drawing on more than a hundred interviews, Stephanopoulos (with co-author Lisa Dickey) examines the management styles of the presidents and other key figures and support staff, many of whom are civil servants. He repeatedly shows how most staffers are there to serve the office of the president, not the party in power.

Some are technicians, like Gary Bresnahan, who set up secure videos for 25 heads of state in the days after 9/11. He also created a feed that allowed Barack Obama and key staff to view in real time the troops storming bin Laden’s compound. Some, like national security advisor Brent Scowcroft, worked in various capacities for several presidents, from Nixon to Obama. For the few willing to talk on the record, working for Donald Trump was not as easy as it was for other presidents: “I wanted to be in the middle of history,” Sit Room duty officer Mike Stiegler explains. “Be careful what you wish for.”

What makes THE SITUATION ROOM so readable is Stephanopoulos’ familiarity with the White House from his years as Bill Clinton’s communications director and then senior advisor. But while this helps him describe events in a “you are there” manner that keeps the narrative moving, he rarely inserts himself into the story, other than to mention his interviews with some of the key players. That doesn’t mean he withholds his opinions. While there are attempts to put some failures, such as Jimmy Carter’s Desert One disaster, in context, he loses his even-handed approach when talking about Trump or, through the voices of his interviewees (including Henry Kissinger), Nixon.

Still, this is a well-rounded portrait of what arguably is the nerve center of U.S. policy and an important read for history buffs or any concerned citizen.