Blackwing X The Hardest Job in the World
Adam on a surprise collaboration, a page-turner on the presidency, and the Slate Political Gabfest.
The Policy Manual at Take Note HQ dictates that we pre-order every book published in the event that the author decides to reward us with a stationery surprise. 935 days later this has finally paid off.
In June I pre-ordered John Dickerson’s new book, The Hardest Job in the World. In exchange for a pre-order receipt, he offered to send a signed bookplate. I received that bookplate in July and I was ecstatic.
I’ve been listening to John on the Slate Political Gabfest (along with Emily Bazelon and David Plotz) since 2005 or 2006. This was back when you had to plug your iPod into a computer to manually download each episode and then walk to work uphill both ways. It’s true of many podcasts that if you listen long enough, the people in your ears every week begin to feel like friends. So, yes, I love this show. I also think it is much much better than the other political podcasts. Plotz is iconoclastic in a deeply thoughtful way, not for the sake of controversy. Bazelon translates her legal reading and arguments into sharp, clear explanations for the listener (and regularly tells you what’s going to happen on the Supreme Court a year before it takes place). Dickerson has, for fifteen years, made a point to say things he can back up because he has reported or researched them or actually knows them to be true. It may seem like a small point but it’s powerful to know, because I’ve listened for years, that he truly means what he says. Have I gone on too long about the Political Gabfest? No. It is consistently informative, entertaining, and one of the highlights of my week.
Earlier in August, I received an email from John (sent to everyone who got a bookplate, I presume) that an extra surprise was on the way. Soon a collaboration between John and Blackwing arrived: striking Hardest Job in the World pencils, with a color scheme to match the book cover and each pencil featuring a different quote from a president.
The book is fantastic by the way. I expected that it would be densely filled with historical information and that I’d learn a lot. But it was also a page-turner and that I hadn’t expected. It is many books in one: a history of how the presidency has changed with time, a study of what skills a president needs and how being a good campaigner doesn’t mean you have those skills, an investigation into our behaviors towards each other in a deeply divided time, and much more.
You can order the book here: https://johndickerson.com/blog/how-to-buy-copies-of-the-hardest-job-in-the-world/
More info on the pencils and a form to let Blackwing know you’re interested here: https://johndickerson.com/blog/blackwing-pencils/
Also of note, in 2016, John partnered with Field Notes on their Byline edition, a reporter’s notebook. That edition is sold out but the slightly different Front Page is available and recommended.
NB: I’m too fond of the dumb joke that opens this blog post to change it, but I want to mention that Eric Nusbaum sent custom baseball cards when I pre-ordered Stealing Home. We discussed the book on episode 82.
