Join us at 6:30PM on 11/28 to enjoy wine and cheese and meet author, Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione, CEC, USN (Ret.), of Inside Camp David.

Inside Camp David
The Private World of the Presidential Retreat
by Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione, CEC, USN (Ret.)

“INSIDE CAMP DAVID gives a firsthand account of the president’s most private retreat from an author who ran it. Camp David is part sanctuary, part office, and part vacation destination. Giorgione captures life at the exclusive retreat and offers a glimpse into the lives of presidents and their families when they’re seeking a respite from the spotlight.”
—Kate Andersen Brower, New York Times bestselling author of The Residence and First Women

“Giorgione consulted with other COs to provide this pop history of a vacation spot with a strictly limited clientele….An easygoing visit to a place where presidents are ‘more reflective, playful, and energized by the hills and forests that surround them.’”
—Kirkus

“A captivating stroll through the storied Maryland mountain retreat seen through the eyes of the Sailors, Marines, gardeners, cooks, handymen and their families who catered to the presidents. Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione, a charming raconteur, takes us behind the scenes and shows why, from Kennedy to Obama, presidents found Camp David (a.k.a. Naval Support Facility Thurmont) the ideal place for both white-knuckle international diplomacy and desperately needed decompression: a walk in these woods can restore presidential sanity.”
—Chris Whipple, New York Times bestselling author of The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency

“Aficionados of American history will have a new work of nonfiction to add to their collection….The primary strengths of the book include the history imparted about Camp David.” —Coronado Eagle

It isn’t oft-photographed like the White House. It’s not the site of celebrity-filled black-tie state dinners. It’s not the backdrop for our selfies. Yet Camp David plays a crucial—and often unheralded—role in the modern presidency, one that hasn’t been examined closely, until now. INSIDE CAMP DAVID: The Private World of the Presidential Retreat, by Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione, CEC, USN (Ret.) (Little, Brown and Company; October 24, 2017), takes readers inside the gates of the private retreat, tucked away in the woods atop Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains.

Commander Giorgione oversaw Camp David from June 1999 to August 2001, serving under both President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. It was a particularly fascinating and fraught time in our country. Combining first-person anecdotes of the presidents and their families with years of storied history and interviews with commanders past and present, Giorgione reveals the intimacy between the First Family and this notable sanctuary.

Camp David has played a vital role in American history over the past 75 years, inviting presidents and international leaders alike to converge, converse, and, perhaps most importantly, relax. It is where:

• FDR and Churchill planned D-Day (the porch where they sat still remains)
• The 2015 GCC and 2012 G8 summits, the 2000 Middle East peace summit, and the 1978 Camp David Accords all took place
• President and Mrs. Reagan rode horses through the mountains
• Gerald Ford could take a moment to jump on a trampoline with his daughter
• Both Nixon and Clinton gravitated during times of personal crisis
• President George H. W. Bush played horseshoes with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
• George W. Bush spent the night after 9/11
• Barack Obama taught his daughter Malia how to drive

Timed to the 75th anniversary of the camp, INSIDE CAMP DAVID is the most intimate and personal look at the private lives of our presidents. With unparalleled access to those who have witnessed and served the presidents, Giorgione offers a uniquely insightful look, for history buffs and general readers alike, at a side of the presidency few ever see.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione, CEC, USN (Ret.), graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1981 and served for twenty-nine years on active duty in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps. As well as serving as the Commander of Camp David from 1999 to 2001, Giorgione has worked under the White House Military Office (WHMO), the organization that also includes Air Force One, Marine One, the Military Aides, and other White House Military units. He is a much sought-after speaker and educator throughout the United States and the world.