White House Doctor

Only a handful of doctors have been responsible for the health and well-being of preisdents of the United States. This is the highly personalized story of T. Burton Smith, M.D., White House doctor to President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush during two of the most eventful years in recent American History. Dr. Smith was with President Reagan during his meetings with world leaders from Mitterand and Kohl to Gorbachev and Hirohito. He was rarely more than a few minutes away from the president and First Lady in the White House, Camp David, aboard Air Force One, or at their 688-acre ranch in California. Never before has a White House doctor described in such intimate detail what it's like to look after the most powerful man on earth. This book fills that void.

...offers insights into issues that are rarely addressed. --Library Journal

Publishers Weekly

Doctor and friend to Ronald Reagan for 15 years before his election to the presidency and White House physician to the Reagans and Vice President and Barbara Bush from 1985 to 1987, Smith, writing with freelancer Henderson, here records his famous patients' illnesses and surgery, and notes advances made since George Washington's day in medicine, security and luxury--enjoyed by today's White House occupants. Smith prizes his encounters with political nabobs at White House functions and on foreign travels with the President. His diagnostic eye for detail extends to landscapes, furnishings and cuisine. Smith's critical role as a source of public information on the state of Reagan's health was often a delicate one, especially in relation to Nancy Reagan, and while he relished the perks of his position, he resented being relegated to a basement office and the lowly status of doctors on the White House totem pole. Photos not seen by PW. (Dec.)

T. Burton Smith, M.D. is retired from private practice but remains active in the medical community. He is a member of the Board of Regents for the Uniformed Dervices University Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland and freqently comes back to Washington to attend their meetings. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife. Carter Henderson is an author of business books and a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Florida and frequently writes on medical topics.