Former presidents Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter were interviewed on the record, Ronald Reagan could not be interviewed because of his health, George Bush answered by letter and Bill Clinton declined to be interviewed.

In the first half of the book, covering the period 1974-92, most of the interviews were conducted on the record. Documentary material from the presidential libraries and the National Archives also was used extensively. Nearly all of the interviews in the Clinton sections were conducted on journalistic ground rules of "background" or "deep background," meaning the information could be used, but the sources of the information would not be identified.

Each major scene depicted in these excerpts comes from at least one knowledgeable source, often supplemented by records or contemporaneous notes and documents.