Brad Meltzer: 'The Inner Circle' Reveals Government Secrets

Jan. 11, 2011 — -- New York Times best selling author Brad Meltzer releases his newest book "The Inner Circle," in which he reveals untold secrets about the U.S. presidency.

Read an excerpt of the book below and then check out the "GMA" Library for more great reads.

He knew the room was designed to hold secrets.Big secrets.The briefcase from Watergate was opened in a roomlike this. Same with the first reports from 9/11.He knew that this room -- sometimes called the Tank or theVault -- held presidential secrets, national secrets, and pine-boxsecrets, as in, the kinds of secrets that came with coffins.But as he stood in the back corner of the small, plain beige room,swaying in place and flicking the tip of his tongue against the back ofhis front teeth, the archivist with the scratched black reading glassesknew that the most vital thing in the room wasn't a classified file ora top-secret sheet of paper -- it was the polished, rosy-cheeked manwho sat alone at the single long table in the center of the room.He knew not to talk to the rosy- cheeked man.

He knew not to bother him.

All he had to do was stand there and watch. Like a babysitter.It was absurd, really.But that was the job.For nearly an hour now.Babysitting the most powerful man in the world: the Presidentof the United States.

Hence the secure room.

Yet for all the secrets that had been in this room, the archivistwith the scratched black-framed reading glasses had no idea whathe'd soon be asked to hide.

With a silent breath through his nose, the archivist stared at theback of the President, then glanced over at the blond Secret Serviceagent on his far right.

The visits here had been going on since President Orson Wallacewas first elected. Clinton liked to jog. George W. Bush watched baseballgames in the White House Residence. Obama played basketball.

All Presidents find their own way to relax. More bookish than most,President Orson Wallace traveled the few blocks from the WhiteHouse and came to the National Archives to, of all things, read.

He'd been doing it for months now. Sometimes he even broughthis daughter or eight-year-old son. Sure, he could have every documentdelivered right to the Oval Office, but as every Presidentknew, there was something about getting out of the house. Andso the "reading visits" began. He started with letters that GeorgeWashington wrote to Benedict Arnold, moved to classified JFKmemos, and on to today's current objects of fascination: AbrahamLincoln's handwritten Civil War notes. Back then, if there was acapital case during a court-martial, the vote of "life or death" wouldcome straight to Lincoln's desk. The President would personallydecide. So in the chaos of President Wallace's current life, therewas apparently something reassuring about seeing the odd curvesand shaky swirls in Lincoln's own handwriting.

And that, as Wallace scribbled a few personal notes on his legalpad, was a hell of a lot more calming than playing basketball.

"Four more minutes, sir," the blond Secret Service agentannounced from the back corner, clearing his throat.President Wallace nodded slightly, beginning to pack up, butnever turning around. "Is Ronnie joining us or no?"