Introduction -- I. History -- Presidential transitions in historical context : Ken Burns and Geoffrey Ward -- Buchanan to Lincoln : the worst transition in history : Ted Widmer -- Hoover to FDR : the second-worst transition (before 2020-2021) : Eric Rauchway -- Evolution of the modern presidential transition : Martha Kumar -- II. Memory -- Jimmy Carter's farsighted but flawed transition : Stuart Eizenstat and David Rubenstein -- Reagan's prior preparation prevents poor performance : James Baker -- Bush 41's "friendly" takeover : Andy Card -- Clinton's bumpy transition : Mack McLarty -- Bush 43's delayed but smooth ride into office : Clay Johnson -- Obama navigates the first post-9/11 transition : John Podesta and Chris Lu -- Romney's ship that didn't sail : Governor Mike Leavitt -- Trump dumps his transition : Governor Chris Christie -- Trump's transition out : the good, the bad, and the ugly : Chris Liddell -- Biden's organized, and perilous, transition to power : Senator Ted Kaufman -- III. Policy -- What's at stake : the critical importance of the federal government : Michael Lewis -- Help wanted : getting the right team in place : Jonathan McBride and Liza Wright -- Preparing the government for a transition : Mary Gibert -- Art of agency review : Lisa Brown -- National security and transitions : Michèle Flournoy -- What do we do now? : policy development after the election : Melody Barnes -- Bipartisanship and cooperation : Josh Bolten and Denis McDonough -- Conclusion : a republic, if you can keep it.