On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John W. Hinckley Jr. as he left a Washington hotel. National Security Adviser Richard Allen and other key members of the cabinet met shortly afterward in the White House Situation Room to manage the crisis and keep the government on course. Presciently, Allen decided to forgo normal practice for the Situation Room and made an audio tape of the historic proceedings with the consent of all present. Twenty years later, Allen has made these recordings public and published transcripts in this month's issue of The Atlantic Monthly. It provides a fascinating and clear account of the dramatic hours following the assassination attempt and the debates and personality clashes within the inner circle of the Reagan White House.