Author : William J. Ridings
Publisher : Citadel Press
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 38,59 MB
Release : 1997
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN :
Based on a wide-ranging poll of 719 historians and political scientists, this book ranks all the U.S. presidents in order of their influence and importance. From the best-rated president (Lincoln) to the worst-rated (Harding), the authors analyze the high and low points of each Chief Executive's term.
Author : Brian Lamb
Publisher : PublicAffairs
Page : 626 pages
File Size : 19,23 MB
Release : 2019-04-23
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 154177437X
The complete rankings of our best -- and worst -- presidents, based on C-SPAN's much-cited Historians Surveys of Presidential Leadership. Over a period of decades, C-SPAN has surveyed leading historians on the best and worst of America's presidents across a variety of categories -- their ability to persuade the public, their leadership skills, their moral authority, and more. The crucible of the presidency has forged some of the very best and very worst leaders in our national history, along with everyone in between. Based on interviews conducted over the years with a variety of presidential biographers, this book provides not just a complete ranking of our presidents, but stories and analyses that capture the character of the men who held the office. From Abraham Lincoln's political savvy and rhetorical gifts to James Buchanan's indecisiveness, this book teaches much about what makes a great leader -- and what does not. As America looks ahead to our next election, this book offers perspective and criteria to help us choose our next leader wisely.
Author : Richard Striner
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 315 pages
File Size : 40,45 MB
Release : 2010-09-16
Category : History
ISBN : 1442200669
The debate is as old as the American Republic and as current as this morning's headlines. Should a president employ the powers of the federal government to advance our national development and increase the influence and power of the United States around the world? Under what circumstances? What sort of balance should the president achieve between competing visions and values on the path to change? Over the course of American history, why have some presidents succeeded brilliantly in applying their power and influence while others have failed miserably? In Lincoln's Way, historian Richard Striner tells the story of America's rise to global power and the presidential leaders who envisioned it and made it happen. From Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt within the Republican Party, the legacy was passed along to FDR—the Democratic Roosevelt—who bequeathed it to Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. Six presidents—three from each party—helped America fulfill its great potential. Their leadership spanned the huge gulf that exists between our ideological cultures: they drew from both conservative and liberal ideas, thus consolidating powerful centrist governance. No creed of mere "government for government's sake," their program was judicious: it used government for national necessities. But it also brought inspiring results, thus refuting the age-old American ultra-libertarian notion that "the government that governs best, governs least." In a forceful narrative blending intellectual history and presidential biography, Striner presents the legacy in full. An important challenge to conventional wisdom, Lincoln's Way offers both an intriguing way of looking at the past and a much-needed lens through which to view the present. As a result, the book could change the way we think about the future.
Author : Robert W. Merry
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 28,27 MB
Release : 2012-06-26
Category : History
ISBN : 145162543X
The author of the acclaimed biography of President James Polk, A Country of Vast Designs, offers a fresh, playful, and challenging way of playing “Rating the Presidents,” by pitching historians’ views and subsequent experts’ polls against the judgment and votes of the presidents’ own contemporaries. Merry posits that presidents rise and fall based on performance, as judged by the electorate. Thus, he explores the presidency by comparing the judgments of historians with how the voters saw things. Was the president reelected? If so, did his party hold office in the next election? Where They Stand examines the chief executives Merry calls “Men of Destiny,’’ those who set the country toward new directions. There are six of them, including the three nearly always at the top of all academic polls—Lincoln, Washington, and FDR. He describes the “Split-Decision Presidents’’ (including Wilson and Nixon)—successful in their first terms and reelected; less successful in their second terms and succeeded by the opposition party. He describes the “Near Greats’’ (Jefferson, Jackson, Polk, TR, Truman), the “War Presidents’’ (Madison, McKinley, Lyndon Johnson), the flat-out failures (Buchanan, Pierce), and those whose standing has fluctuated (Grant, Cleveland, Eisenhower). This voyage through our history provides a probing and provocative analysis of how presidential politics works and how the country sets its course. Where They Stand invites readers to pitch their opinions against the voters of old, the historians, the pollsters—and against the author himself. In this year of raucous presidential politics, Where They Stand will provide a context for the unfolding campaign drama.
Author : Robert P. Watson
Publisher :
Page : 494 pages
File Size : 36,60 MB
Release : 2006
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN :
Designed as a companion to Salem's American Presidents this volume contains 46 comprehensive essays on every First Lady through Laura Bush. Articles are between 5 and 12 pages in length and arranged in chronological order by administration.
Author : Aaron David Miller
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 50,5 MB
Release : 2014-10-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1137464461
The Presidency has always been an implausible—some might even say an impossible—job. Part of the problem is that the challenges of the presidency and the expectations Americans have for their presidents have skyrocketed, while the president's capacity and power to deliver on what ails the nations has diminished. Indeed, as citizens we continue to aspire and hope for greatness in our only nationally elected office. The problem of course is that the demand for great presidents has always exceeded the supply. As a result, Americans are adrift in a kind of Presidential Bermuda Triangle suspended between the great presidents we want and the ones we can no longer have. The End of Greatness explores the concept of greatness in the presidency and the ways in which it has become both essential and detrimental to America and the nation's politics. Miller argues that greatness in presidents is a much overrated virtue. Indeed, greatness is too rare to be relevant in our current politics, and driven as it is by nation-encumbering crisis, too dangerous to be desirable. Our preoccupation with greatness in the presidency consistently inflates our expectations, skews the debate over presidential performance, and drives presidents to misjudge their own times and capacity. And our focus on the individual misses the constraints of both the office and the times, distorting how Presidents actually lead. In wanting and expecting our leaders to be great, we have simply made it impossible for them to be good. The End of Greatness takes a journey through presidential history, helping us understand how greatness in the presidency was achieved, why it's gone, and how we can better come to appreciate the presidents we have, rather than being consumed with the ones we want.
Author : Bill Yenne
Publisher : Crestline Books
Page : 279 pages
File Size : 15,2 MB
Release : 2021-03-02
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0785839232
Discover the history and personal stories of 46 US Presidents in this beautifully illustrated volume. From the first president, George Washington, to the forty-sixth, Joe Biden, the United States has seen a host of extraordinary men take office. Their stories are all included in this fourth edition of The Complete Book of US Presidents by journalist and historian Bill Yenne. This book features short, biographical essays about the lives of 46 presidents, jam-packed with unusual details and commentary on the significant roles each commander-in-chief played in the shaping of the United States and its relations with the world. Lavishly illustrated, including the presidents' official White House portraits, sidebars about each and every vice president and first lady, and intriguing anecdotes, this book is accessible to a broad audience and will captivate any history lover. The Complete Book of US Presidents is an expansive collection that reflects on America's rich presidential history, telling the story of a nation through the biographies of some of its greatest political leaders.
Author : Charles F. Faber
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 301 pages
File Size : 26,42 MB
Release : 2014-01-10
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0786492775
This is a revision and an updating of the first edition, published in 2000. Presidents from Washington to Obama (not included are William Henry Harrison and James A. Garfield because of very short terms) are rated in five categories: Foreign Relations, Domestic Programs, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations, Leadership and Decision Making, and Presidential Comportment. Each president is evaluated on his effectiveness in each area and a final analysis is provided for the scores combined. The presidents are then ranked overall. The most overrated and underrated chief executives are identified. Each entry includes biographical and political information, as well as an analysis of their overall behavior and status.
Author : Jason Stahl
Publisher : Centennial Books
Page : 96 pages
File Size : 26,92 MB
Release : 2020-09-22
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1951274407
In 2020, as we set our sights on another election, this book takes a look at all of the presidents of the United States—ranked from best to worst (the results may surprise you)—and their legacies, achievements and what we learned from their leadership. The book spans from 1789 when George Washington (spoiler alert: he's in the "Best Presidents" category) took the first-ever oath of office. Forty-four different men have sworn to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States” and what makes a great leader has been vision, conviction, and setting the nation on the right course. The Revolutionary War showed us we needed commanders who were going to fight for our freedom. The Civil War showed we needed leaders who were going to unite this nation. We looked to the President during hard times like the Great Depression, who were going to pick us up, dust us off and, with a steady hand, guide us to more promising times, which Franklin Delano Roosevelt did over his unprecedented four terms. Over the next many, many decades, and many wars and battles later, the President of the United States has shown they are the most powerful person on this planet. But they are also vulnerable. They’ve been targets of assassination attempts, and some, sadly, have been successful. Their transgressions have lead to scandals and impeachments. Presidents have been accused of abusing power and the advent of social media has ushered in a new form of communicating to constituents and young voters. In an election year when interest in Presidents is strong, join Centennial Books as we look to the nation's shared history to see what we can learn for today and the future.
Author : William A. DeGregorio
Publisher :
Page : 788 pages
File Size : 38,68 MB
Release : 1993
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780942637922
A ready reference guide to the presidents of the United States, from George Washington through Bill Clinton.
