The Presidents: 250 Years of American Political Leadership
£11.40£14.20 (-20%)
Politics Home: Parliamentarians’ Top Books for Christmas 2021
‘A must read for political geeks’ – Saqib Bhatti
There was a huge upsurge of global interest in US politics during the Trump presidency, culminating in the November 2020 election, the victory of the Democrat candidate Joe Biden and the subsequent, horrifying response in the storming of the US capitol. American politics is likely to remain deeply divided during the coming years, and also the focus of global attention – with Trump mobilising his base for 2024. But the transatlantic fascination with the role and office of the US President isn’t new at all, and in fact reaches all the way back to the birth of the United States itself.
The Presidents features essays, written by a range of academics, historians, political journalists and serving politicians, on all 46 American Presidents who have held the office over the last 230 years – from George Washington to Joe Biden. Each contributor has been carefully chosen based on expert knowledge of their subjects and personal connections, providing analysis of their subject’s successes, failures and influence. Any hagiographical writing is shunned in favour of a ‘warts and all’ perspective on each President and the impact they’ve had on US politics – past, present and future.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Hodder Paperbacks (10 Nov. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 576 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1529379563 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1529379563 |
| Dimensions | 12.7 x 3.43 x 19.69 cm |
by Alan J. Taylor
Provides an insight to every American President from Washington to Biden. The book is edited by Ian Dale with contributions from over 40 authors. The end result is an even overview of each president by an ensemble of contributors without excessive and cumulative political baggage that would otherwise have tainted this this truly excellent work.
by Mr. C. Maitland
It is inevitable that book with so many contributors would be of variable quality.
The early presidents were dealt with well if over reverently and the essays on the less well known 19th and early
20th century ones were informative and the re-evaluations of Harding and Coolidge were especially interesting. Lincoln because of his pivotal role deserved a much longer essay.
However, the main problem with this book comes with the more recent presidents where the reader’s attitudes will more readily colour the response. So getting a perspective on Clinton and especially Trump is nigh impossible. The prime example of this was the essay on George W Bush. To me it appeared as little more than hagiography but perhaps his presidency is just too close.
by Kindle Customer
Good read, no real clunking biographies but the political bias of the writers at times seems to colour their views. The nearer the present the President the more a pre existing political view seems to creep in. Worth reading but will be enjoyed more by Liberal readers than Conservative.
by Credit Man
I have the American Heritage History of the Presidents (Michael R Beschloss) which is more comprehensive.
This book gives a brief overview of each President, each chapter giving you an insight into his character, outlook and achievements, Good enough as a starting point.
by Sean
I highly recommend this book as it full on enriched information about the life’s of the US President as it is the author follow up to his previous book on the UK Prime Minister.
A great handy book for pub quiz and to read if you are a contestants on that tv show who wants to be a millionaries
I highly recommend it. Best wishes Sean
by EL
Very dependent on the writer on each president. Osborne’s LBJ is excellent, for example, but others are overly partisan and contain factual errors. I will not be recommending it to my students.
by Simon C
This book compliments the excellent podacast series and I enjoy referring back to it for reference .
by markiep
A hugely enjoyable 500 page summary of the US Presidents and the history they participated in and helped to create. Highly recommended!