Power and the Presidency

by Stanley Marcus, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough

This sterling collection of original, never-before-published essays on six fascinating contemporary presidents by some of the leading presidential biographers of our time is must reading for anyone interested in American politics, the history of the American presidency, or the lives of the presidents. Each essay -- extending and elaborating on lectures originally delivered as part of the Montgomery Lecture Series at Dartmouth University -- explores how a particular president came to power, wielded power, and was changed by power, and how each presidency affected the power of the office itself. The presidencies addressed are those of Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Reagan, and Clinton. Published as our nation begins the process of electing the 43rd president, during a time when some believe the independence of the office itself is at stake, Power and the Presidency is a timely and thought-provoking look at the nature of power in American democracy.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Presidents

162 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1999

Reviews

[Daniel Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharing findings and understandings of weaknesses and strengths, a handful of historians breakdown the lives of a handful of presidents and their relationships with power.

I enjoyed the fair accounting in this book: each historian highlighted what a particular president did well and what they did not do too well. I’ve done a decent amount of study on presidents before, but there was a lot of new things that I learned in this book.

[Nancy Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

With an intro by David McCullough, I knew this should be good and wasn't disappointed. Prize winning presidential biographers discuss how these 7 particular presidents wield power in their position. Very good.

[R.J. Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

....should be required reading for anyone in politics now, and or in the past...thinking about getting back into the game. Also for those out there that "Lead" in any capacity and want to improve themselves in that area. This concise book takes a look at a few of our past Presidents, and opens up a window (now that they are finished with the job), as to what worked, what did not, and in each of their own unique ways and perspectives how they utilized the power this office holds. Truly an interesting read about the persons and decisions, while cloaked in history that were the "times" of, FDR...Ronald Reagan...Bill Clinton...LBJ....Dwight Eisenhower...Richard Nixon....and John F. Kennedy. A very nice intro written by the esteemed historian David McCullough certainly is not a bad thing either, and introduces the "meat" of the subject matter as eloquently as he has in the past.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Power and the Presidency" is a series of short essays by several prominent biographers, mostly from each biographer's much longer work about a specific U.S. President or Presidents. The essays are about Franklin Delano Roosevelt; A contrast of Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy; Lyndon B. Johnson (by Robert Caro, the preeminent LBJ expert); Richard Nixon; Ronald Reagan; and Bill Clinton. I have read much more detailed biographies of each of these men, but this is a good starter for those new to the subjects, or maybe just for those with a short attention span!


**#40 of 100 books pledged to read/review in 2015**

[Robert Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good little book of essays that examine the use of power by 20th century American presidents. The introductory essay, about power and the presidency in general, is by esteemed historian David McCullough. The other essays focus on FDR, Eisenhower and Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton. I thought the selections on Nixon and Reagan were a little weak, long on opinion and short on substantive lessons. The rest of the essays, however, were well worth the read.

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable. Short bios of several presidents.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something for school that I actually liked!