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To Lead a Nation: The Presidency in the Twentieth Century

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PORTABLE PROFESSOR™ is a series of exciting and informative lectures recorded by some of today's most renowned university and college professors. Each course introduces listeners to fascinating, and sometimes startling, insights into the intellectual forces that shape our understanding of the world. Each package includes 14 riveting lectures presented by notable professors as well as a book-length course guide.

Teddy Roosevelt remarked that no president could achieve greatness save through war, but Woodrow Wilson noted that a president is as big a man as he chooses to be. Certainly the twentieth century saw greatness in the U.S. presidency and no shortage of war, and yet given the records of the men to hold the highest executive office in the nation, the secret to presidential success remains elusive. In this fascinating series of lectures, award-winning historian Robert Dallek charts the course of the presidency during the twentieth century, exploring how some men rose to the enormous challenges of their times while others tarnished the office, how some conjured up greatness in times of peace and prosperity while others barely managed to leave a mark.

COURSE LECTURES

Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft: The Rise of the Modern Presidency Woodrow Wilson: Domestic Triumphs, Foreign Defeats The Presidency in Retreat: The Twenties Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Restoration of Presidential Greatness, 1933-1939 Roosevelt and the Road to War, 1939-1941 War and Peacemaking, 1941-1945 Harry Truman: The Making of a President Republican Interlude: Dwight D. Eisenhower in the White House John F. Kennedy: Myths and Realities Lyndon Johnson: Triumph and Tragedy Johnson and Vietnam The Paradox of Richard Nixon as President The Carter Interlude and Ronald Reagan's Presidency Assessing Presidential Leadership
A winner of the Bancroft Prize for history, Robert Dallek is a respected expert on presidential history and has taught at Columbia University, UCLA, and Oxford University. He is currently Professor of History at Boston University. He has published numerous works about U.S. foreign policy and the U.S. presidency, including such best-selling books as Lone Star Rising: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960, Hail to the Chief: The Making and Unmaking of American Presidents, and An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy.

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2004

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About the author

Robert Dallek

55 books171 followers
Robert A. Dallek is an American historian specializing in the presidents of the United States, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon.
In 2004 he retired as a history professor at Boston University after previously having taught at Columbia University, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Oxford University.
He won the Bancroft Prize for his 1979 book Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932–1945, as well as other awards for scholarship and teaching.

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303 reviews2 followers
February 22, 2016
The first Barnes & Noble Portable Professors audio I read and listened to. Amazing course taught by a master historian in Robert Dallek! Great themes used to analyze the presidencies of the 20th century and interesting trivia and stories for the layperson. Being a presidential historian, I really enjoyed this. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews

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