American presidents series (Times Books)
Author
Author
Pub. Date
[2002]
Description
In this examination of the life of a founding father, renowned historian Wills takes a fresh look at the life of James Madison, from his rise to prominence in the colonies through his role in the creation of the Articles of Confederation and the first Constitutional Congress.
Historian and social commentator Garry Wills takes a fresh look at the life of James Madison, from his rise to prominence in the colonies through his role in the creation of...
Author
Pub. Date
2002
Description
Chronicles the life of sixth American president John Quincy Adams, examining the successes and failures of his political career and discussing such topics as the removal of Native Americans from Georgia and Adams's nine consecutive terms in the House of Representatives.
Author
Formats
Description
"Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a statesman whose massive achievements tower over the twentieth century. In a ranking of American presidents, he is rivaled only by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. He was elected to an unprecedented four terms in office, and his accomplishments in leading the nation through depression and world war resonate to this day." "Roosevelt's presidency was one of the most eventful in U.S. history. He took office in the...
5) John Adams
Author
Pub. Date
[2003]
Description
"Perhaps no U.S. president was less suited for the practice of politics than John Adams. A gifted philosopher who helped lead the movement for American independence from its inception, Adams was unprepared for the realities of party politics that had already begun to dominate the new country before Washington left office. Indeed, Adams and the Federalists were so effectively outmaneuvered by the Republicans that history has tended to overlook the...
Author
Pub. Date
[2003]
Description
An account of the political career and legacy of president William McKinley notes the United States's diplomatic and military debut as a world power during his administration, his presidency during a major realignment of the U.S. party system, and his contributions to the GOP's cycle of power.
10) James K. Polk
Author
Pub. Date
2004.
Description
"In the summer of 1844, James K. Polk's political career was in ruins. As the Democratic National Convention approached, Polk had thought himself assured of the vice presidential nomination, but the presidential front-runner, former president Martin Van Buren, had made it clear that he had little interest in him. Van Buren was on a mission to regain the White House, which he had lost in 1840, and he needed a strong running mate. Polk had three strikes...
11) Ulysses S. Grant
Author
Pub. Date
[2004]
Description
Traces the life and presidency of Ulyssses S. Grant and discusses why he was undervalued as a president.
Author
Pub. Date
[2004]
Description
During his presidency, Warren G. Harding was beloved. His presidential campaign slogan, "Not heroics but healing, not nostrums but normalcy," gave voice to a public exhausted by World War I. Harding inherited a White House in disarray after President Woodrow Wilson's debilitating stroke. He promised the American people that, under his watch, life and governance would once again be manageable. His first priority was to bolster the economy, which had...
13) Andrew Jackson
Author
Pub. Date
2005.
Description
Examines the life and presidency of Andrew Jackson, including his early days in South Carolina, his military exploits, and his contributions to the cause of democracy and Manifest Destiny.
Author
Pub. Date
[2005]
Description
A portrait of the presidency of Benjamin Harrison describes his rise to political power, his controversial victory over Grover Cleveland in the 1888 election, the successes and failures of his administration, his loss to Cleveland in the 1893 election, and his historical legacy.
15) James Monroe
Author
Pub. Date
[2005]
Description
The former senator and presidential candidate offers a provocative new assessment of the first "national security president". James Monroe is remembered today primarily for two things: for being the last of the "Virginia Dynasty", following George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and for issuing the Monroe Doctrine, his statement of principles in 1823 that the western hemisphere was to be considered closed to European intervention....
16) Martin Van Buren
Author
Pub. Date
[2005]
Description
Examines the life and presidency of Martin Van Buren, describing his failed efforts to control such issues as slavery and the great banking panic of 1837.
18) Calvin Coolidge
Author
Pub. Date
2007.
Description
A portrait of America's thirtieth president looks at the conservative policies that marked his leadership, including cutting taxes, balancing the federal budget, and promoting corporate productivity, as well as his innovative use of public relations.
Author
Pub. Date
[2007]
Description
Profiles the presidency of George H. W. Bush, discussing foreign affairs, the end of the Cold War, his encouragement of the liberation of the Soviet system, his role in the unification of Germany, the Persian Gulf War, reasons he was not reelected, and other topics.
20) Richard M. Nixon
Author
Pub. Date
2007
Description
Presents a comprehensive biography of the life and political successes and failures of former President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, that describes the events that eventually led to his resignation.
21) Abraham Lincoln
Author
Pub. Date
[2009]
Description
From the Publisher: America's greatest president, who rose to power in the country's greatest hour of need and whose vision saw the United States through the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln towers above the others who have held the office of president-the icon of greatness, the pillar of strength whose words bound up the nation's wounds. His presidency is the hinge on which American history pivots, the time when the young republic collapsed of its own...
22) Andrew Johnson
Author
Pub. Date
[2011]
Description
A portrait of America's seventeenth president describes Andrew Johnson's failed efforts to bring about reconciliation following the Civil War, the antagonism of congressional leaders who sought his impeachment, and his legacy for the present.
23) Harry S. Truman
Author
Pub. Date
c2008
Description
The plainspoken man from Missouri who never expected to be president yet rose to become one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century, Harry S. Truman clashed with Southerners over civil rights, with organized labor over the right to strike, and with General Douglas MacArthur over the conduct of the Korean War. He personified Thomas Jefferson's observation that the presidency is a "splendid misery," but it was during his tenure that the United...
24) Zachary Taylor
Author
Pub. Date
2008
Description
Presents a biography of the twelfth president of the United States, Zachary Taylor, and focusing on how he became elected despite never holding a lower political office, and describes the events that surrounded his the time in office, including California's application for statehood with an anti-slavery constitution.
25) Herbert Hoover
Author
Pub. Date
2009
Description
Chronicles the life of Herbert Hoover, the thirty-first president of the United States, focusing on his term in office, during which time the stock market crashed, and describing his attempts to stabilize the starving economy.
26) Franklin Pierce
Author
Pub. Date
[2010]
Description
Argues that President Franklin Pierce was consumed by an obsessed drive to unify the Whig party rather than the country, leading to decisions that ultimately ruptured the party and brought the United States closer to Civil War.
27) Millard Fillmore
Author
Pub. Date
[2011]
Description
A portrait of the 13th President traces his rise from virtual obscurity after the sudden death of Zachary Taylor, evaluating his roles in promoting Southern agendas, dividing the Whig party and setting the groundwork for the American Civil War.
28) John F. Kennedy
Author
Pub. Date
[2012]
Description
Analyzes the contrast between Kennedy's achievements and his legend, tracing the successes and failures of such events as the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis while exploring the ways in which he reshaped views of the presidency.
30)
Bill Clinton: the 42nd president, 1993-2001
Author
31) George W. Bush
Author
Pub. Date
2015.
Description
A biography of the controversial president whose time in office was defined by the September 11 attacks and the War on Terrorism.
Author
Pub. Date
2016.
Description
In the second half of the twentieth century, no American president defined his political era as did Ronald Reagan. He ushered in an age that extolled smaller government, tax cuts, and strong defense, and to this day politicians of both political parties operate within the parameters of the world he made. His eight years in office from 1981 to 1989 were a time of economic crisis and recovery, a new American assertiveness abroad, and an engagement with...
Author
Pub. Date
2017.
Description
Bill Clinton: a president of contradictions. He was a Rhodes Scholar and a Yale Law School graduate, but he was also a fatherless child from rural Arkansas. He was one of the most talented politicians of his age, but he inspired enmity of such intensity that his opponents would stop at nothing to destroy him. He was the first Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to win two successive presidential elections, but he was also the first president since Andrew...