From the beginning, Americans have loved and hated their presidents, and memorialized them both for their achievements and their foibles. In this collection of essays, written by members of the prestigious Society of American Historians, we're gifted with a lively interpretive history of the 41 presidents to date with an emphasis on their dominant themes and achievements as influenced by their personalities and ideologies.

With the focus on presidential style, Joseph J. Ellis examines the ironies in Thomas Jefferson's ideals and actions, as well as his inveterate shyness (imagine a modern-day president who only spoke at his inauguration and presented all legislative proposals in writing). Robert Dallek discusses Lyndon B. Johnson's contradictions as evidenced in his significant domestic achievements and the terrible failure of the Vietnam War. And in the pieces on also-rans like Grant and Coolidge and the disgraced such as Nixon, these historians often use the benefit of hindsight and scholarship to focus on the more redeeming features of each man. The most recent president covered does not get off so lightly, however, as Evan Thomas devotes an inordinate amount of space to Bill Clinton's philandering and slams him with such adjectives as "calculating, shrewd and slovenly."

The book is packed with photographs, illustrations, inaugural addresses, and memorable quotes ("When Theodore attends a wedding, he wants to be the bride, and when he attends a funeral, he wants to be the corpse"). A light sense of humor is even displayed, as in a photograph of William Howard Taft's mammoth bathtub, specially built after the 355-pound man got stuck in an ordinary tub, and the story of the Kennedy-Nixon campaign captured in two campaign photos--one of a sexy, bare-chested JFK in his PT-109 and the other of a stiff Nixon in his Navy dress blues. It's also a treasure trove of presidential trivia--which presidents proposed to their wives on the first date? Who were the only three vice presidents to be successfully promoted by election? This is a terrific reference book--an informative, revealing, and fun way to learn about America's chosen few. --Lesley Reed


From Publishers Weekly
Edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian McPherson (Battle Cry of Freedom), this collection is an easy guide to the American presidency. In the first section, an array of distinguished historians pithily assesses, in essay-length narratives, each of the 42 presidents. Gordon Wood calls George Washington "an extraordinary man who made it possible for ordinary men to rule"; Catherine Clinton explains why history hasn't been kind to Benjamin Harrison; Douglas Brinkley portrays Jimmy Carter as an ethical politician in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book's second section summarizes each presidential campaign and reprints the text of every inaugural address. The splendid illustrations accompanying the textAwhich range from the iconic (a youthful Bill Clinton shaking hands with President Kennedy) to the unusual (Dwight Eisenhower at his easel, painting)Aadd richness and depth. Sponsored by the Society of American HistoriansAan invitation-only organization of the best and the brightest of historical writers who promote literary distinction in their fieldAthis estimable book draws on ideas that are shaping American political historiography and popular memory and that will continue to shape them in years to come. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
DK marks the millennium (and the 2000 election) with a lavishly illustrated overview of the presidency sponsored by the Society of American Historians. General editor McPherson supplies a historiographical introduction and a Lincoln essay; other contributors include academics (among them, Gordon Wood on Washington, Joseph Ellis on Jefferson, Robert Remini on Jackson, Robert Dallek on Hoover and LBJ) and journalists (Richard Reeves on JFK, Tom Wicker on Nixon, Evan Thomas on Clinton). Some 300 pages are devoted to essays that "focus on the dominant themes and achievements of each presidency" within its personal, ideological, and political contexts. Each 6-to 10-page essay provides biographical data, lists major events during the president's term(s), and includes vivid illustrations (including a portrait of the president's spouse). The rest of the book supplies brief descriptions of the campaigns that elected each of the 41 presidents and the full texts of their inaugural addresses. The high quality of text and visuals will make this a popular resource; regrettably, "further readings" are not included. Mary Carroll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Dallas Morning News
This outstanding collection of essays... should be read by every citizen


Chicago Tribune
Well produced and richly illustrated, the book is an ideal introduction to the presidency

FROM OUR EDITORS

General editor James McPherson, a well-respected historian, presents an informative and colorful look at the American presidents: everyone from George Washington to George W. Bush. Insightful essays on each commander-in-chief include: Joseph J. Ellis on Thomas Jefferson, Robert V. Remini on Andrew Jackson, Thomas Fleming on James K. Polk, Robert Reeves on John F. Kennedy, and McPherson himself on Abraham Lincoln. Every inaugural address is included, making this an indispensable resource for any American history buff.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Every generation of historians reviews and revises the work of its predecessors. With this book, the best historical writers of today's generation undertake such a task. Displaying wit and narrative flair, their elegant essays offer a fresh perspective on that most fascinating group of Americans: The Presidents.

Who better to write a new assessment of the presidents than the most respected (and best-selling) historians of our time, including Pulitzer Prize Winners Gordon S. Wood, Jack N. Rakove, and James M. McPherson as well as National Book Award Winners Robert V. Remini and Joseph Ellis. In To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents, members of the prestigious Society of American Historians deliver engaging, thoughtful analyses of the forty-one men who have led this country—some, of course, more successfully than others.

In this copiously illustrated volume, edited by Pulitzer Prize winner James M. McPherson, you will learn from Gordon S. Wood on how George Washington, an extraordinary man, made it possible for ordinary men to govern; from Allen Weinstein on how Theodore Roosevelt tested and extended the limits of the presidency; from Tom Wicker on how Richard Nixon's hatreds and insecurities gripped him ever more tightly as he achieved his long-sought after goal of power; and from Evan Thomas on how much Bill Clinton cares about his place in the new presidential pecking order.

In addition, you will find coverage of every campaign as well as the complete Inaugural Addresses of every president.

About The Society of American Historians:
The Society of American Historians was founded in 1939 by Allan Nevins and several fellow authors for the purpose of promoting literary distinction in historical writing. From its inception, the Society has sought ways to bring good historical writing to the largest possible audience. Membership in the Society is by invitation only and is limited to 250 authors. The Society administers four awards: the annual Francis Parkman Prize for the best-written nonfiction book on American history, the annual Allan Nevins Prize for the best-written dissertation on an important theme in American history, the biannual Bruce Catton prize for lifetime achievement in historical writing, and the biannual James Fenimore Cooper prize for the best historical novel.

About the Authors:
James M. McPherson: General Editor, Introduction, Abraham Lincoln
James M. McPherson is George Henry Davis '86 Professor of American History at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1962. He is the author of a dozen books, mostly on the era of the American Civil War. His Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1989, and his For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War won the Lincoln Prize in 1998.

Gordon S. Wood: George Washington
Gordon S. Wood is Alva O. Way University Professor and Professor of History at Brown University. He is the author of The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 (1969) and The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1992), among other books.

James M. Banner, Jr.: John Adams
James M. Banner, Jr. is an independent historian in Washington, D.C. He is the author most recently of The Capital and the State: Washington, D.C, and the Nature of American Government in Donald R. Kennon, ed., A Republic for the Ages (1999). Banner is now at work on a history of the origins of the American national state.

Joseph Ellis: Thomas Jefferson
Joseph J. Ellis is Ford Foundations Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College. He is the author of six books on American history, including American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, which won the National Book Award in 1998. His forthcoming book Founding Brothers: Stories from the Early Republic focuses on the clash of personalities and ideologies within the political leadership of the revolutionary generation.

Jack N. Rakove: James Madison, James Monroe
Jack N. Rakove is Coe Professor of History and American Studies (and Professor of Political Science) at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1980. Among the books he has authored are James Madison and the Creation of the American Republic (1990) and Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution (1996), which received the Pulitzer Prize in History. His edition of James Madison: Writings was published by the Library of America in 1999.

John Patrick Diggins : John Quincy Adams
John Patrick Diggins is Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His latest books include Foundations of American History (2000), a Lincolnesque reinterpretation of America, and a forthcoming study of Eugene O'Neill, in whose play More Stately Mansions the antagonism between Jackson and John Quincy Adams reverberates.

Robert V. Remini: Andrew Jackson
Robert V. Remini is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His three-volume biography of Andrew Jackson won the 1984 National Book Award. He has also written biographies of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, and his latest book is The Battle of New Orleans (1999).

Richard M. Pious: Martin Van Buren, John Tyler
Richard M. Pious, Adolph and Effie Ochs Professor of American Studies, is chair of the Department of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University. He is the author of The American Presidency (1979), The President, Congress, and the Constitution (1984), and The Young Oxford Companion to the Presidency (1996). He is a member of the editorial boards of Political Science Quarterly and Presidential Studies Quarterly and has served on panels to rate presidential performance organized by the New York Times

Daniel Walker Howe: Willliam Henry Harrison
Daniel Walker Howe is Rhodes Professor of American History at Oxford University; he has also taught at UCLA and Yale. The author of The Political Culture of the American Whigs (1979), among other books, he is currently writing a narrative history of the United States between 1815 and 1848.

Thomas Fleming: James K. Polk
Thomas Fleming writes both history and historical novels. His most recent work of history is Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America (1999). His recent novel The Wages of Fame (1998) deals with the intricacies of James Polk's war with Mexico.

Catherine Clinton: Zachary Taylor, Benjamin Harrison
Catherine Clinton is Weissman Visiting Professor of History at Baruch College, City University of New York. Among her works on American history are The Other Civil War: American Women in the Nineteenth Century (1984), Tara Revisited: Women, War and the Plantation Legend (1995), and Fanny Kemble's Civil Wars (2000).

Jean Harvey Baker: Millard Fillmore, James Buchanan
Jean Harvey Baker is Professor of History at Goucher College. Among her publications are Affairs of Party: The Political Culture of the Northern Democrats in the Nineteenth Century (1983), Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography (1987), and The Stevensons: Biography of an American Family. She is currently writing a book on the American suffragists.

James A. Rawley: Franklin Pierce, Rutherford B. Hayes
James A. Rawley is Carl Adolph Happold Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. His books include Turning Points of the Civil War (1966), Race and Politics: "Bleeding Kansas" and the Coming of the Civil War (1969), and The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History (1981). He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the recipient of the University of Nebraska's Outstanding Research and Creativity Award, as well as its Pound-Howard Award for his distinguished contributions to the university.

Hans L. Trefousse: Andrew Johnson
Hans L. Trefousse is Professor Emeritus of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he taught from 1961 until 1998. His areas of special expertise are the Civil War and Reconstruction, and his publications include biographies of Andrew Johnson, Carl Schurz, Benjamin Butler, Benjamin Wade, and Thaddeus Stevens, as well as books on the Radical Republicans, Lincoln's decision to emancipate, and diplomatic history.

Michael Les Benedict: Ulysses S. Grant
Michael Les Benedict is Professor of History at The Ohio State University. He is the author of A Compromise of Principle: Congressional Republicans and Reconstruction (1975) and many articles and essays on legal and political issues of the Reconstruction era.

Ari Hoogenboom: James A. Garfield
Ari Hoogenboom is Professor Emeritus of History at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of Outlawing the Spoils: A History of the Civil Service Reform Movement, 1865-1883 (1961), the Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes (1988), and Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President (1995). Hoogenboom has been a Guggenheim Fellow and a Fullbright Professor (while serving as George Bancroft Professor of American History at the University History at the Gottingen).

Bernard A. Weisberger: Chester A. Arthur
Bernard A. Weisberger taught American history at Wayne State University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Rochester before undertaking a full-time writing career in 1968. He has written extensively for American Heritage, has been a historical consultant and scriptwriter for Ken Burns and Bill Moyers, and is the author of numerous books, including The Age of Steam and Steel (1964) and The New Industrial Society (1969). He has just completed a book on the election of 1800.

Vincent P. De Santis: Grover Cleveland
Vincent P. De Santis is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Notre Dame, where he has taught for many years. He is the author (or coauthor) of numerous books, including The Republicans Face the Southern Question (1959) and The Shaping of Modern America, 1877-1920 (1973). He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and a Fulbright Professor to Italy, Australia, and India.

Morton Keller: William McKinley, Warren G. Harding
Morton Keller is Spector Professor of History at Brandeis University. Among his books are Affairs of State: Public Life in Late Nineteenth Century America (1977). He has also recently completed a history of modern Harvard.

Allen Weinstein: Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman
Allen Weinstein is founder and president of The Center of Democracy, a nonprofit foundation created in 1985 to promote and strengthen the democratic process. He chaired the American Studies Program at Smith College from 1966 until 1981 and later taught as a University Professor at both Georgetown (1981-84) and Boston University (1985-89) . In 1986, he won the United Nations Peace Medal for "efforts to promote peace, dialogue, and free elections in several critical parts of the world." His books include Perjury: The Hiss Chambers Case (1978), which was nominated for an American Book Award and The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—The Stalin Era (1999).

Mark C. Carnes: William Howard Taft
Mark C. Carnes is Professor of History at Barnard College, Columbia University. He is the author of Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America (1989), Mapping America's Past (1996), and (with John A. Garraty) The American Nation (1999). Carnes has also edited Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies (1995) and (with Garraty) the twenty-four-volume series American National Biography (1999).

James Chace: Woodrow Wilson
James Chace is Paul W. Williams Professor of Government and Public Law at Bard College. He is the editor of World Policy Journal and author of Acheson: The Secretary of State who Created the American World (1998), among other books.

Robert Cowley: Calvin Coolidge
Robert Cowley is the founding editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. He is (with Malcolm Cowley) the editor of Fitzgerald and the Jazz Age (1966) and an authority on the 1920s

Robert Dallek: Herbert Hoover, Lyndon Baines Johnson
Robert Dallek is currently Professor of History at Boston University, having taught for thirty years at UCLA. In 1994-95, he was Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford. An elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Dallek is the author of numerous books on American diplomatic and presidential history, including a two-volume life of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Susan Ware: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Susan Ware has written extensively on the New Deal and 1930s America. She is currently affiliated with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, where she is editing Volume Five of the biographical dictionary Notable American Women. Herbert S. Parmet: Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Bush Herbert S. Parmet is Professor Emeritus of History at the City University of New York. He is the author Eisenhower and the American Crusades (1972) and, most recently, George Bush: the Life of a Lone Star Yankee (1997), among other books.

Richard Reeves: John F. Kennedy
Richard Reeves, the author of President Kennedy: Profile of Power (1993), writes a syndicated newspaper column and teaches at the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Southern California.

Tom Wicker: Richard M. Nixon
Tom Wicker was a political columnist for the New York Times from 1966 until 1991. He is the author of fourteen books, including One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991).

Laura Kalman: Gerald R. Ford
Laura Kalman, Professor of History at the University of California—Santa Barbara, is the author of Legal Realism at Yale, 1927-1960 (1986), Abe Fortas: A Biography (1990), and The Strange Career of Legal Liberalism (1996). She is presently at work on Years of Transformation: The United States, 1974-1981.

Douglas Brinkley: Jimmy Carter
Douglas Brinkley is director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies and Professor of History at the University of New Orleans. He is the author of The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey Beyond the White House (1998).

James T. Patterson: Ronald Reagan
James T. Patterson is Ford Foundation Professor of History at Brown University, where he has taught modern U.S. history since 1972. He has also held visiting appointments as Harmsworth Professor of History at Oxford University, John Adams Professor of American Civilization at the University of Amsterdam, and Pitt Professor of American Institutions at Cambridge University. His publications include Mr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. Taft (1972), America's Struggle Against Poverty: 1900-1994 (1995), and Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974 (1996), which won the Bancroft Prize.

Evan Thomas: Bill Clinton
Evan Thomas is assistant managing editor of Newsweek. In addition to coauthoring (with Walter Isaacson) The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986), Thomas has written The Man to See: Edward Bennett Williams (1991) and The Very Best Men: The Early Years of the CIA (1995). His current project is a biography of Robert F. Kennedy.

SYNOPSIS

Here is a thoughtful and engaging examination of the forty-two men who have served as President of the United States. Written by members of the prestigious Society of American Historians, including Pulitzer Prize winning editor James McPherson, each section explores the campaigns, elections, presidency and legacy of each of America's leaders. Illustrated with timeless photos, peppered with quotations and thoroughly annotated, these personal stories reveal the triumphs and turmoil of our nation's history. The complete text of every inaugural address is included.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Edited by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian McPherson (Battle Cry of Freedom), this collection is an easy guide to the American presidency. In the first section, an array of distinguished historians pithily assesses, in essay-length narratives, each of the 42 presidents. Gordon Wood calls George Washington "an extraordinary man who made it possible for ordinary men to rule"; Catherine Clinton explains why history hasn't been kind to Benjamin Harrison; Douglas Brinkley portrays Jimmy Carter as an ethical politician in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book's second section summarizes each presidential campaign and reprints the text of every inaugural address. The splendid illustrations accompanying the text--which range from the iconic (a youthful Bill Clinton shaking hands with President Kennedy) to the unusual (Dwight Eisenhower at his easel, painting)--add richness and depth. Sponsored by the Society of American Historians--an invitation-only organization of the best and the brightest of historical writers who promote literary distinction in their field--this estimable book draws on ideas that are shaping American political historiography and popular memory and that will continue to shape them in years to come. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

As we enter into a major political campaign season it is alltogether fitting and proper that time be dedicated to studying the lives, accomplishments, and characters of the previous fortytwo United States Presidents. Each of the men who held the position brought a unique perspective to that high office. In some instances the ascension to the presidency led to amazing productivity. One need only think of men such as Lincoln, Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt to ascertain how people can rise to the occasion even when faced with the gravest challenges. Conversely, the presidencies of individuals such as James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, or Millard Fillmore demonstrate that incompetent leaders can rise to the summit of power. In other cases men who had achieved great things in previous positions of power such as Grant and Hoover failed miserably as the President of the land. Oddly, some men, such as Jimmy Carter, were adjudged to be mediocre Presidents but first rate social activists after their departure from office. It is the story of the men who filled what has become the most powerful political position in the world that is told in this rich historical work. Edited by Pulitzer Prize winner James McPherson, this text provides not only factual detail about each of America's Presidents but also a personalized profile of them as people. The lives, families, and spouses of each President are presented in a concise yet complete manner. Copiously illustrated each essay is written by a capable scholar in the field. The prose is clear and insightful with a grand combination of analysis and personal insight. This is a wonderful resource for students. 2000, Dorling Kindersley, Ages 12 up,$29.95. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

Library Journal