The American President The Human Drama of Our Nation's Highest Office

by Kunhardt, Philip B.; Kunhardt, Peter W.

• ISBN13: 9781573228329
• ISBN10: 157322832X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade

Summary

Now available in paperback -- the lavishly illustrated, national bestselling companion volume to the acclaimed ten-part public television series.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
A Personal Journey	xi
Hugh Sidey
Foreword	xii
Stephen Skowronek
Introduction	xiv
Richard E. Neustadt
THE CANDIDATE
The Heroic Posture	2	(46)
America's First Hero	6	(12)
George Washington
A Manufactured Hero	18	(6)
William Henry Harrison
In Over His Head	24	(12)
Ulysses S. Grant
The Heroic Image	36	(12)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Compromise Choices	48	(38)
The Dark Horse President	52	(6)
Franklin Pierce
Awaiting Destiny	58	(10)
James A. Garfield
``I Should Never Have Been Here''	68	(10)
Warren G. Harding
Healing the Nation	78	(8)
Gerald R. Ford
POLITICS AND THE PRESIDENCY
The Professional Politician	86	(42)
``The Little Magician''	90	(6)
Martin Van Buren
``Avoiding Conflict''	96	(8)
James Buchanan
Politics with a Purpose	104	(14)
Abraham Lincoln
The Art of Political Bluster	118	(10)
Lyndon B. Johnson
An Independent Cast of Mind	128	(36)
Going It Alone	132	(8)
John Adams
``Old Rough and Ready''	140	(8)
Zachary Taylor
``No Fondness for a Political Life''	148	(8)
Rutherford B. Hayes
The Outsider	156	(8)
Jimmy Carter
A MATTER OF DESTINY
Family Ties	164	(42)
His Father's Son	168	(6)
John Quincy Adams
``Nobody's Grandson''	174	(10)
Benjamin Harrison
Possession by Right	184	(12)
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Vindicating the Irish	196	(10)
John F. Kennedy
Happenstance	206	(52)
Establishing the Precedent	210	(8)
John Tyler
``Called by a Bereavement''	218	(6)
Millard Fillmore
``Elect of an Assassin''	224	(14)
Andrew Johnson
``Gentleman Boss''	238	(10)
Chester A. Arthur
American Optimist	248	(10)
Harry S. Truman
EXECUTIVE VISION
The American Way	258	(44)
His ``Empire of Liberty''	262	(10)
Thomas Jefferson
Preacher of Prosperity	272	(10)
Calvin Coolidge
American Individualist	282	(10)
Herbert C. Hoover
An American Dreamer	292	(10)
Ronald Reagan
The World Stage	302	(44)
A Vision for the Hemisphere	306	(6)
James Monroe
Reluctant Apostle	312	(12)
William McKinley
American Idealist	324	(12)
Woodrow Wilson
Personal Contact	336	(10)
George Bush
AN OFFICE AND ITS POWERS
Expanding Power	346	(50)
The Power of the People	350	(10)
Andrew Jackson
``Ugly Honest''	360	(12)
Grover Cleveland
``Rough Rider''	372	(14)
Theodore Roosevelt
Abuse of Power	386	(10)
Richard M. Nixon
The Balance of Power	396	(46)
Creating the Balance	400	(8)
James Madison
``Young Hickory''	408	(10)
James K. Polk
Preserving the Balance	418	(12)
William Howard Taft
Second Chances	430	(12)
William Jefferson Clinton
Chronology of the President	442	(2)
Selected Constitutional Passages	444	(4)
Acknowledgments	448	(2)
Selected Bibliography	450	(10)
Index	460	(15)
Picture Sources	475