The life of Harry S. Truman is one of the greatest of American stories, filled with vivid characters -- Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Wallace Truman, George Marshall, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson -- and dramatic events. In this riveting biography, acclaimed historian David McCullough not only captures the man -- a more complex, informed, and determined man than ever before imagined -- but also the turbulent times in which he rose, boldly, to meet unprecedented challenges. The last president to serve as a living link between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, Truman's story spans the raw world of the Missouri frontier, World War I, the powerful Pendergast machine of Kansas City, the legendary Whistle-Stop Campaign of 1948, and the decisions to drop the atomic bomb, confront Stalin at Potsdam, send troops to Korea, and fire General MacArthur. Drawing on newly discovered archival material and extensive interviews with Truman's own family, friends, and Washington colleagues, McCullough tells the deeply moving story of the seemingly ordinary "man from Missouri" who was perhaps the most courageous president in our history.

This history of presidential studies surveys the views of leading thinkers and scholars about the constitutional powers of the highest office in the land from the founding to the present.

This history of presidential studies surveys the views of leading thinkers and scholars about the constitutional powers of the highest office in the land from the founding to the present.

This book draws on the extensive literature on populism, democracy, and emerging markets as well as interviews with senior government officials, experts, and journalists in the Philippines and beyond, This book is the first to analyze the significance and implications of the rise of Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte within a rapidly-changing Asia Pacific region. As China's power in the Pacific grows rapidly, nations that have traditionally been US allies, such as the Phillipines, are experiencing political convulsions; Duterte's open willingness to realign towards China (at the expense of America) in exchange for infrastructure investment is one of the clearest indicators of what China's rise might look like for nations around the world. Timely, precise, accessible and fast-paced, this book will be of value to scholars, journalists, policy-makers, and China watchers.

Ozawa Ichiro is one of the most important figures in Japanese politics, having held the positions of Chief Secretary of the Liberal Democrat Party and, after defection from the LDP, President of the Democratic Party of Japan. Ozawa has distinctive ideas that set him apart from the average Japanese politician, he believes in the concept of the independence of the individual, as opposed to the importance of the group, and as a policy entrepreneur he has had a huge impact on political change not only advocating but precipitating institutional change in a key political area - the election system. Using extensive interview data from key players in the political arena, this book examines Ozawa's struggle to normalize alternation in office between two competing political parties - particularly significant given the results of the 2009 election which handed over power to the Democratic Party of Japan - and how he has used his entrepreneurial talents to precipitate and carry out institutional change. Not only a political biography, but also an in-depth analysis of the Japanese political and electoral systems, this book will be of huge interest to anyone interested in Japanese politics and electoral systems.

To understand the challenges of political leadership and how top executives succeed in accomplishing an Administration s objectives, business-in-government experts Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson present the findings of a four-year study of top political appointees in the Obama Administration. The 42 participants Deputy Secretaries and agency heads provide case studies of how each approaches the management challenges and achieves the mission of their organization. Full of behind-the-scenes insights and practical advice from government political executives on how they face management challenges in real time, What Government Does: How Political Executives Manage offers indispensable insights to current and prospective political appointees and everyone interested in understanding how leaders make government agencies more effective. The new book, a follow-up to their previous book, Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government, presents an insightful framework of what government does. Instead of thinking about government by policy area, the authors present an alternative approach in which government executives are categorized by the type of agency they are managing. The book includes chapters on Deputy Secretaries, producers, regulators, infrastructors, scientists, and collaborators."

"An intoxicating read. You'll want to consume it twice." -A.J. Baime, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental President and Dewey Defeats Truman A fun little book packed with historic Churchill information, drinking companions, locations, and preferences, as well as plenty of cocktail recipes! Churchill was seldom short of a witty remark, and made his views on drinking quite well-known: "I have taken far more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me." When feeling down he said he felt like "a bottle of champagne . . . left uncorked for the night." And when encouraging a young government minister to indulge in another drink, he promised, "Go ahead, I won't write it in my diary." Divided into four sections-Drink Choices, Drinking Companions, Drinking Spots, and Drink Recipes-this book will keep readers turning the pages of fresh and fun material as they lift a drink along with Winston. The book will also focus on the various eras-from the 1910s through the 1960s-the times in which he was drinking alone and with others. Working with the historic companies that kept him refreshed, it will include vintage advertisements and marketing material from their closely guarded archives. Winston certainly drank with a colorful cast of characters, and you'll glimpse those such as FDR, Stalin, Coco Chanel, Charlie Chaplin, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and various other kings, queens, dukes, and duchesses. Among the elegant settings we will pop in and out of for a drink include Hearst Castle, Chanel's house in the South of France, the Ritz Hotel in Paris, the Dorchester in London, Monaco, the Savoy, the Biltmore, and of course the bars and first-class cabins of the famed ocean liners the Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mary. So raise a glass and join us in toasting Churchill's life and unique abilities!

In 2011 Barack Obama invited ten distinguished biographers to the White House to ask them one question: which past American president should I emulate? This was not the first time Obama asked scholars this, but the answer he received would differ as presidential legacies waxed and waned. In 2008 Obama chose Lincoln; in 2009, Reagan; and in 2010, Theodore Roosevelt. Perspectives on Presidential Leadership is an examination of presidential legacy, and in particular an analysis of the first ever UK ranking of American presidents which took place in 2011. In thirteen chapters, thirteen individual presidential administrations are assessed. Some presidents have been considered a success, others a failure; both types are featured in these thirteen case studies in a measured attempt to understand how the perception of presidential leadership evolves, shifts, and contorts across three centuries of American politics. The case studies also derive from the expertise of the collected British, Irish and Canadian authors, all of whom are leading scholars in their fields, and many of which took part in the 2011 survey. At a time when understanding presidential legacy is in high demand, this book offers a unique international perspective. Through extended commentary and inter-disciplinary study of the UK perspective it provides groundbreaking research.

In 1993, William J. Clinton began his eight year stint as forty-second president of the United States. A key figure of change in the Democratic Party, Clinton's political and personal actions ensured his lasting status as an important if controversial leader at a critical moment in recent American history. In Bill Clinton: Building a Bridge to the New Millennium, David H. Bennett traces Clinton's life and career from childhood through his two terms in the White House. From childhood to college, state government to the executive branch, Bennett provides a concise and readable biography that places Clinton's achievements, problems, and legacy in historical context. Situating the former president in the trajectory of 20th century liberalism, Bennett draws on Clinton's life to illuminate the political landscape of America in the 1990s and the role of the U.S. in the global context of the post-Cold War world. Combining keen scholarship with accessible prose, this will be an essential resource for students and all those interested in understanding the recent history of the U.S.

The History of the United States Civil Service: From the Postwar Years to the Twenty-First Century provides a broad, comprehensive overview of the US civil service in the postwar period and examines the reforms and changes throughout that time. The author situates the history of the civil service into a wider context, considering political, social and cultural changes that occurred and have been influential in the history of American government. The book analyzes the development of administrative reorganizations, administrative reforms, personnel policy and political thought on public administration. It also underlines continuity and changes in the structures, organization, and personnel management of the federal civil service, and the evolution of the role of presidential control over federal bureaucracy. Taking an essential, but often neglected organization as its focus, the text offers a rich, historical analysis of an important institution in American politics. This book will be of interest to teachers and students of American political history and the history of government, as well as more specifically, the Presidency, Public Administration, and Administrative Law.

Each volume in the new American Presidents Reference Series is organized around an individual presidency and gathers a host of biographical, analytical, and primary source historical material that will analyze the presidency and bring the president, his administration, and his times to life. The series focuses on key moments in U.S. political history as seen through the eyes of the most influential presidents to take the oath of office. Unique headnotes provide the context to data, tables and excerpted primary source documents. Harry Truman was born on May 8, 1884. He served with distinction during World War I as a commander of an artillery battery, and he ultimately attained the rank of major. In 1922, with the support of political boss Tom Pendergast, Truman was elected as a county judge. He lost reelection, but then won again as presiding judge in 1926 and 1930. In 1934 Truman was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he supported President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal policies and entry into World War II. When Vice President Henry Wallace alienated Democratic Party leaders, Truman was nominated for vice president. On April 12, 1945, eighty-two days into Truman's vice presidency, Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. At the age of sixty-one, Truman was sworn in as the thirty-third president of the United States. Key events during the Truman presidency include victory in World War II and Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, the start of the cold war with the Soviet Union and its eastern European satellites, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin airlift, the Fair Deal, price-control legislation, and the McCarthy hearings. In March 1952 Truman announced that he would not seek reelection. Harry S. Truman died on December 26, 1972. This new volume on the presidency of Harry S. Truman will cover campaigns, elections, and the Pendergast connection, Senator Truman, particularly his chairmanship of the Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, FDR, World War II, and the atomic bomb decision, Joseph McCarthy, the cold war, and the police action in Korea, civil rights.

In 1993, William J. Clinton began his eight year stint as forty-second president of the United States. A key figure of change in the Democratic Party, Clinton's political and personal actions ensured his lasting status as an important if controversial leader at a critical moment in recent American history. In "Bill Clinton: Building a Bridge to the New Millennium," David H. Bennett traces Clinton's life and career from childhood through his two terms in the White House. From childhood to college, state government to the executive branch, Bennett provides a concise and readable biography that places Clinton's achievements, problems, and legacy in historical context.

Situating the former president in the trajectory of 20th century liberalism, Bennett draws on Clinton's life to illuminate the political landscape of America in the 1990s and the role of the U.S. in the global context of the post-Cold War world. Combining keen scholarship with accessible prose, this will be an essential resource for students and all those interested in understanding the recent history of the U.S.

This book focuses on leadership -- what it is, how it works, and how complex, multi-layered and multi-dimensional it is -- and how it will change in the years ahead. If we are to build tomorrow's leaders today, we need to anticipate what skills, temperaments, and specific competencies will be valuable as we face future needs. If the past is a predictor of the future, the world of tomorrow will be characterized by rapid change, new technology, greater diversity, increased globalization, and the need for lifelong learning. As a political scientist and presidential scholar, Michael Genovese incorporates a wide range of disciplinary perspectives and research on leadership in this book to give students, practitioners, and leadership scholars a welcome and engaging look to the future.

Plutarch's Life of Phocion has not been closely analysed since 1840. Laurence Trittle's study, first published in 1988, offers a new assessment of this significant and complex personality, whilst illuminating the political climate in which he thrived. Though often thought to be of humble origin, Phocion was educated in Plato's Academy, rose to prominence in the innermost circles of Athenian political life, and was renowned as a soldier throughout the Greek world. Professor Trittle traces the origins and development of the historical tradition that so shaped an image of the "Good" Phocion, so that his actual achievements as a politician and general were all but lost. He can thus now be seen in the context of fourth-century Athens: as a major political leader, a worthy opponent of Philip of Macedon, and a champion of a politics of justice rather than of the traditional politics of enmity.

When Lenin died and the Russian Revolution began to devour its leaders, Trotsky survived longer than most as an exile in Mexico, until his assassination in 1940. The Essential Trotsky, first published in 1963, demonstrates the significance of this innovative and radical thinker's contribution to the Bolshevik success, the magnetism of his personality, and also a certain tragic heroism discernible throughout his life. The History of the Russian Revolution to Brest-Litovsk was written immediately after the events it describes, when Trotsky was attending the negotiations that extracted Russia from the First World War; The Lessons of October, an answer to his opponents in 1924, matches Lenin in power of analysis; and Stalin Falsifies History, written in 1927, presents the beginning of the distorting process by which Stalin secured his position, and defeated a range of attitudes, many more benign than his own, towards the future of the Revolution. This is a fascinating reissue that will be of value to students with an interest in early-twentieth century Russia, the Russian Revolution and the writings of Trotsky more generally.

In this illuminating examination of the Obama presidency, the contributors describe the policy directions followed, and the administration's level of success in achieving its objectives. Throughout the Obama administration, efforts were intended to alleviate the worst of the economic stress facing the nation, move the president closer to the center of the American political spectrum, and prepare for the upcoming reelection campaign, to be fought primarily on the same issues as the earlier one. The contributors present an analysis of the motivations and political thinking underlying the administration's action along with assessments of the policy consequences of the issue agenda favored and the public's reaction. The Obama Presidency is an in-depth account of one of the most intriguing and important presidencies at a time of economic crisis that goes a long way in explaining the policy decisions made and their political consequences, as well as the choices facing a nation in transition.

Colin Powell epitomizes the American success story, yet his heroism is uncommon and unique. Born in New York City to Jamaican-immigrant parents, Powell entered a recently desegregated army, rising to become its highest-ranking member. He is a Republican at a time when a vast majority of African Americans consider themselves Democrats. He is one of the most famous Americans alive, yet has spent much of his professional life in behind-the-scenes positions. Beginning with his humble origins, this biography traces Powell's experiences from childhood, moving from his early days in the military through his climb to the highest echelons of power in Washington D.C. A timeline clarifies the key events in Powell's life and career, and a bibliography covers print and electronic sources for further research. This concise biography is ideal for students and general readers interested in the story behind one of America's most important and respected citizens, and the struggles an African American must face and overcome to succeed in contemporary America.

Though it is not uncommon for historians to have something to say concerning philosophical strands in Jefferson s thought, that something is usually insubstantial often misleadingly so or inchoate. Overall, precious little has been said. The significance of the man and the richness of his thought demands that this defect be remedied. Thomas Jefferson and Philosophy is a collection of nine new essays on philosophical elements in Jefferson s writings. The first of its kind, this collection should lead to further philosophical analysis of Jefferson s thinking especially by philosophers, who tend to appreciate Jefferson only as the author of the Declaration of Independence and to greater appreciation for the man who gave to statesmanship a large number of the prime of his years out of a moral sense of duty to others. In that regard, Jefferson was always first a philosopher. This book will be a valuable read for students and scholars of history, political theory, and philosophy, as well as anyone interested in the thought of Thomas Jefferson."

This book explores the ways in which political parties, in contemporary parliamentary democracies, choose their leaders and then subsequently hold them accountable. The authors provide a comprehensive examination of party leadership selection and accountability both through examination of parties and countries in different institutional settings and through a holistic analysis of the role of party leaders and the methods through which they assume, and exit, the office. The collection includes essays on Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Norway and the United Kingdom which have important differences in their party systems, their degree of democratization, the role assigned to party leaders and their methods of leadership selection. Each country examination provides significant data relating to party rules and norms of leadership selection, leadership tenures and leadership contests. The book concludes with a chapter that merges the country data analyses to provide a truly comparative examination of the theoretical questions underlying the volume. This book will be of strong interest to students and scholars of legislative studies, elections, democracy, political parties, party systems, political elites and comparative politics.

What is Donald Trump's personality? Is he mentally ill? What in American culture and history enabled him to become president? How does his personality shape his policies and leadership? In this fascinating and highly relevant new book, these questions are answered by a selection of expert contributors, including psychoanalysts, historians, and a sociologist. Narcissism is defined and applied to Donald Trump, his personal history and style of leadership, and the relationship between Trump and his base is explored as a symptom of his needs and the needs of his followers. U.S. culture and U.S. politics are put under the lens, as chapters draw on contemporary academic and journalistic analysis, continuing discussions around gaslighting, demagoguery, and fascism in terms of their validity in application to Trump. Psychoanalytic and Historical Perspectives on the Leadership of Donald Trump refutes many of the mental health experts who label Trump as suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder and makes the case that Trump's personality combines a marketing and narcissistic orientation that determines his behavior and policies. The authors also assert that to understand Trump's rise and his followers, it is valuable to combine psychoanalytic, historical, and sociological perspectives. This book will therefore be of great interest to academics in those fields and all those with an interest in contemporary American politics.

The post-Soviet country of Georgia has generated surprise upon surprise. Its Rose Revolution in 2003 marked the first time an existing leadership of a post-Soviet state was forced to surrender power peacefully. The new leadership of Western-educated Mikheil Saakashvili initiated wide-ranging domestic reforms, including a large-scale, unprecedented anti-corruption drive. It also intensified relations with the West and sought membership of the EU and NATO. The Georgian leadership's expressed aim of re-integrating territories lost in wars in the early 1990s resulted in a devastating conflict with Russia in 2008. All these developments, and their wider implications, receive careful yet readable attention in this collection by a truly international and specialist group of authors and practitioners. The book offers a spectrum of opinion and compelling insight into the events and decisions that have recently shaped this fascinating yet understudied country, and placed it at the forefront of interest in the changes transforming post-Soviet Eurasia. This book is based on a special issue of European Security.

The Global Obama examines the president's image in five continents and more than twenty countries. It is the first book to look at Barack Obama's presidency and analyze how Obama and America are viewed by publics, governments, and political commentators around world. The author of Barack Obama in Hawaii and Indonesia: The Making of a Global President (Top 10 Black History Book) scaled the globe to gather opinions - cultural, historical, and political analyses - about Obama's leadership style. Writers, journalists, psychologists, consultants, and social scientists present their views on Obama's leadership, popularity, and many of the global challenges that still remain unresolved. As a progress report, this is the first book that tries to grasp 'the Obama phenomenon' in totality, as perceived by populations around the world with special focus on America's leadership in the 21st Century.

The Jonathan Presidency provides a comprehensive and unique analysis of Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan s first twelve months in office. The Jonathan Presidency analyzes the ability of the featured Nigerian politicians to deliver their electoral promises, protect and uphold the Nigerian Constitution, and sustain a transparent, citizen-friendly administration."

Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue presents a theory of leadership drawing on insights from Plato's Republic, while abandoning his authoritarianism in favor of John Dewey's democratic thought. The book continues the democratic turn for the study of leadership beyond the incorporation of democratic values into old-fashioned views about leading. The completed democratic turn leaves behind the traditional focus on a class of special people. Instead, leadership is understood as a process of judicious yet courageous guidance, infused with democratic values and open to all people. The book proceeds in three parts, beginning with definitions and an understanding of the nature of leadership in general and of democratic leadership in particular. Then, Part II examines four challenges for a democratic theory of leadership. Finally, in Part III, the theory of democratic leadership is put to the test of addressing problems of poverty, educational frustration, and racial divides, particularly aggravated in Mississippi.

In the wake of the 2004 election, pundits were shocked at exit polling that showed that 22% of voters thought "moral values" was the most important issue at stake. People on both sides of the political divide believed this was the key to victory for George W. Bush, who professes a deep and abiding faith in God. While some fervent Bush supporters see him as a man chosen by God for the White House, opponents see his overt commitment to Christianity as a dangerous and unprecedented bridging of the gap between church and state.
In fact, Gary Scott Smith shows, none of this is new. Religion has been a major part of the presidency since George Washington's first inaugural address. Despite the mounting interest in the role of religion in American public life, we actually know remarkably little about the faith of our presidents. Was Thomas Jefferson an atheist, as his political opponents charged? What role did Lincoln's religious views play in his handling of slavery and the Civil War? How did born-again Southern Baptist Jimmy Carter lose the support of many evangelicals? Is George W. Bush, as his critics often claim, a captive of the religious right? In this fascinating book, Smith answers these questions and many more. He takes a sweeping look at the role religion has played in presidential politics and policies. Drawing on extensive archival research, Smith paints compelling portraits of the religious lives and presidencies of eleven chief executives for whom religion was particularly important.
Faith and the Presidency meticulously examines what each of its subjects believed and how those beliefs shaped their presidencies and, in turn, the course of our history.