In a period of American history marked by congressional primacy, presidential passivity, and hostility to governmental action, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson became iconic presidents through activist leadership. Peri Arnold, a leading presidential scholar, goes beyond the biographers to explain what really set Roosevelt apart from his predecessor William McKinley, how Wilson differed from his successor Warren G. Harding, and how we might better understand the forgettable William Howard Taft in between.

This is the first comparative study of the three Progressive Era presidents, examining the context in which they served, the evolving institutional role of the presidency, and the personal characteristics of each man. Arnold explains why Roosevelt and Wilson pursued activist roles, how they gained the means for effective leadership in a role that had not previously supported it, and how each of the three negotiated the choppy crosscurrents of changing institutions and politics with entirely different outcomes.

Arnold delineates the American political scene at the turn of the twentieth century, one characterized by a weakening of party organizations, the rise of interest groups and print media, and increasing demands for reform. He shows how the Progressive Era presidents marked a transition from the nineteenth century's checks and balances to the twentieth's expansive presidential role, even though demands for executive leadership were at odds with the presidency's means to take independent action.

Each of these presidents was uniquely challenged to experiment with the office's new potential for political independence from party and Congress, and Arnold explains how each had to justify their authority for such experimentation. He also shows how their actions were reflected in specific policy case studies: the Northern Trust and naval modernization under Roosevelt, tariff reform and the Pinchot/Ballinger debate over conservation under Taft, and the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission under Wilson.

Ultimately, Arnold shows how the period's ferment affected both the presidency and its incumbents and how they in turn affected progressive politics. More important, he helps us better understand two presidents who continue to inspire politicians of differing stripes and relates their leadership styles to the modern development of the presidency.

In this wonderful parody from 1940, W.C. Fields announces his candidacy for America's highest office. He offers sound advice on a number of topics in classic Fields-style humor in his attempt to win votes. "Campaign resolutions are no better than New Year's resolutions," he writes. "They are thrown together hastily at the last minute, with never a thought as to how they may be gracefully broken. Now, I am a candidate with years of experience breaking New Year's resolutions, and what I can accomplish with those, I can certainly accomplish with campaign resolutions."

Mental Maps in the Era of Detente and the End of the Cold War recreates the way in which the revolutionary changes of the last phase of the Cold War were perceived by fifteen of its leading figures in the West, East and developing world.

This book examines Israel's relationship and political decision-making process towards the Occupied Territories from the aftermath of the Six Day War to the Labour Party's electoral defeat in 1977. The period represents the first decade of Israel's occupation of the Occupied Territories and the last decade in which the Labour Party was Israel's most dominant political force. Arguing that the successive Israeli governments headed by the Labour Party lacked a strategic policy towards the Occupied Territories to address the country's objectives and needs, this book demonstrates the detrimental effect this had on Israel, on the Middle East in general, and on the Palestinian people in particular. In addressing key aspects of decision making pathologies, this book raises issues which remain important features of Israeli politics today and an analysis relevant for political decision making worldwide.

Millard Fillmore began his presidency on July 10, 1850, immediately passing the Fugitive Slave Act, and forever damaging his political career. Abolitionists and antislavery politicians were appalled and in 1852 Fillmore was denied nomination for a second term. Four years later he campaigned again for the presidency to no avail. As the decade came to an end, Millard Fillmore was no more than an obscure name in history. Today, historians are finding new interest in Fillmore and his politics on slavery. Many believed he tolerated injustice for what he perceived was the greater good. In this comprehensive bibliography, students will find citations and sources for information on Millard Fillmore's childhood and personal life, presidency and post-presidential career. Students can easily access specific information through the table of contents and author and subject indexes.

The Kennedys endure as American icons because of the mix between power and vulnerability that so many of them embodied. Our fascination and connection to them comes most strongly through the wives, whose pain, heartbreak, and grief seemed immensely public and lonely and personal at the same time. The Tragic Lives of the Kennedy Wives examines five of the Kennedy matriarchs: Rose, Jackie, Ethel, Joan, and Vicki. .

Can you name the creator of the Territorial Army and the British Expeditionary Force? The man who laid the foundation stones of MI5, MI6, the RAF, the LSE, Imperial College, the 'redbrick' universities and the Medical Research Council? This book reveals that great figure: Richard Burdon Haldane. As a philosopher-statesman, his groundbreaking proposals on defence, education and government structure were astonishingly ahead of his time-the very building blocks of modern Britain. His networks ranged from Wilde to Einstein, Churchill to Carnegie, King to Kaiser; he pioneered cross-party, cross-sector cooperation. Yet in 1915 Haldane was ejected from the Liberal government, unjustly vilified as a German sympathiser. John Campbell charts these ups and downs, reveals Haldane's intensely personal side through previously unpublished private correspondence, and shows his enormous relevance in our search for just societies today. Amidst political and national instability, it is time to reinstate Haldane as Britain's outstanding example of true statesmanship. A Sunday Times Politics and Current Affairs Book of the Year, 2020. A Telegraph Best Book of the Year, 2020.

The complex man at the center of America's most self-destructive presidency In this provocative and revelatory assessment of the only president ever forced out of office, the legendary Washington journalist Elizabeth Drew explains how Richard M. Nixon's troubled inner life offers the key to understanding his presidency. She shows how Nixon was surprisingly indecisive on domestic issues and often wasn't interested in them. Turning to international affairs, she reveals the inner workings of Nixon's complex relationship with Henry Kissinger, and their mutual rivalry and distrust. The Watergate scandal that ended his presidency was at once an overreach of executive power and the inevitable result of his paranoia and passion for vengeance.
Even Nixon's post-presidential rehabilitation was motivated by a consuming desire for respectability, and he succeeded through his remarkable resilience. Through this book we finally understand this complicated man. While giving him credit for his achievements, Drew questions whether such a man--beleaguered, suspicious, and motivated by resentment and paranoia--was fit to hold America's highest office, and raises large doubts that he was.

The dynastic centre and the provinces were linked by agents and ritual occasions. This book includes contributions by specialists examining these connections in late imperial China, early modern Europe, and the Ottoman empire, suggesting important revisions and an agenda for comparison. This title is available online in its entirety in Open Access

'Sensational ... One of the most explosive political diaries ever to be published ... As candid, caustic and colourful as the sensational Alan Clark Diaries of the 1990s' DAILY MAIL The Sunday Times bestseller As Minister of State at the Foreign Office, Alan Duncan was once described as Boris Johnson's 'pooper-scooper'. For two years, he deputised for the then Foreign Secretary, now Prime Minister. Few are more attuned to Boris's strengths and weaknesses as a minister and his suitability for high office than the man who helped clear up his mistakes. Riotously candid, these diaries cover the most turbulent period in recent British political history - from the eve of the referendum in 2016 to the UK's eventual exit from the EU. As two prime ministers fall, two general elections unfold and a no-confidence vote is survived, Duncan records a treasure-trove of insider gossip, giving biting and often hilarious accounts of petty rivalries, poor decision-making, big egos, and big crises. Nothing escapes Alan's acerbic gaze. Across these unfiltered daily entries, he builds a revealing and often profound picture of UK politics and personalities. A rich seam of high politics and low intrigue, this is an account from deep inside the engine room of power.

The emergence of Latin American firebrands who champion the cause of the impoverished and rail against the evils of neoliberalism and Yankee imperialism--Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Nestor Kirchner in Argentina, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico--has changed the landscape of the Americas in dramatic ways. This is the first biography to appear in English about one of these charismatic figures, who is known in his country by his adopted nickname of "Little Ray of Hope."

The book follows Lopez Obrador's life from his early years in the flyspecked state of Tabasco, his university studies, and the years that he lived among the impoverished Chontal Indians. Even as he showed an increasingly messianic elan to uplift the downtrodden, he confronted the muscular Institutional Revolutionary Party in running twice for governor of his home state and helping found the leftist-nationalist Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). As the PRD's national president, he escalated his political and ideological warfare against his former president, Carlos Salinas, and other "conspirators" determined to link Mexico to the global economy at the expense of the poor. His strident advocacy of the "have-nots" lifted Lopez Obrador to the mayorship of Mexico City, which he rechristened the "City of Hope." Its ubiquitous crime, traffic, pollution, and housing problems have made the capital a tomb for most politicians. Not for Lopez Obrador. Through splashy public works, monthly stipends to senior citizens, huge marches, and a dawn-to-dusk work schedule, he converted the position into a trampoline to the presidency. Although he lost the official count by an eyelash, the hard-charging Tabascan cried fraud, took the oath as the nation's "legitimate president," and barnstormed the country, excoriating the "fascist" policies of President Felipe Calderon and preparing to redeem the destitute in the 2012 presidential contest.

Grayson views Lopez Obrador as quite different from populists like Chavez, Morales, and Kirchner and argues that he is a "secular messiah, who lives humbly, honors prophets, gathers apostles, declares himself indestructible, relishes playing the role of victim, and preaches a doctrine of salvation by returning to the values of the 1917 Constitution-- fairness for workers, Indians' rights, fervent nationalism, and anti-imperialism."

Some call him the Great Communicator. Many credit him with ending the Cold War. Others even consider him the greatest president since FDR. Ronald Reagan claimed several distinctions as fortieth president, but he will be most remembered by admirers and critics alike for his lasting conservative legacy.

This first comprehensive, archivally grounded assessment of the Reagan presidency offers balanced "second generation" evaluations of the ideas and policies that made up the so-called Reagan Revolution. Drawing on recently opened records, seventeen scholars from history, political science, and economics focus on important areas of national policy during the Reagan administration. James T. Patterson, Hugh Heclo, David M. O'Brien, and others look closely at Reagan's ideas and rhetoric, foreign policies, economic agenda, and social policies, as they build a strong foundation for future interpretations of the Reagan years.

In tackling the Reagan legacy, these contributors don't necessarily agree on what precisely that legacy is. While there is consensus regarding Reagan's ideas, personality, and leadership, there is both doubt and debate about actual achievements. In chapters covering such topics as national security, taxation, environmental policy, immigration reform, and federal judgeships, the authors tend to see his accomplishments as less dramatic than "first generation" proponents have maintained-that there actually was no "Reagan Revolution." Nevertheless, they also agree that his administration accomplished much of its mission in foreign policy and domestic economic policy-success attributed to his conservative idealism and pragmatic politics-and had a lasting effect on the transformation of American conservatism.

While less successful in advancing the social agenda of the "New Right," Reagan nevertheless shaped politics and policy in ways that extended beyond the years of his administration. Whether or not Reagan changed America and the world as much as Roosevelt did remains in dispute, but this volume, with its keen insights and broad scope, advances our understanding of his presidency and allows us to better assess its accomplishments and legacy.

Touted in his time as one of the "great men of the West," Stephen Wallace Dorsey was a Reconstruction carpetbagger who went to Arkansas and finagled and bribed his way into getting elected to the US Senate after living only two years in the state before heading West to seek his fortune. From a fraudulent New Mexico land claim to taking up mining claims and real estate in Southern California, he used sheer cunning and guile to manipulate the system of the Gilded Age to his own ends. Dorsey was a major presence in early New Mexico-which was no-holds-barred frontier corruption-with his flair for excess. Excess is in everything he did, his manipulative 600,000-acre-land-grab, his political shenanigans, his excessive drinking, his extravagant lifestyle always on display. In his fraudulent dealings he was caught out-not by the law, but those more conniving than he was. His fantastic mansion in the middle of a still-today empty prairie in northeastern New Mexico was of state-wide historical importance before the state could no longer afford to keep it.

Dr. Martha tells the fascinating story of Martha Hughes Cannon, the first woman elected to the Utah state senate-in 1896. She was a polygamist wife, a practicing physician, and an astute and pioneering politician. In compelling prose, author Mari Grana traces Cannon's life from her birth in Wales to her emigration to Utah with her family in 1861, her career as a physician, her marriage, her exile in England, her subsequent return, and her election to the Utah state senate. Her husband was the Republican candidate she, a Democrat, defeated in that historic election.

Chris Hani is one of the most iconic black leaders in South Africa's recent history. His assassination in 1993 by far-right wingers threatened to upset the negotiations process and required Mandela's televised address to the nation to calm tempers. This short biography brings out his role in MK and in the politics of the early 1990s, and is written by a distinguished historian who met Hani in exile in Lusaka.

Best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle," Washington Irving (1783-1859) was also a prolific essayist, biographer and historian. His works include biographies of George Washington and Muhammad, and histories of 15

In the wake of the inconclusive May 2010 general election Lord Adonis and other senior Labour figures sat down for talks with the Liberal Democrat leadership to try to persuade them to govern Britain together in a Lib - Lab coalition. The talks ultimately resulted in failure for Labour amid recriminations on both sides and the accusation that the Lib Dems had conducted a dutch auction, inviting Labour to outbid the Tories on a shopping list of demands. Despite calls for him to give his own account of this historic sequence of events, Adonis has kept his own counsel until now. Published to coincide with the third anniversary of the general election that would eventually produce an historic first coalition government since the Second World War, 5 Days In May is a remarkable and important insider account of the dramatic negotiations that led to its formation. It also offers the author's views on what the future holds as the run-up to the next election begins. 5 Days in May presents a unique eyewitness account of a pivotal moment in political history.

Five presidents (Eisenhower, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and Obama) have been elected to and served a second term. Seemingly free from electoral pressure, each president has taken a unique approach to their second term, and the book seeks to unpack the rationale behind their decisions and actions in their final years of power.

"Things You Never Knew or Were Told Not to Believe" reveals facts about Abraham Lincoln that most Americans do not know and will find hard to believe. It also documents untold facts about our Civil War, American Imperialism, and the biggest con perpetrated on African Americans. It describes a second Civil War that began in 1865 and explains the genesis of public welfare and modern slavery with consequences that have made the black race a perpetual underclass.

Author Robert Price documents the current war on black men and its devastating effects on black families. He believes few people know that Lincoln fought to prevent a second Civil War and its tragic lasting sectional and racial hostilities. He traces a clear history of the castration of Congress and the trashing of our Constitution by our Supreme Courts and presidents, who have assumed imperialistic powers.

Price cites past and present examples of misused power and force, including the war against marriage by radical feminists and foolish restrictions on personal freedoms by religions and our government. He suggests commonsense measures to reverse the nation's course, regain lost freedoms, reduce class warfare, stop the war on the black race, and remove barriers to good racial relationships and the upward mobility of African Americans.

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.

This book explores the following: What is the art of power? What is the art of French power? How did Charles de Gaulle understand and assert power, establishing the Fifth Republic and breaking centuries of political instability? How well or poorly have his successors wielded the art of French power to define, defend, or enhance French interests?

An analysis of the first half of Francois Hollande's five-year presidential term that examines the strengths and weaknesses of presidential politics following the Left's return to power in 2012 and puts forward an interpretation of the underlying nature of contemporary French politics, and the French Fifth Republic.