When the first edition of this book appeared in 2003, it was chosen
as a Main Selection of both the Book-of-the-Month Club and History
Book Club and quickly became the standard work on the modern
American presidency-from William McKinley through William Jefferson
Clinton. In that original edition, Lewis L. Gould argued that,
while the president may be the most powerful man in the world, most
presidents have fallen well short of the daunting challenges that
confronted them while in office.
During George W. Bush's two administrations, as Gould discusses
in a substantial new chapter, those challenges grew in scope and
ferocity, encompassing two intractable wars, natural disaster on an
inconceivable scale, and a near-meltdown of the national and global
economies. Unfortunately, Gould argues, President Bush was woefully
unprepared for those challenges, failed spectacularly as a leader,
and ultimately lost the public's trust. His failures further
reinforce and underscore Gould's previous conclusions.
This new edition, like the first, offers a lively interpretive
synthesis filled with intriguing insights into the presidency's
evolution during America's rise to global prominence. Gould traces
the decline of the party system, the increasing importance of the
media and its role in creating the president-as-celebrity, and the
growth of the White House staff and executive bureaucracy. He also
shows us a succession of chief executives who increasingly have
known less and less about the business of governing the country,
observing that most would have had a better historical reputation
if they had contented themselves with a single term.
Gould's sharply critical new chapter on George W. Bush's
presidency notes how he and his associates extended the troubling
trends of continuous campaigning, media manipulation, celebrity
politics, and inattention to governance so characteristic of the
modern presidential office. Gould also amplifies his commentary on
the Clinton presidency and lays out the treacherous terrain that
President Obama must now traverse.
Engagingly written for general readers and students in the
classroom, but rigorous enough for the most demanding scholars,
this book remains a must-read for everyone who cares about the
future of our nation and the presidents who lead it.
General
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