In this volume, Eugene P. Trani and David L. Wilson evaluate the presidency of Warren G. Harding by surveying scholarship on the Harding years. Harding--generally considered one of the weakest American presidents--was elected chief executive in 1920, during a time of uncertainty and frustration for many of the American people. The authors assess the critics and defenders of Harding in light of the administration's accomplishments and failures.

Both the strengths and weaknesses of the Harding administration came from the people President Harding selected for high office. Charles G. Dawes accomplished much by implementing sound budgetary practices in the federal government for the first time in history. Herbert Hoover became the dominant figure in the Harding administration, using his influence to advance both domestic and foreign policies. And Charles Evans Hughes proved to be an able, if conservative, secretary of state. Yet the accomplishments of these and other capable men tended to be short-term in nature.

Trani and Wilson describe the widespread corruption and malfeasance in the Harding administration, pointing out the Harding's erratic judgment of character caused many of his problems as president. His personal habits--philandering, playing poker, and drinking liquor during national prohibition--tainted his reputation and appeared to connect him to the activities of his associates. Tragically, Harding sought to avoid controversy, even if it meant ignoring real problems or evading justice, and thus failed to provide moral leadership for the nation.

Harding and his advisers demonstrated little understanding of the social and economic forces at work in the country and abroad. In the early 1920s, the United States continued the transition from a rural society to an urbanized and industrialized society. Rather than adjusting the government to meet the needs of all segments of an industrialized society, Harding instituted "normalcy," an attempt to maintain the values of a rural society rapidly disintegrating under the impact of social and economic change. The few real accomplishments of the Harding administration were buried under scandal. and in the end, Harding must be rated as an ineffective leader at a time when the nation would have been better served by a different, more imaginative approach to government.

The Indispensable University describes the innovative transformation of institutions of higher education (HEIs) across the world, in response to the emerging realities of the twenty-first century global knowledge-based economy, as well as describes how HEIs are defining many of today's economic realities on a regional level. HEIs continue to drive economic development through their traditional roles of purchaser, employer, real estate developer, workforce developer and community developer. But these roles now must be executed more strategically and collaboratively. Also, the twenty-first century economy offers universities unique opportunities to generate the intellectual and financial capital that drives emerging knowledge-based industries. Case studies are drawn from: urban America; rural America; Europe; the Middle East; and emerging countries. Some of the topics covered include the following: the role of university presidents as change leaders; the relationship between higher education institutions and the political leadership of cities, states, and nations; successful models of partnerships between higher education and the private sector; and future challenges and opportunities facing the modern university.

Theodore Roosevelt's interest in foreign affairs was no less intense than his zeal for domestic reform, as Eugene P. Trani demonstrates in this new study of the Portsmouth Conference which in 1906 brought an end to the Russo-Japanese war. Conscious of America's growing stature as a world power and concerned lest continued hostilities disrupt further the political and economic composition of East Asia, Roosevelt proclaimed himself peacemaker. With characteristic energy -- and with considerable tact -- he initiated the conference and successfully brought about a treaty. It was no easy task. Trani, who has made extensive use of Russian, Japanese, and American archival material, shows that the Tsarist government, mortified by Russian defeats, wished to renew the conflict. This last of the personally managed peace conferences greatly enhanced the prestige of both the United States and its ebullient chief executive.

During his career at The New York Times, Harrison Salisbury served as the bureau chief in post-World War II Moscow and reported from Hanoi during the Vietnam War, and in retirement witnessed the Tiananmen Square massacre firsthand. Davis and Trani's engaging biography of the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist makes use of Salisbury's personal archive of interviews, articles, and correspondence to shed light on the personal triumphs and shortcomings of this preeminent reporter and illuminates the twentieth-century world in which he lived.

The Indispensable University describes the innovative transformation of institutions of higher education (HEIs) across the world, in response to the emerging realities of the twenty-first century global knowledge-based economy, as well as describes how HEIs are defining many of today's economic realities on a regional level. HEIs continue to drive economic development through their traditional roles of purchaser, employer, real estate developer, workforce developer and community developer. But these roles now must be executed more strategically and collaboratively. Also, the twenty-first century economy offers universities unique opportunities to generate the intellectual and financial capital that drives emerging knowledge-based industries. Case studies are drawn from: urban America; rural America; Europe; the Middle East; and emerging countries. Some of the topics covered include the following: the role of university presidents as change leaders; the relationship between higher education institutions and the political leadership of cities, states, and nations; successful models of partnerships between higher education and the private sector; and future challenges and opportunities facing the modern university.