Book Description
Theodore Roosevelt was hearty, frank, friendly, and bold-a president so popular that many Americans believed they knew him personally. Through the force of his personality and excitement of his adventuring, he wove the presidency into the fabric of daily life as no other president had done. Nearly a century later he is remembered as our most colorful chief executive. In this comprehensive study, historian Lewis Gould uses primary sources and the most recent scholarship to capture the excitement and controversy of Roosevelt's White House years.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first to personalize the modern presidency, Gould argues. He then used his popular appeal to address fundamental, controversial questions: What is the proper role of government in regulating the economy? What is the best relationship between government and the business community? To what extent should the nation pursue a policy of social justice? What are the responsibilities that accompany world power?
Gould brings the big picture into focus with his in-depth examination of the successes and failures of Roosevelt's administration and his sure-footed analysis of Roosevelt's influence on national politics. But he also moves in for close-ups. With a keen eye for family life and personal detail, he reveals not only Theodore Roosevelt the politician, but the private man as well-the man once described as a combination of St. Vitus and St. Paul.
This book is part of the American Presidency Series.
Customer Reviews:
rip roaring account of the rough rider!.......1999-09-23
If someone wants to get a one volume account on this exciting presidency, look no further. The author, Lewis Gould, shows how TR developed further the modern presidency, which began under his predecessor McKinley. One of our most fascinating presidents, there's a wonderful chapter on Roosevelt the Administrator. Excellent bibliography too!
Book Description
"This impressive, massive book on American presidential power is the work of a distinguished scholar of the presidency.... [It] will fascinate the general reader as well as the specialist." --The Times (London)
Command of Office reveals the remarkable--and dangerous--concentration of power in the American presidency over the course of the twentieth century, told through incisive analyses of the eighteen men who have held the office and the events that shaped their presidencies. Stephen Graubard tracks the steady expansion of secrecy as a tool of presidential authority, one that inevitably diminished the power of the other two branches of government. Widely esteemed by his fellow historians and with unique access to former members of both Republican and Democratic administrations, Graubard has written a masterful history of presidential power-essential reading for anyone concerned with American politics.
"Graubard's lapidary prose is lucid and provocative, likely to induce a glow of pleasure in the reader. His book is a scintillating and witheringly ironic commentary on an institution that, while growing more monarchical, isolated and secretive, has become steadily debased." (Sunday Times)
Customer Reviews:
Epic Presidential History.......2006-01-08
Though an avid reader, it is not often that I find a thick historical tome a "can't put down." This marvelous work, dense and thought-provoking, gives the reader a view into the presidencies of the 20th century. Even just the trivia you may pick up from this book is an enormous asset: (what 2 presidents died of natural causes and what two were assassinated in each of the last 2 centuries?) During what periods of American history did presidents tend to serve only one term? How many fingers does it take to count all the "honest" presidents in the 20th century?)
This is a must-read for anyone wanting a grasp of how we got to where we are today.
Don't Judge The Book By It's Cover.......2005-08-29
I read Steven Graubard's bible-sized porportion of a book for a little friendly summer reading. I must say, that this is a case where the book certainly wasn't all that the cover makes it out to be. That being, the cover would lead you to believe that this would be very intriquing. Reading about how war, secrecy, and deception was used by the American presidents of the twentieth century. Why Graubard uses this as his punch line is beyond me, because he hardly gives us any under the cover, behind the line info on these presidents.
For the most part, Grauber pretty much trashes just about every American president, with the exceptiong of FDR and Harry Truman. He seems to think that no of our other president's had any idea of foreign policy. Funny, how a British historian seems to have so much to say about how OUR president's conduct foreign policy. Maybe dear professor Graubard has an historical beef?????
Although there were points during this book where I had to enjoy Graubards exploitations of some of the more overrated presidencies. That being especially the case with John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton.
My main beef with Mr. Graubard, is in his conclusion of how we in America don't train people to be President! Well...that's exactly what I happen to love and appreciate about our great country. Is that anyone can potentially become the President. Train people to be President? And let me guess, Mr. Graubard would probably prefer that we train them at Oxford in England?
Other than that, this book is a bunch of hot air and wasted time and it is not worth the time and effort. If one wants to read a bible sized book on American politics, read Richard Ben Kramer's "What It Takes: The Way To The White House". But this book to put it best, is a bunch of rubbish!
Too much Machiavelli .......2005-03-14
This is a unique history of the twentieth century presidency. The author plays no favorites, and the rogue's gallery in the lineup is comprehensive. Although the effect of the world wars on the presidency is decisive, the story really begins with the assassination of McKinley and the subsequent era of T. Roosevelt, the beginnings of empire and globalization. Thence to Clinton and George W. Bush the acerbic account continues, and it is the very considerable increments of telling detail that makes the book work, and the altered perspective on standard accounts refreshingly bleached. We get so much hagiographic flak that we lose sight of the mediocrities, failures, and lost opportunities of the White House occupants, who are too often ill-prepared to do the job right. Too much of the history here is passed over. This book throws out a lot of hype, and might seem too much were it not good reading, and profitable at that. One's view of American presidents won't be same ever again.
Epic Scale, Powerful Tale.......2004-12-29
Graubard has much to teach us that even the most careful observer of the American presidency may have missed. His analysis is always original, and while on first read some of his interpretations of specific presidents or events may strike some readers as odd,further into a chapter, you usually find yourself nodding your head.
I found particular value in his discussion of the lesser known 20th Century presidents, such as Taft, Harding, and Coolidge.
Highly recommended for students of history, the presidency, or American politics.
Book Description
I very much enjoyed reading The Ferocious Engine of Democracy, and I'm grateful to know of Riccard's perspective on the presidency,--Bill Clinton
Customer Reviews:
Simply the best volume ever written on the Presidency...........1999-10-16
Accessible, well-written, and utterly compelling history is loaded with facts and dates, but more than that, this book places each president in the context of his times. Therefore, we come to understand the era itself; with the policies, debates, and legal questions fully explored.
Average customer rating:
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The Learned Presidency: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Wilson, Woodrow
David Henry Burton
Manufacturer: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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| History
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Federal Government
| Government
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General
| Political Science
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Roosevelt, Theodore
| ( R )
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ASIN: 0838633137 |
Product Description
This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A201423. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Contrary to the reigning scholarly opinion, Theodore Roosevelt had a more coherent political theory than has been recognized. This political theory is represented and summarized in his famous stewardship theory of the presidency, articulated in his Autobiography, published in 1913. The main tenets of the theory found expression from the earliest days of Roosevelt's political career and are marked by a consistent effort to strengthen executive power in the hands of a single individual. The stewardship theory is the public expression of a political theory with three main elements: classical republican, progressive democratic, and statesmanship. It is statesmanship that is crucial to Roosevelt's political theory. Statesmanship combines with the sometimes clashing republican and progressive elements to form a cohesive whole. As the part that cements the disparate elements together, it is statesmanship understood as leadership that is most evident in the stewardship theory. The stewardship theory, then, articulates a political theory of republican progressive statesmanship. It is this political theory of republican progressive statesmanship that forms the foundation of what has come to be known as the modern presidency. Therefore, to a greater extent than has been recognized, Theodore Roosevelt is the architect of both the theoretical and practical foundations of the modem presidency.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Presidential Studies Quarterly, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1032 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Command of Office: How War, Secrecy, and Deception Transformed the Presidency, from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush.(Book Review)
Author: Russell L. Riley
Publication:
Presidential Studies Quarterly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 35
Issue: 3
Page: 613(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Amazon.com
In this lively biography, Edmund Morris returns to the gifted, energetic, and thoroughly controversial man whom the novelist Henry James called "King Theodore." In his two terms as president of the United States, Roosevelt forged an American empire, and he behaved as if it was his destiny. In this sequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Morris charts Roosevelt's accomplishments: the acquisition of the Panama Canal and the Philippines, the creation of national parks and monuments, and more. "Collaring Capital and Labor in either hand," Morris writes, Roosevelt made few friends, but he usually got what he wanted--and earned an enduring place in history.
Morris combines a fine command of the era's big issues with an appreciation for the daily minutiae involved in governing a nation. Less controversially inventive, but no less readable, than the Ronald Reagan biography Dutch, Theodore Rex gives readers new reason both to admire and fault an American phenomenon. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
The most eagerly awaited presidential biography in years, Theodore Rex is a sequel to Edmund Morris’s classic bestseller The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. It begins by following the new President (still the youngest in American history) as he comes down from Mount Marcy, New York, to take his emergency oath of office in Buffalo, one hundred years ago.
A detailed prologue describes TR’s assumption of power and journey to Washington, with the assassinated President McKinley riding behind him like a ghost of the nineteenth century. (Trains rumble throughout this irresistibly moving narrative, as TR crosses and recrosses the nation.) Traveling south through a succession of haunting landscapes, TR encounters harbingers of all the major issues of the new century-Imperialism, Industrialism, Conservation, Immigration, Labor, Race-plus the overall challenge that intimidated McKinley: how to harness America’s new power as the world’s richest nation.
Theodore Rex (the title is taken from a quip by Henry James) tells the story of the following seven and a half years-years in which TR entertains, infuriates, amuses, strong-arms, and seduces the body politic into a state of almost total subservience to his will. It is not always a pretty story: one of the revelations here is that TR was hated and feared by a substantial minority of his fellow citizens. Wall Street, the white South, Western lumber barons, even his own Republican leadership in Congress strive to harness his steadily increasing power.
Within weeks of arrival in Washington, TR causes a nationwide sensation by becoming the first President to invite a black man to dinner in the White House. Next, he launches his famous prosecution of the Northern Securities Company, and follows up with landmark antitrust legislation. He liberates Cuba, determines the route of the Panama Canal, mediates the great Anthracite Strike, and resolves the Venezuela Crisis of 1902-1903 with such masterful secrecy that the world at large is unaware how near the United States and Germany have come to war.
During an epic national tour in the spring of 1903, TR’s conservation philosophy (his single greatest gift to posterity) comes into full flower. He also bestows on countless Americans the richness of a personality without parallel-evangelical and passionate, yet lusty and funny; adroitly political, winningly natural, intellectually overwhelming. The most famous father of his time, he is adored by his six children (although beautiful, willful “Princess” Alice rebelled against him) and accepted as an honorary member of the White House Gang of seditious small boys.
Theodore Rex, full of cinematic detail, moves with the exhilarating pace of a novel, yet it rides on a granite base of scholarship. TR’s own voice is constantly heard, as the President was a gifted letter writer and raconteur. Also heard are the many witticisms, sometimes mocking, yet always affectionate, of such Roosevelt intimates as Henry Adams, John Hay, and Elihu Root. (“Theodore is never sober,” said Adams, “only he is drunk with himself and not with rum.”)
TR’s speed of thought and action, and his total command of all aspects of presidential leadership, from bureaucratic subterfuge to manipulation of the press, make him all but invincible in 1904, when he wins a second term by a historic landslide. Surprisingly, this victory transforms him from a patrician conservative to a progressive, responsible between 1905 and 1908 for a raft of enlightened legislation, including the Pure Food and Employer Liability acts. Even more surprising, to critics who have caricatured TR as a swinger of the Big Stick, is his emergence as a diplomat. He wins the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing about an end to the Russo-Japanese War in 1905.
Interspersed with many stories of Rooseveltian triumphs are some bitter episodes-notably a devastating lynching-that remind us of America’s deep prejudices and fears. Theodore Rex does not attempt to justify TR’s notorious action following the Brownsville Incident of 1906-his worst mistake as President-but neither does this resolutely honest biography indulge in the easy wisdom of hindsight. It is written throughout in real time, reflecting the world as TR saw it. By the final chapter, as the great “Teddy” prepares to quit the White House in 1909, it will be a hard-hearted reader who does not share the sentiment of Henry Adams: “The old house will seem dull and sad when my Theodore has gone.”
Customer Reviews:
It started with Leadership: past, Present & Future by Carlos M. Rivera.......2007-09-17
After reading the book Leadership: Past, Present & Future by Carlos M. Rivera he talks about Theodore Roosevelt as one of the best Past Leaders, and at the back he has a list of recommended great books one of them is The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt By Edmund Morris and this one. When you read Leadership: Past, Present & Future is like the best of Theodore Roosevelt and you want to learn more about him and about others leaders in the book. After reading the 3 books I have learn to admire him more and more.
Theodore Rex.......2007-03-17
Good book, TR accomplished an amazing amount of projects while President of the United States. This book offers a lot of insight to the interworkings of politics of the day, in many ways similar to the issues of modern times.
Good, but not better.......2007-03-13
A very good and entertaining book.
But, if you are only going to read this one or Morris' earlier "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" read the first one. That one gave me a good sense of the man and how his childhood and early adulthood turned him into the person and president he became.
"Theodore Rex", to me, lacked the cohesiveness of "The Rise." It had too much of a chronological structure ("and then this happened") for me to enjoy it as much as I had anticipated.
WELL WRITTEN AND INFORMATIVE........2007-03-10
This is a sound, well researched and well written account of Theodore Roosevelt's White House Years, his administration, the world situation in general and the man, Teddy, in particular. This is the second volume of a three volume work, the first being "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt. I, like another reviewer here, was stuck by the parallels of that day and time to our present world situation. Changes were coming hot and heavy, the world was changing almost on a monthly bases, much as it is now. Technology was changing the way we live and changing our world. Such is the situation of today. Their reaction to those changing times, versus our reaction is quite interesting. Be that as it may, this work is well done. I appreciated the many background notes the author provided, something that seems to be lacking in many current biographies. The author perhaps got bogged down somewhat in his explanation of legislative matters, but that is a matter of personal taste on my part, being more interested in the man, than in the inner workings of our government at the time. Again though, this is a matter of taste and many will find this quite informative. The only part of the book that annoyed my somewhat, and again, it is just me, is the author's constant use of French phrases. I don't speak French, never have and never will. While they perhaps make the author appear quite sophisticated, which I am sure he is, these phrases left be rather cold. That was a minor glitch for me though and really nothing to complain too much about. I feel the book, simply through explaining the situations Roosevelt found himself in, show that while this president may not go down in history as our greatest leader, he was indeed, probably the right man in the right spot at the right time. Overall, recommend this one highly.
Teddy from a Panamanian Point of View.......2007-01-04
Teddy is a figure in history that we all know not just from history lessons but also from our "Teddy" bears. This gave me, as a USA resident of Panama for more than 50 years, a better idea of what he did and how he did it to get the canal built...and in Panama. Mr. Morris gives a wonderful portrait of a man who really was "for the people" and today we could use a few politicians like him
Amazon.com
In this moving and engrossing memoir, veteran television news producer Richard Cohen relates a life spent dealing with multiple sclerosis, first diagnosed when he was 25 years old and just getting started in the competitive world of broadcast journalism. As his career progressed, he struggled not only with the disease but the touchy question of how much of the truth about himself to share with colleagues and potential employers. Cohen spent much of his life running from the onset of the disease's symptoms from which his father and grandmother also suffered. Defiantly, he took challenging, sometimes extremely dangerous assignments in Lebanon, Poland, and on the domestic political campaign trail, even as his body deteriorated. But over the course of Blindsided, it becomes apparent that illness had actually built Cohen up even as it ripped him apart. Without the physical and mental toughness required to navigate a journalist's life while fighting back loss of eyesight and poor equilibrium, it's doubtful that the flaky kid we meet early in the book would transform into the award-winning professional Cohen eventually becomes. His marriage to journalist Meredith Vieira, every bit his equal as both newshound and deadpan cynical comic, gave Cohen the stable family life and children he needed when MS made it impossible to continue in a traditional news job. But two bouts with colon cancer in the late 1990s tested his resolve and his family's patience. While Cohen is both courageous and inspirational, Blindsided is not the overly sentimental clichéd tale that stories about fighting illness often become. He refuses to paint himself as the hero (except when making fun of his own failure to be heroic) and recounts in detail the strain that he put on his marriage and children. Stories such as this often end with the memoirist arriving at a state of peace and mental clarity but again Cohen remains more compelling and credible by offering no such pat answers. As with most people fighting to preserve their families, their lives, and their bodies, Richard Cohen's is an ongoing struggle. --John Moe
Book Description
Richard Cohen, a veteran writer, producer and distinguished journalist, has lived with multiple sclerosis for over 25 years. Recently diagnosed again with colon cancer, Cohen describes his lifelong struggle with multiple sclerosis, his first bout with colon cancer, a loving marriage to Meredith Viera, the effect of illness on raising children, and the nature of denial and resilience, all told with grace, humour, and lyrical prose.
Cohen chronicles and celebrates a life brimming over with accomplishment, adversity and personal endeavour and his story has struck a chord with readers nation–wide. He has been interviewed by Barbara Walters for a nearly hour–long segment that ran on 20/20, he also appeared on wife Viera's program, The View and is scheduled for Charlie Rose, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, and the Paula Zahn Show, among others. Blindsided also received outstanding print attention and People magazine has run a first serial piece.
Autobiographical at its roots, reportorial and expansive, Blindsided builds on Cohen's story as a task aimed at emotional well–being, if not survival, pursued in sober tones that explore coping to its most redemptive and complex levels. Despite his extreme circumstances, Cohen's is a common struggle, recognisable as an integral part of humanity, and one which he explores with varying amounts of diligence, respect, personal revelation and humour.
Customer Reviews:
A Reluctant Read.......2007-09-03
Although gaining more insight into what life can be like with severe and chronic illness, I had a great deal of trouble with the way this book was written. I felt as though the author couldn't decide how he felt or where he was headed with his thoughts. I guess maybe that's what happens with a memoir -- it is descriptive. It just seemed that so many times the contemplations were strung together haphazardy. Perhaps I was looking more for a narrative and development of the characters (family). Nevertheless, I do admire survivors such as Richard Cohen.
Blind Sided.......2007-03-27
I have had MS for forty years and it was very interesting to see how some one else handles the disease. I couldn't understand his not mentioning his faith, and why he kept on putting himself under stress.
Stress alone can cause many problems. Well written and understandable.
PP FL.
Easy Reading on Difficult Subject.......2007-03-23
An easy reading book from a personal look at living and coping with MS.
well written memoir.......2007-02-23
This book sat on my shelf for over a year, pulling me toward it and repulsing me at the same time. I guess I was afraid of it because my wife has MS (though she remains largely asymtematic) and I fear the possibilities, yet it seemed this was a book I had to read. I finally read it and I'm glad. It's an engaging memoir, well written and a fine chronicle of the way a disease can take over your mind and body in addition to the ways it impacts your family and career.
I found the struggle/difference between refusing to let the disease take over and denial to be an interesting struggle. In addition the stories of Cohen's work with CBS, CNN and Public Broadcasting and his itch to be a danger junkie were fascinating. The sometimes unflattering pictures of noted journalists (especially Mike Wallace and Don Hewitt) were devestatingly well drawn. His own disappointment in what news became during his time in the trenches screams in almost every sentence about the business.
The book teaches a great deal about MS and how it affects both the one with the disease and those around them. The prose is clear, to the point and beautifully written. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially those interested in the news industry or the disease of MS.
Great Book.......2006-11-16
Really good look at how chronic illness impacts not only your life but those around you. Great point of view from someone who's been there.
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