Download or read book The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge written by Calvin Coolidge and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-10-17 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It was my hope to produce a book that would not only have some historical interest, but would be useful for those in public life, in educational work, in preparation for citizenship, and would be especially a book that parents would wish their children to read." —President Calvin Coolidge on his autobiography Today Americans of all backgrounds are on the hunt for a different political model. In fact, such a model awaits them, if only they turn their eyes to their own past . . . to America's thirtieth president, Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge's masterful autobiography offers urgent lessons for our age of exploding debt, increasingly centralized power, and fierce partisan division. This expanded and annotated volume, edited by Coolidge biographer Amity Shlaes and authorized by the Coolidge family, is the definitive edition of the text that presidential historian Craig Fehrman calls "the forgotten classic of presidential writing." To read this volume is to understand the tragic extent to which historians underrate President Coolidge. The Coolidge who emerges in these pages is a model of character, principle, and humility—rare qualities in Washington, then as now. A man of great faith, Coolidge told Americans: "Men do not make laws. They do but discover them." Although he emphasized economics, Coolidge insisted on the importance of "things of the spirit." At the height of his popularity, he chose not to run again when his reelection was all but assured. In this autobiography, Coolidge explains his mindset: "It is a great advantage to a President, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man." For all his modesty, Coolidge left an expansive legacy—one we would do well to study today. Shlaes and coeditor Matthew Denhart draw out the lessons from Coolidge's life and career in an enlightening introduction and annotations to Coolidge's text. To aid Coolidge scholars young and old, the editors have also assembled nearly three dozen photographs, several of Coolidge's greatest speeches, a timeline of Coolidge's life, and afterwords by former Vermont governor James H. Douglas and two of Coolidge's great-grandchildren, Jennifer Coolidge Harville and Christopher Coolidge Jeter. This autobiography combats the myths about one of our most misunderstood presidents. It also shows us how much we still have to learn from Calvin Coolidge.
Download or read book After the White House written by Max J. Skidmore and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2015-01-27 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What exactly has Bill Clinton been doing since he left office? What can he expect to accomplish? What have his predecessors in his position done? Many presidents have had enormous impacts on the course of history after their terms ended, but not until After the White House by Max J. Skidmore has their role been examined. Thirty-two completed their terms. Four became presidential candidates again (one was even elected), two served in Congress, one abandoned his country to accept election to the Confederate Congress, one became Chief Justice, and one has the unique distinction of having his First Lady become a United States senator. Former presidents almost always remain influential, but their post-term activities have received little attention or scrutiny until now.
Download or read book Farewell to the Chief written by Richard Norton Smith and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of biographical sketches that chronicle the lives of 14 presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter after they left office.
Download or read book Second Acts written by Mark Updegrove and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2006-10-01 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, "There are no second acts in American lives", but more and more, our former presidents are proving him wrong. No longer fading into the background upon leaving the highest office in the land, ex-presidents perform valuable services as elder statesmen and international emissaries - and by pursuing their own agendas. From Eisenhower taking Kennedy to the woodshed (literally) on the Bay of Pigs crisis, to Carter earning the Nobel Peace Prize, to Bush Sr. and Clinton joining forces in an unlikely partnership for tsunami and Hurricane Katrina relief, the author examines the increasingly important roles that former presidents assume in our nation and throughout the world. Through interviews with former presidents, first ladies, family members, friends, and staffers, the author also delves into the very human stories that play out as the modern ex-presidents - from Truman to Clinton - adjust to life after the White House and attempt to shape their historical legacies. In this, the first narrative history of the modern post-presidency, Mark K. Updegrove makes a refreshingly unique contribution to literature on the American presidents.
Download or read book American Presidents Year by Year written by Julie Nelson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-03-10 with total page 1841 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating multi-volume set illuminates the panorama of American history through the personal and professional stories of the nation's presidents. Arranged chronologically, and covering George Washington to George W. Bush, it juxtaposes the lives of each year's current, former, and future living presidents against each other and the historical backdrop of their times. Each chapter opens with a summary of the year and describes the major issues and events the incumbent president faced. Separate sections within each chapter - "Former Presidents" and "Future Presidents" - detail important developments in the lives of past and future presidents month by month during that same year, highlighting political, social, and personal decisions that helped shape the course of American history.
Download or read book The President s Book of Secrets written by David Priess and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2016-03-01 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every president has had a unique and complicated relationship with the intelligence community. While some have been coolly distant, even adversarial, others have found their intelligence agencies to be among the most valuable instruments of policy and power. Since John F. Kennedy's presidency, this relationship has been distilled into a personalized daily report: a short summary of what the intelligence apparatus considers the most crucial information for the president to know that day about global threats and opportunities. This top-secret document is known as the President's Daily Brief, or, within national security circles, simply "the Book." Presidents have spent anywhere from a few moments (Richard Nixon) to a healthy part of their day (George W. Bush) consumed by its contents; some (Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush) consider it far and away the most important document they saw on a regular basis while commander in chief. The details of most PDBs are highly classified, and will remain so for many years. But the process by which the intelligence community develops and presents the Book is a fascinating look into the operation of power at the highest levels. David Priess, a former intelligence officer and daily briefer, has interviewed every living president and vice president as well as more than one hundred others intimately involved with the production and delivery of the president's book of secrets. He offers an unprecedented window into the decision making of every president from Kennedy to Obama, with many character-rich stories revealed here for the first time.
Download or read book Life After the White House written by Clement E. Asante and published by Praeger. This book was released on 2002-04-30 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2000, for the first time in American political history, four former presidents were still alive after serving in the White House. This book critically and systematically examines press coverage of these four ex-presidents for three years after they left office. Through content analysis, the volume draws together the tone and major themes in press coverage of stories about Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. Bush. The study serves as a useful historic document, depicting the private lives of these former presidents from both parties as seen through the American press. The book is a unique examination of the relationship between ex-presidents and the press. Examining the nature and scope of the relationship between the press and ex-presidents, the study assumes that although they are out of office and thus out of the limelight, ex-presidents still have powerful influence domestically and internationally. That influence makes it valuable to know how, and with what intensity, the press covers ex-presidents. This volume documents their post-White House careers through the prism of the press, enriching our understanding of life after the presidency.
Download or read book The Presidents written by Brian Lamb and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complete rankings of our best -- and worst -- presidents, based on C-SPAN's much-cited Historians Surveys of Presidential Leadership. Over a period of decades, C-SPAN has surveyed leading historians on the best and worst of America's presidents across a variety of categories -- their ability to persuade the public, their leadership skills, their moral authority, and more. The crucible of the presidency has forged some of the very best and very worst leaders in our national history, along with everyone in between. Based on interviews conducted over the years with a variety of presidential biographers, this book provides not just a complete ranking of our presidents, but stories and analyses that capture the character of the men who held the office. From Abraham Lincoln's political savvy and rhetorical gifts to James Buchanan's indecisiveness, this book teaches much about what makes a great leader -- and what does not. As America looks ahead to our next election, this book offers perspective and criteria to help us choose our next leader wisely.
Download or read book The Presidents Club written by Nancy Gibbs and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-04-17 with total page 658 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines presidential power within the context of U.S. history and the ongoing relationships presidents and ex-presidents formed with one another.
Download or read book The Ex presidents of the United States written by Winthrop Dudley Sheldon and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Team of Five written by Kate Andersen Brower and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: USA Today Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Residence and First Women—also a New York Times bestseller—comes a poignant, news-making look at the lives of the five former presidents in the wake of their White House years, including the surprising friendships they have formed through shared perspective and empathy. After serving the highest office of American government, five men—Jimmy Carter, the late George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama—became members of the world’s most exclusive fraternity. In Team of Five, Kate Andersen Brower goes beyond the White House to uncover what, exactly, comes after the presidency, offering a glimpse into the complex relationships of these five former presidents, and how each of these men views his place in a nation that has been upended by the Oval Office’s current, norm-breaking occupant, President Donald Trump. With an empathetic yet critical eye and firsthand testimony from the Carters, Donald Trump, and the top aides, friends, and family members of the five former presidents, Team of Five takes us inside the exclusive world of these powerful men and their families, including the unlikely friendship between George W. Bush and Michelle Obama, the last private visits Bill Clinton and Barack Obama shared with George H.W. Bush, and the Obamas’ flight to Palm Springs after Donald Trump’s inauguration. Perhaps most timely, this insightful, illuminating book overflows with anecdotes about how the ex-presidents are working to combat President Trump’s attempts to undo the achievements and hard work accomplished during their own terms. Perhaps most poignantly, Team of Five sheds light on the inherent loneliness and inevitable feelings of powerlessness and frustration that come with no longer being the most important person in the world, but a leader with only symbolic power. There are ways, though, that these men, and their wives, have become powerful political and cultural forces in American life, even as so-called “formers.” Team of Five includes 16 pages of color photographs.
Download or read book The Post presidency from Washington to Clinton written by Burton Ira Kaufman and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When George Washington decided not to seek a third term, he initiated what would be a longstanding concern and challenge for former presidents: what to do with their post-presidential lives. The retirement of James Madison in 1817 initiated active ex-presidencies as he was drawn into political controversies; since then, the post-presidency has become an office unto itself. Burton Kaufman's unique history of that "office" traces the evolving roles of former presidents from Washington to Clinton, examining the lives of the thirty-one who lived for at least two years after leaving office. He marks the transition of the ex-presidency from the 18th-century republican ideal-that of politically disinterested private citizens engaging briefly in public service before returning to private life-to one in which former presidents became increasingly active. Beginning with John Quincy Adams's post-presidential election to Congress, former presidents no longer maintained the pretense of abstaining from active participation in the nation's political affairs. Today the bar has been set by Jimmy Carter, whom historians have regarded as a middling president but who may well have established a new paradigm for ex-presidents. Kaufman also reveals how the post-presidency has evolved since World War II into a big business, with ex-presidents raking in millions of dollars through book sales, lectures, and corporate employment. Drawing extensively on primary sources, including presidential papers, Kaufman maintains that this evolution has followed a path similar to that of the presidency itself. He shows that most have had fascinating post-presidential careers filled with both accomplishment and failure, and that in some cases their lives after leaving office were as important historically as their careers as president and give new insights into their personalities. Kaufman's study offers an absorbing look at how and why changes in the post-presidency have occurred over the two centuries that will fascinate any aficionado of American history. More than thirty photos—from Harry Truman taking his daily constitutional to Richard Nixon rehabilitating his reputation—grace the text.
Download or read book Accidental Presidents written by Jared Cohen and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2020-01-28 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This New York Times bestselling “deep dive into the terms of eight former presidents is chock-full of political hijinks—and déjà vu” (Vanity Fair) and provides a fascinating look at the men who came to the office without being elected to it, showing how each affected the nation and world. The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Eight men have succeeded to the presidency when the incumbent died in office. In one way or another they vastly changed our history. Only Theodore Roosevelt would have been elected in his own right. Only TR, Truman, Coolidge, and LBJ were re-elected. John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He was kicked out of his party and became the first president threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay’s compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. Chester Arthur, the embodiment of the spoils system, was so reviled as James Garfield’s successor that he had to defend himself against plotting Garfield’s assassination; but he reformed the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts. Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Harry Truman surprised everybody when he succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam. Accidental Presidents shows that “history unfolds in death as well as in life” (The Wall Street Journal) and adds immeasurably to our understanding of the power and limits of the American presidency in critical times.
Download or read book Citizen in Chief written by Leonard Benardo and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-02-10 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just in time for the presidential transition comes this in-depth look a the radical turns, provocative rehabilitations, and tragic trajectories of presidential lives after the White House.
Download or read book Author in Chief written by Craig Fehrman and published by Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2020-02-11 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “One of the best books on the American presidency to appear in recent years.” —Thomas Mallon, The Wall Street Journal “Fun and fascinating…It’s witty, charming, and fantastically learned. I loved it.” —Rick Perlstein Based on a decade of research and reporting, Author in Chief tells the story of America’s presidents as authors—and offers a delightful new window into the public and private lives of our highest leaders. Most Americans are familiar with Abraham Lincoln’s famous words in the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet few can name the work that helped him win the presidency: his published collection of speeches entitled Political Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln labored in secret to get his book ready for the 1860 election, tracking down newspaper transcripts, editing them carefully for fairness, and hunting for a printer who would meet his specifications. Political Debates sold fifty thousand copies—the rough equivalent of half a million books in today’s market—and it reveals something about Lincoln’s presidential ambitions. But it also reveals something about his heart and mind. When voters asked about his beliefs, Lincoln liked to point them to his book. In Craig Fehrman’s groundbreaking work of history, Author in Chief, the story of America’s presidents and their books opens a rich new window into presidential biography. From volumes lost to history—Calvin Coolidge’s Autobiography, which was one of the most widely discussed titles of 1929—to ones we know and love—Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father, which was very nearly never published—Fehrman unearths countless insights about the presidents through their literary works. Presidential books have made an enormous impact on American history, catapulting their authors to the national stage and even turning key elections. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, the first presidential book to influence a campaign, and John Adams’s Autobiography, the first score-settling presidential memoir, Author in Chief draws on newly uncovered information—including never-before-published letters from Andrew Jackson, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan—to cast fresh light on the private drives and self-doubts that fueled our nation’s leaders. We see Teddy Roosevelt as a vulnerable first-time author, struggling to write the book that would become a classic of American history. We see Reagan painstakingly revising Where’s the Rest of Me?, a forgotten memoir in which he sharpened his sunny political image. We see Donald Trump negotiating the deal for The Art of the Deal, the volume that made him synonymous with business savvy. Alongside each of these authors, we also glimpse the everyday Americans who read them. Combining the narrative felicity of a journalist with the rigorous scholarship of a historian, Fehrman delivers a feast for history lovers, book lovers, and everybody curious about a behind-the-scenes look at our presidents.
Download or read book Former Presidents written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Trump The Art of the Deal written by Donald J. Trump and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2009-12-23 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: President Donald J. Trump lays out his professional and personal worldview in this classic work—a firsthand account of the rise of America’s foremost deal-maker. “I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: If you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.”—Donald J. Trump Here is Trump in action—how he runs his organization and how he runs his life—as he meets the people he needs to meet, chats with family and friends, clashes with enemies, and challenges conventional thinking. But even a maverick plays by rules, and Trump has formulated time-tested guidelines for success. He isolates the common elements in his greatest accomplishments; he shatters myths; he names names, spells out the zeros, and fully reveals the deal-maker’s art. And throughout, Trump talks—really talks—about how he does it. Trump: The Art of the Deal is an unguarded look at the mind of a brilliant entrepreneur—the ultimate read for anyone interested in the man behind the spotlight. Praise for Trump: The Art of the Deal “Trump makes one believe for a moment in the American dream again.”—The New York Times “Donald Trump is a deal maker. He is a deal maker the way lions are carnivores and water is wet.”—Chicago Tribune “Fascinating . . . wholly absorbing . . . conveys Trump’s larger-than-life demeanor so vibrantly that the reader’s attention is instantly and fully claimed.”—Boston Herald “A chatty, generous, chutzpa-filled autobiography.”—New York Post
