Breaking important new ground in our understanding of the presidency, but not in off-putting academic jargon, he propounds a convincing new theory that places the modern presidency in a significantly more accurate historical context.
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. Oct 09, Hattie rated it really liked it Shelves: z , genre-nonfic.
This is book for me this year, and perhaps the one I am most proud of completing. It took some effort. Politics is not my forte. But that is exactly why I needed this book: acknowledging my need to be less ignorant In this regard, I was seeking a book that offered more than a trivial summation, but not toooo much more.
This one struck a perfect balance for me — while I realize it is just one perspective and surely far from exhaustive, I know have a sense of the defining traits of Roosevelt, This is book for me this year, and perhaps the one I am most proud of completing. This one struck a perfect balance for me — while I realize it is just one perspective and surely far from exhaustive, I know have a sense of the defining traits of Roosevelt, FDR, Eisenhower etc I am now equipped with the beginnings, as though given the basic alphabet, upon which I can proceed to build and grow and learn more and more.
This is exactly what I wished for, and Mr. Gould delivered it brilliantly. Jan 11, Craig rated it really liked it Shelves: 20th-century-american-history , presidential-biographies. Interesting, succinct study of the American presidents between McKinley and Clinton and how they each helped shape the executive office to a much more significant role than, say, during the antebellum era.
I would have loved to have seen an update, including looks at Presidents George W. Bush, Obama, and even Trump, but this book came out about 15 years ago and hasn't been provided a recent update. Gould's book is phenomenally concise, analytical, and has just the right touch of witticisms required to entice to even the most hesitant of readers.
The modern American presidency is one of trials and tribulations, it seeks to understand the complexity of government and reckon with the struggles faced by presidents ranging from Theodore Roosevelt to Barack Obama. Perhaps the greatest lesson this book forces the reader to understand, is the importance of presidents realising the multi-faceted ap Gould's book is phenomenally concise, analytical, and has just the right touch of witticisms required to entice to even the most hesitant of readers.
Perhaps the greatest lesson this book forces the reader to understand, is the importance of presidents realising the multi-faceted approach their campaigning and administration must take. For example, George W. Bush was able to create a constant campaign which allowed him to secure that ever elusive second term - although Gould rightly points out the intellectual fallacy of this popular belief - yet failed to recognise the importance of planning out his governing strategy.
Similarly, Democrat presidents failed to establish the idea of continuous campaigning and far too many in the office have forgotten the power of media to meld public opinion. This, Gould establishes, is crucial. In particular, I enjoyed considering how the role of media evolved and the importance of keeping the media happy - Clinton might have gotten himself out of tight corners with his quick thinking, but this only agitated confused journalists and his Republican opposition further.
I would love to see Gould's perception of the entirety of Barack Obama's presidency and what he would make of the chaotic Trump administration - is this the crisis that he fears America would not survive? Whilst it's questionable if America or any other country can emerge fully unscathed from any administration, Gould's ideas still ring true. I also loved the choice of photographs and felt that because they were all black and white, it gave the sense of continuity and this idea of a long line of succession rather than separate administrations.
Every administration is connected to its predecessor and its heir - without that understanding, the way in which historians and politicians alike can accurately perceive the presidency is futile.
Highly recommend this book if you get the chance to read it. I have lots more thoughts to add on this book, so I'll probably be adding some more from time to time - otherwise, go get a copy of this book ASAP. It takes a little time to get used to the style, but it's so worth it. Apr 05, Frank Stein rated it really liked it. A solid and thoughtful look at the Presidents from McKinley to Bush, with a focus on their relationship to the press and to the executive office itself.
Gould actually gives a lot of credit for the creation of the modern office to McKinley. He made the White House as opposed to Congress the center of public attention by opening a press room in the White House during the Spanish-American War. McKinley was also the first to authorize, using the "independent action of the executive," the use of expe A solid and thoughtful look at the Presidents from McKinley to Bush, with a focus on their relationship to the press and to the executive office itself.
McKinley was also the first to authorize, using the "independent action of the executive," the use of expert commissions to both study and run government functions, starting in the Philippines. By some were already complaining about a new kind of "government by commission.
Gould also highlights such important transformations in the presidency as the first presidential speechwriter, Judson Welliver, the former Iowa journalist who finally gave syntax and order to the speeches of Warren G. Harding, and later Calvin Coolidge since everyone was a "clerk" in those days he was employed as a "literary clerk" by the President. Harding actually made some other important innovations, like the first Budget Bureau though it was then in the Treasury Department, not the White House , and his cabinet secretary, Herbert Hoover, proffered a suggestion to organize the War and Navy Departments into a single Department of Defense which wouldn't happen for another 30 years.
The tone of the book does get a little angrier as it approaches the present, and the writer more and more frequently decries the "continuous campaign" that has arisen, but he almost goes off the deep end with the Clinton and Bush chapters. His rage against the congressional Republicans that impeached Clinton admittedly few people's idea of a selfless act is shocking, and often takes him beyond the nominal focus of his book.
In Bush, his bile for the former President is so strong as to taint everything it touches, making this chapter just a laundry list of complaints familiar to anyone who lived through those years. Still, for a succinct and clear look at the presidency as both an office and a succession of individuals, this is a good start. Feb 13, Herman rated it really liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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