The Presidents - A Reference History (Paperback, 2nd ed.)

An essential resource all American History buffs

This monumental work offers a comprehensive narrative history of the American presidency from the institution of the office in 1789 to the election of Bill Clinton to a second term. The authors, noted experts on the presidency, provide thoughtful and often provocative analyses of the presidents and their administrations in terms of the social, political, economic, and foreign policy decisions and their effects on both domestic and international affairs. Each chapter is essentially a biography of an administration, not just the man. Also included is a chapter surveying the many roles the First Ladies have played on the national stage.

As the authors tell each president's unique story and appraise his performance, many new insights and evaluations come to the fore. Here, too, are reliable answers to the compelling questions about the presidents that have most fascinated the American public:
-- Why did James Monroe attempt to recover tens of thousands of dollars from the federal government after leaving office?
-- How did Grover Cleveland respond to election-year allegations that he had fathered an illegitimate child?
-- Did Edith Wilson really exercise significant influences over presidential decision-making while her husband Woodrow recovered from a series of strokes?
-- What were Lyndon Johnson's private thoughts about the American military presence in Vietnam?
-- And just who was Millard Fillmore?

The Presidents will prove invaluable to anyone interested in the American political scene, especially presidential politics.