Character Above All: Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush,Books,Free Shipping,0684814110,

	Character Above All: Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush by Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Stephen E. Ambrose, Richard Reeves, Robert Dallek, Tom Wicker, James Cannon, Hendrik Hertzberg, Peggy Noonan
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Product Details Binding Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number 973.90922 EAN 9780684814117 ISBN 0684814110 Manufacturer Simon & Schuster Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 256 Publication Date February 01, 1996 Publisher Simon & Schuster Availability Usually ships in 1-2 business days Product Description Essays on ten United States presidents include Doris Kearns Goodwin on FDR, David McCullough on Truman, Stephen Ambrose on Eisenhower, Richard Reeves on Kennedy, and Peggy Noonan on Reagan. 35,000 first printing. In this collection of perceptive and entertaining original essays, noted historians, biographers and journalists explore the relationship between character and presidential leadership. Doris Kearns Goodwin (No Ordinary Time) argues that FDR's ego was his greatest strength. David McCullough (Truman) concludes that HST was 'honest almost to a fault.' Stephen Ambrose (D-Day) calls Ike 'the president with the most admired and admirable character.' Richard Reeves (President Kennedy) admits that JFK 'would fail most of the current political tests of character.' Robert Dallek (Lone Star Rising) portrays Lyndon Johnson as a contradiction whose grandiosity both served and undermined him. Tom Wicker (One of Us) defines Richard Nixon as a shy, introverted loner struggling with feelings of inadequacy. James Cannon (Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History) emphasizes Ford's integrity. Hendrick Hertzberg (executive editor of the New Yorker) portrays Jimmy Carter more as moral than as political leader. Peggy Noonan, former Reagan speechwriter, contends that Ronald Reagan's emotional detachment was balanced by his 'almost Lincolnian' kindness. Finally, Michael Beschloss (The Crisis Years) discusses the role George Bush's father played in developing his son's character. Editor Wilson has his own communication company in Dallas. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. When the issues are too complicated to comprehend or take too much time to sort out, voters can be expected to fall back on the personal qualities of the candidates when they go to the polls. Communications executive and producer Wilson sets out to find the qualities of character of the modern presidents from FDR to George Bush. To do so he brings together some of the most respected historians (Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Robert Dallek, and Stephen Ambrose), journalistic heavyweights like James Cannon and Richard Reeves, Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan, and The New Yorker's Hendrick Hertzberg. While Wilson is seeking the relationship between character and leadership effectiveness, he fails to provide some unifying definition of the word character. It seems most of the articles deal with style and world view rather than ethical matters that 'character' might imply. Nevertheless, this should be of interest to both academic and general readers.?Frank Kessler, Missouri Western State Coll., St. Joseph Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. The authors of these essays are all historians who have written impressive biographies of presidents. After Kearns on FDR, there's McCullough on Truman, Ambrose on Ike, Reeves on JFK, Dallek on LBJ, Wicker on RN, and on. Their assignment: to define their man's distinctive character in an original essay, and they all show the driving personal qualities that carry presidents to the top of the 'greasy pole,' followed by traits the nation projects onto the man once in office. Ike, for example, was a segregationist who took decisive steps toward integration; Nixon, elected as the fiscal conservative, put the welfare state on fiscal autopilot. The two writers who stray from balanced appraisal were, coincidentally, speechwriters to their presidents: Hendrick Hertzberg for Carter and Peggy Noonan for Reagan. Despite these two instances of partisanship, every essayist abounds with arch style and cogent insights. Expect interest from the MacNeil-Lehrer crowd. Gilbert Taylor Essays on ten United States presidents include Doris Kearns Goodwin on FDR, David McCullough on Truman, Stephen Ambrose on Eisenhower, Richard Reeves on Kennedy, and Peggy Noonan on Reagan. 35,000 first printing. Customers who bought this item also bought Team of Rivals No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir Customer Reviews for: Character Above All: Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush Rating - Facinating! informative! As the title implies, this is a collection of biographcial essays on each of the 10 presidents from FDR to Bush 1 by 10 different authors who are either expert historians or knew the President while in office. The thing that ties them all together is that each essay is supposed to look at each man as president and find that one part of his character that made him the type of president he was. Each essay is about 30 pages and it makes for interesting ... Read More Rating - Summaries of ten recent Presidents. This is a composite book from ten different authors about ten different Presidents. Since these are all well known authors, the writers know their subjects and boil their personalities down in twenty to thirty pages. One cannot get more well known than David McCullough and Steven Ambrose. The writing is great and flows well. If I have any problem, it is that some of the authors are more generous than others. Reeves makes Kennedy look pretty ... Read More Rating - Informative, entertaining, worth rereading many times We all have a book or two that's a favorite; one you cherish a bit more than others. This book is that kind for me. Studying our country's presidents is a hobby of mine so I snatched this title up at the local bookstore a few years ago. Even today, I still read specific sections about any one of the Presidents from FDR to George Bush. This is the perfect book for your summer reading list. You'll get the insights into each President that never ... Read More Rating - mistake, I believe You have 'Character Above All' listed under the writings of Robert Anton Wilson. I believe this is incorrect. See all books by author Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Stephen E. Ambrose, Richard Reeves, Robert Dallek, Tom Wicker, James Cannon, Hendrik Hertzberg, Peggy Noonan

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