Presidential Courage; Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007. First Printing. Hardcover. xiii, [3], 430 pages. Occasional footnotes. Illustrations. (some in color). Notes. Sources. Index. Autographed sticker on front DJ. Signed by the author. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Michael Richard Beschloss (born November 30, 1955) is an American historian. A specialist in the United States presidency, he is the author of nine books. . He is a trustee of the White House Historical Association and the National Archives Foundation and he also sits on the board of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. He has been a trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (Monticello), the Urban Institute, the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs and the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. He also sits on the advisory board to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and was a member of the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. He has held appointments in history at the Smithsonian Institution, a Senior Associate Member at St. Antony's College, a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard University Russian Center, a Senior Fellow of the Annenberg Foundation, and a Montgomery Fellow and Dorsett Fellow at Dartmouth College. Crucial times in America's history when a courageous President dramatically changed the future of the United States. Includes behind-the-scenes views of George Washington braving threats of impeachment and assassination to make peace with England, Abraham Lincoln risking his Presidency to insist that slaves be freed, Theodore Roosevelt taunting J. P. Morgan and the Wall Street leaders who dominated his party, and Ronald Reagan irking some of his oldest backers to seek an end to the Cold War. Michael Beschloss has brought us a brilliantly readable and inspiring saga about crucial times in America's history when a courageous President dramatically changed the future of the United States. With surprising new sources and a dazzling command of history and human character, Beschloss brings to life these flawed, complex men -- and their wives, families, friends and foes. Never have we had a more intimate, behind-the-scenes view of Presidents coping with the supreme dilemmas of their lives. You will be in the room with the private George Washington, braving threats of impeachment and assassination to make peace with England. John Adams, incurring his party's "unrelenting hatred" by refusing to fight France and warning his enemies, "Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war." Andrew Jackson, in a death struggle against the corrupt Bank of the United States. Franklin Roosevelt, defying the isolationists -- and maybe the law -- to stop Adolf Hitler. Harry Truman, risking a walkout by top officials to recognize a Jewish state. John Kennedy, the belated champion of civil rights, complaining that he has cost himself a second term. As Beschloss shows in this gripping and important book, none of these Presidents was eager to incur ridicule, vilification or threats of political destruction and even assassination. But in the end, bolstered by friends and family, hidden private beliefs and, sometimes, religious faith, each ultimately proved himself to be, in Andrew Jackson's words, "born for the storm." Condition: Very good / very good.
Keywords: U.S. Presidents, Leadership, Politics & Government, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Harry S. Truman, Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, John Adams, Civil Rights, Nicholas Biddle, Mark Hanna, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt
ISBN: 0684857057
[Book #50552]
Price: $50.00