First Men, America's Presidents (Edited Series)
“The main theme for this book series are the qualities displayed by the American Presidents that suggest excellence in leadership based upon their policies both foreign and domestic. Their moral example and qualities of citizenship are analyzed, and their effective personal traits related to their accomplishments are examined. These books are complete biographies of each American President. This valuable book series answers the question: What makes a great President? First Men, America’s Presidents is available both as a complete book series or as individual Presidential biographies. This remarkable book series is Ideal for public and university libraries as well as individual readers.” Dr. Barbara Bennett Peterson (General Editor, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Hawaii and Professor of History by Courtesy, Oregon State University)
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Quick ViewThe 44th U.S. President, Barack Obama, has fulfilled the dream of “inclusiveness” for American society by moving contemporary society closer towards universal equality for all. Dr. Thomas E. Carney has written a powerful and incisive volume on the life and policies of Obama from his birth in Hawaii in 1961, through his diverse roots in…
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Quick ViewBill Clinton, the first president born after the end of World War II, brought a new generation’s vision and attitude to the White House. His 1992 defeat of overwhelming favorite George H. W. Bush, who was running for a second term, is a fascinating story of the fickleness of presidential popularity. Clinton was an unknown…
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Quick ViewWhile George W. Bush has been out of office for only a few years, an early historical assessment is much needed. This is very difficult for a historian, and especially when one’s subject is George W. Bush. He had no long legislative or political career against which to measure his presidency. There are virtually no…
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Quick ViewThe forty-first president of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, arguably had more preparation for the office than any other man who has held the office. Having been a success in the oil business after his heroic service in World War II and graduation from Yale University, Bush served as a Congressman from Texas,…
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Quick ViewComing from humble origins in Illinois, Ronald Reagan always carried an optimism that life would get better, and with his education from small Eureka College, he moved on to become a radio announcer in Iowa and an actor for Warner Brothers in Hollywood. As World War II ended, his political consciousness grew to the point…
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Quick ViewIn the twenty years since Richard Nixon’s death, both his achievements and his failures remain hotly contested. His domestic achievements included revenue sharing, the end of the military draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. In terms of foreign policy, he opened relations with the People’s Republic of China, signed the Strategic Arms…
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Quick ViewArguably our most obscure president, and generally judged mediocre at best, Millard Fillmore came to the presidency in July 1850 when his predecessor, Zachary Taylor, unexpectedly died. Despite his relative anonymity, Fillmore was thrust into the nation’s greatest historical argument – the great debate concerning the future of slavery in the republic. With considerable political…
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Quick ViewCalvin Coolidge was one of America’s most unusual presidents. Selected as vice president by rebellious convention delegates and thrust unexpectedly into the presidency on the death of his predecessor, he nonetheless imprinted his authority on both party and country. Like Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, he came to personify not just an administration…
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Quick ViewOver the decades, histories of Lyndon Johnson have continued to evolve. There remain many debated questions even more than 40 years after his death. The 37th president is, even today—and more so than others who have attained the nation’s highest elected office—such a larger than life figure that no single biographical work fully captures or…
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Quick ViewAlthough none of his contemporaries considered Buchanan a political genius or a brilliant statesman, many thought in 1856 that he was the right man for the times. Few have assumed the office of the presidency with such a sterling résumé as Buchanan. With many years of experience, including stints as a member of the United…
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Quick ViewTruman, the thirty-third president of the United States, was thrust into office on April 12th, 1945. His path to the presidency did not follow a straight trajectory. Truman had been an ordinary American, growing up in the Midwest where he was raised by parents who were unable to provide the benefits associated with rank or…
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Quick ViewWarren Gamaliel Harding was a traditional man in the mode of the late-nineteenth, early-twentieth century. His values, perspective on the world around him, his habits and leisure pastimes, and his opinions about being an American and a man were all extremely traditional. To understand Warren G. Harding one must first seek the essence of the…
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Quick ViewJames Monroe was the fifth president of the United States, whose terms extended from his election in 1816 through his retirement after the election of 1824. He brought an extensive résumé to the office, as Monroe had fought in the American Revolution, served in the Articles of Confederation Congress, became a lawyer, served as Governor…
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Quick ViewIt is beyond question that Gerald R. Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, brought honesty and integrity back into the White House at a time when the country needed those qualities and, in doing so, he restored a sense of calm to a troubled and anxious country. He embodied the qualities and virtues…
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Quick ViewThis is an excellent full length biography of America’s second president who was the ‘Colossus of Independence’ arguing for the passage of the Declaration of Independence on the floor of the Second Continental Congress. Adams’ venerated political writings established the framework for our nation’s government on the state and federal levels. A fine judge of…
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Quick ViewJimmy Carter was a complex man who from his early years in rural southern Georgia, strove for excellence and ambitiously pursued his personal agenda—from an Annapolis educated naval officer who worked on the early development of the nuclear submarine to a successful small businessman and farmer to a political career that culminated in four years…
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Quick ViewBy the standards that historians usually use to judge presidents, John Quincy Adams was a failure. Although better qualified for the office than any American of his generation, he served for only one term and was unable to accomplish any of the most cherished goals set forth so boldly at the beginning of his presidency.…
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Quick ViewPresident of the United States of America is an official title sought by many and won by only a few individuals. The series entitled First Men, America’s Presidents, contains a book length biography of each President of the United States of America. Every book contains information on the President’s early education, professional career, military or…
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Quick ViewMcKinley governed in a time of extreme change in U.S. history. As Congressman, Governor, and President, McKinley embraced adaptation and modernization and governed with a style based on his traditional experiences, knowledge and character. In the 1890s, America prospered at home and abroad, largely because of the policies of McKinley. President McKinley recognized transformations taking…
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Quick ViewWilliam Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was the 27th President of the United States and later the 10th Chief Justice of the United States. He is the only person to have served in both offices. Riding a wave of popular support of President (and fellow Republican) Theodore Roosevelt, Taft won an…
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Quick ViewHistory generally has not been kind to Ulysses Grant. For the longest time, even his military reputation had been sullied by the stinging indictments of Lost Cause advocates who enjoyed unquestioned sway over the popular interpretation of Civil War history. The apotheosis of Robert E. Lee’s role in the war required the diminishment of Grant’s…
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Quick ViewFor over a century historians have been unable to agree about Andrew Jackson. Was he as Robert Remini has insisted for more than forty years a masterful politician who shaped the modern presidency and ushered in an era of new democratic politics? Or was he, as James C. Curtis and Andrew Burstein have argued, a…
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Quick ViewThe Age of President Garfield was an exciting age as it featured the music of John Philip Sousa’s marching bands, the new dime novels, captains of industry such as John D. Rockefeller, legendary cowboys of the Old West, the Indian Wars, and the expansion of America’s interest in empire building abroad. James A. Garfield rose…
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Quick ViewThis book follows the life of James Madison, our 4th president, who at the tender age of twenty-five was thrust into significant politics as an elected member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Even in his first venture into statesmanship. Madison took notes on constitutional deliberations, a practice that he would continue in the Federal…
