American presidents series (Times Books)

Examines the life and presidency of William McKinley, arguing that his diplomatic and military achievements, as well as the lack of major scandal during his administration, make him worthy of admission to the ranks of the near-great chief executives.

America's greatest president, who rose to power in the country's greatest hour of need and whose vision saw the United States through the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln towers above the others who have held the office of president-the icon of greatness, the pillar of strength whose words bound up the nation's wounds. His presidency is the hinge on which American history pivots, the time when the young republic collapsed of its own contradictions and a...

The plainspoken man from Missouri who never expected to be president yet rose to become one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century, Harry S. Truman clashed with Southerners over civil rights, with organized labor over the right to strike, and with General Douglas MacArthur over the conduct of the Korean War. He personified Thomas Jefferson's observation that the presidency is a "splendid misery," but it was during his tenure that the United...

Renowned New Deal historian Leuchtenburg offers a frank, thoughtful portrait of the lifelong public servant, and shrewdly assesses Hoover's policies and legacy in the face of one of the darkest periods of American history--the Great Depression.

A biography of the controversial president whose time in office was defined by the September 11 attacks and the War on Terrorism.

Bill Clinton: a president of contradictions. He was a Rhodes Scholar and a Yale Law School graduate, but he was also a fatherless child from rural Arkansas. He was one of the most talented politicians of his age, but he inspired enmity of such intensity that his opponents would stop at nothing to destroy him. He was the first Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to win two successive presidential elections, but he was also the first president since Andrew...