by Clare Frances Elliott (Editor), Michael Patrick Cullinane (Editor)
In 2011 Barack Obama invited ten distinguished biographers to the White House to ask them one question: which past American president should I emulate? This was not the first time Obama asked scholars this, but the answer he received would differ as presidential legacies waxed and waned. In 2008 Obama chose Lincoln; in 2009, Reagan; and in 2010, Theodore Roosevelt.
Perspectives on Presidential Leadership is an examination of presidential legacy, and in particular an analysis of the first ever UK ranking of American presidents which took place in 2011. In thirteen chapters, thirteen individual presidential administrations are assessed. Some presidents have been considered a success, others a failure; both types are featured in these thirteen case studies in a measured attempt to understand how the perception of presidential leadership evolves, shifts, and contorts across three centuries of American politics. The case studies also derive from the expertise of the collected British, Irish and Canadian authors, all of whom are leading scholars in their fields, and many of which took part in the 2011 survey.
At a time when understanding presidential legacy is in high demand, this book offers a unique international perspective. Through extended commentary and inter-disciplinary study of the UK perspective it provides groundbreaking research.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 236
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 31 May 2016
ISBN 10: 1138696374
ISBN 13: 9781138696372
An original and thought-provoking look at the American presidency. The combination of well-known presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt with lesser-known ones like Andrew Johnson and Warren Harding gives a fresh take and new insights into presidential legacies and sets up well a `work-in-progress' evaluation of the current incumbent, Barack Obama.
-Martin Folly, Brunel University, London