"To the Best of My Ability": The American Presidents

by James M. McPherson

Book Overview

Every generation of historians reviews and revises the work of its predecessors. With this book, the best historical writers of today's generation undertake such a task. Displaying wit and narrative... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789450739
• ISBN13: 9780789450739
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 3.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.2" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Evereything you'd want to know and then some!!!!!!!

A history buff, especially in U.S. History, I love to read anything I can about the presidents. This book far from dissapoints.What I really like about this book is that it is very fair to every president. For example, while it glorifies Washington and Lincoln (as it should), it also points out their personal flaws. For example, Washington, although not wanting to be a king, was a little full of himself when he preferred that people adress him in a glorifying manner. In other words, it provides the positive and negative sides of each president (politically and personally).I can assure you that even if you think you know everything there is to know about the U.S. Presidents, you WILL learn something new from this great book (I sure did)!

An Anthology of Exceptional Importance

I join with countless others in praise of this magnificent collection of essays which discuss all but one of the Presidents of the United States. The author of each essay is a distinguished historian who is especially well-qualified to comment on the given subject. James M. McPherson serves as general editor and provides an Introduction which, by itself, is worth the price of the book. He also provides the analysis of Abraham Lincoln. David Rubel assists McPherson in the capacity of editor. Each of us has a special interest in certain Presidents and therefore is inclined to proceed to those essays which discuss them. Fair enough. What I found of special interest and value is the information and analysis provided concerning Presidents in which I had little (if any) prior interest, such as Van Buren, both Harrisons, Polk, Fillmore, and Buchanan. The essays are supplemented by a wealth of illustrations as well as what I view as "historical nuggets." For example, during the administration of John Adams, we learn that on August 28, 1797, "In order to end costly pirate attacks on American merchant shipping in the Mediterranean Sea, the United States signs a treaty with the Barbary Coast state of Tunis. The agreement, ratified by the Senate in January 1800, requires the United States to pay tribute to Tunis." These brief but informative items supplement each essay. The reader is also provided with detailed information about various Presidential campaigns as well as the inaugural addresses of winning candidates, from George Washington (April 30, 789) until Bill Clinton (January 20, 1997). If a higher rating were available, I would give it to this unique volume.

This is a great book!

History buffs will love it. I think it is a MUST READ for politicians and all our government employees. The book gives the reader inside information about our presidents which is not always included in encyclopedia and other references. I read it from cover to cover. I enjoyed every bit of this beautifully displayed book. As for myself, just an average history buff."

A splendid book

This book offers a fresh new perspective on the 40+ presidents who have taken office to serve their country " to the best of their ability". I have seen many books on the presidents, but none as superbly written and compiled as this one. An elite group of some of America's most renowned historians write about each president: his life, his times, his accomplishments, his failures...The book is authoritative and trustworthy. It does not harshly criticize the presidents nor does it laud them unduly. On the contrary, each president is given the credit he is due and even the weakest presidents are shown in a new light explaining the great difficulties of their times. Instead of alienating the U.S. presidents from the people, this book works to bring this prestigious class of Americans ever closer to the people, American or foreign. The book is abundantly illustrated and, although I did find a few typos, it is sumptuously written. The book is crammed with interesting facts, and at the end, there is the complete set of the presidents' inaugural addresses. I doubt there was ever a book this magnificent written about the lives of the U.S. presidents. Dorling Kindersley books are true treasures for any library due to the wealth of information and beauty of print, and this book is no exception. It is recommended as a book to read or just as a reference to keep for information. However you use it, it is truly an excellent book.

A magnificent book about the American Presidents!

"To the Best of My Ability" is a wonderful new book about the American presidents. Published by the Society of American Historians, it has as its General Editor the distinguished Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James M. McPherson."To the Best of My Ability" has similarities with other Presidential reference works I've read, but it also has some particularly notable new features which I believe set it apart as the most outstanding work in its genre. The first 306 pages are devoted to short historical essays of each President and his administration . Each essay is written by a renowned Presidential scholar, biographer, or historian, and are without peer for writing quality and scholarship. The essays are lively, interesting, and offer a brief and completely objective appraisal of each President's time in the nation's highest office.After the Presidential essays section, there is another intriguing segment that has short articles describing each President's election campaign(s). The complete text of each Chief Executive's inauguration speech(es) is also included. I found this area of the book to be fascinating. I especially enjoyed reading the two Inaugural addresses of Abraham Lincoln, who is my favorite President. There I was able to compare his first Inaugural, a long, pedantic justification for beginning the Civil War, with his second address, his so very brief and powerfully eloquent appeal for the American people to "...bind up the nation's wounds."In addition to being a well written, meticulously researched, and superbly edited, "To the Best of My Ability" is a irresistibly beautiful volume. It is lavishly illustrated throughout with paintings, lithographs, and photographs both familiar and unfamiliar. (I was especially captivated by the daguerreotypes of such early Presidents as John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and James K. Polk.) The book is printed on heavy gloss paper, with a binding that is of an outstanding and obviously very durable quality. "To the Best of My Ability" is simply a magnificent volume in every way! For readers of American history, and especially those interested in the American Presidents, it's a book that should not be missed.