"Richard Norton Smith had brought a lifetime of wisdom, insight, and storytelling verve to the life of a consequential president--Gerald R. Ford. Ford's is a very American life, and Smith has charted its vicissitudes and import with great grace and illuminating perspective. A marvelous achievement!" -- Jon MeachamFrom the preeminent presidential scholar and acclaimed biographer of historical figures including George Washington, Herbert Hoover, and Nelson Rockefeller comes this eye-opening life of Gerald R. Ford, whose presidency arguably set the course for post-liberal America and a post-Cold War world.For many Americans, President Gerald Ford was the genial accident of history who controversially pardoned his Watergate-tarnished predecessor, presided over the fall of Saigon, and became a punching bag on Saturday Night Live. Yet as Richard Norton Smith reveals in a book full of surprises, Ford was an underrated leader whose tough decisions and personal decency look better with the
A Pulitzer Prize finalist offers a sweeping portrait of one of the 20th century's most significant politicians, businessmen and philanthropists. Illustrations. Tour. Family tree provided online.
This biography of the controversial Chicago Tribune editor and publisher portrays McCormick as a self-proclaimed emperor of Chicago who despised New York City and distrusted life outside the American
From acclaimed historian Richard Norton Smith comes the definitive life of an American icon: Nelson Rockefeller—one of the most complex and compelling figures of the twentieth century. Fourteen year
For most of three decades, Drew Pearson was the most well-known journalist in the United States. In his daily newspaper column—the most widely syndicated in the nation—and on radio and television broa
The complete rankings of our best -- and worst -- presidents, based on C-SPAN's much-cited Historians Surveys of Presidential Leadership. Over a period of decades, C-SPAN has surveyed leading historia
