Customer Reviews

Character: Profiles In Presidential Courage

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I breezed through this book quickly but found it a very light, enjoyable read. It will appeal to those who are not intimately familiar with the backgrounds of the US presidents. The book opens small windows back in time to focus on a particular event that highlights what the author considers to be the "essence" of all that was good about a particular president.

For example, he looks at the Bay of Pigs disaster that John F. Kennedy got lured into by war-mongering advisors and focuses on the big lesson that Kennedy learned that later saved his bacon when the Russians moved missiles into Cuba. In doing so the author manages to demonstrate that Kennedy had tremendous character and resolve, qualities we demand of all presidents. The other examples are by no means partisan, Republican and Democratic presidents shine alike.

Another nice touch that accompanies each nugget of history is the original text of the president's message to the people or to Congress. For example, Ronald Reagan's speech to the nation dated March 23, 1983, that marked the beginning of the end for Russia as far as the USA was concerned is included and makes for fascinating reading.

I recommend this book to those looking for illuminating examples of the best essence of the US presidents.

"Character, Profiles in Presidential Courage" tells the good news about American democracy. For all the negative attacks, tv commercials, paid consultants that dominate politics today--our Presidents have stood up and done the right thing throughout our history.
Chris Wallace teaches you something about our nation's history on every page.
This is a must-read.

I read the book with some trepidation, expecting a "propaganda piece." What a delightful surprise! The book is eminently readable, fair, balanced and essential for any student of American history--particularly of the American presidency. The last essay on George W. Bush seems especially relevant as we approach the November elections.

Dr. Kathryn Presley

The problem with this book is that it dwells on the obvious and does NOT have chapters on 2 very notable examples of presidential courage: 1) Gerald Ford's pardoning of Nixon and 2) Chester Alan Arthur, who did a 180 in passing civil service reform legislation and turned on the spoils system of which he was a product.

This book comes at such an excellent time. I've just watched the Presidential debates and I can't help but wonder where we got these two. Now comes Chris Wallace's book CHARACTER. He reminds me that the challenges to be faced by whomever is selected as president will not be the ones talked about in the debates. The best president will not necessarily be the smartest - Clinton was undoubtedly one of the most intelligent in recent memory and he will be remembered for his impeachment.

I also find that I can't tell if Chris Wallace is a Democrat or a Republican. And that's just great. His treatment of Nixon and Reagan is just as even and fair as his treatment of Truman and Kennedy. I really like the beginning of his Introduction, "I'm not sure when it was that I realized everything I thought I know about being President was wrong." His conclusions:

Intelligence: Almost Irrelevant.
Mastery of policy: Helpful.
Judgment and Steadiness of Purpose: Priceless.

Here are sixteen stories, varying from what in our mind is ancient (Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion) to the current election (George W. Bush and the Iraq War.) This is one of those book that should be required reading by every voter. Unfortunately I doubt that it will even make the NY Times best seller list. As a country we're rather read a Michael Moore diatribe.

My final conclusion is that it's amazing that our electoral system has worked so well.

Chris Wallace, formerly of NBC News, defines "character" in the presidency as "a test of will and purpose" as one of his favorites Reagan epitomized. He also felt that strength and courage was involved in these controversial decisions.

He set out with this project to show how sixteen Chief Executives did the "unpopular thing and saw it through because they believed it was the right thing to do." Each believed he had a mission and responsibility to make America and the world a better place.

The episode of Andrew Jackson and the rich president of Second Bank of U. S., Nicholas Biddle was a duel in the sense of his temperament to always be the winner, no matter what. Biddle had been asked by then President Jefferson to prepare the journals of Lewis and Clark for publication, but he had other, more pressing things to do.

This gives a detailed explanation of our currency status in the 1800s. Jackson had fought in the Revolutionary War becoming a General, worked as a lawyer, elected as U.S. Senator and in Congress from the state of Tennessee, a judge in the TN Supreme Court, and Governor of Florida before becoming the seventh President in 1829. He waged a battle to bring down a corrupt bank, against the oppositon of his political cronies. He championed the common people, not the rich and powerful. As a result of his victories, he paid off the entire federal debt, the first time in America's history.

At the time Andrew Johnson was elected Vice President, he was still the military Govrenor of Tennessee where he had defended Nashville against the Confederates and was chosen by the Union party to be Abraham Lincoln's running made. Six weeks after his disastrous Inaugural Day,on April 15, 1865, he became President as a result of John Wilkes Booth's dastardly act at the Ford Theater.

Secretary of War Stanton hanged an innocent woman, Mary Sarrat, and had a wounded Booth shot and killed in a barn in Virginia. His diary had been tampered with (18 pages torn out) which would have proved that she was not one of the conspirators in this case.

He was the first President to face impeachment charges. in 1875, he became Tennessee's U. S. Senator, the only president to serve in that office after having been Chief Executive, but served only a few months before he died.

His successor as President, U. S. Grant, had graduated from West Point and became a Union commander who clashed with Robert E. Lee. He served two tumultous terms.

Some great administrators like FDR, JFK, Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln, and others not so great comprise these stories told in the modern history style of engaging tales. Mr. Wallace is now host of 'Fox News Sunday.'

"Fun" is the word I'd use to describe Chris Wallace's new book. This certainly isn't scholarship, and anyone interested in that ought to look elsewhere.

It's a compilation of Presidential anecdotes -- some obscure (US Grant and the threat of war with Cuba; Grover Cleveland and the Pullman labor strike) and others well chronicled (Lincoln and The Emancipation Proclamation; Wilson and the League of Nations; FDR and Lend Lease). Modern (i.e., Post WW II) stories account for six of the 16 chapters. Readers over 45 will vividly recall Nixon's China Card and Reagan's Zero Option. And, GW Bush's Iraq War concludes Wallace's book.

For me, the Grant anecdote was the most revealing, and the subject I knew least about. While Wallace credits Grant with skirting war, the narrative makes plain that Sec of State Hamilton Fish was responsible for the triumph of diplomacy. (A Sec of State argues strenuously for diplomacy, while the War Sec lobbies hard for military action -- sound familiar?). The story behind the Great Thomas Jefferson's maladroit imposition of the Embargo Acts was also enlightening. But, it's hard to see how this episode merits inclusion since all the embargoes did was postpone the ultimate reckoning with Britain while unleashing economic misery. I also have reservations about JFK's Bay of Pigs debacle. Wallace argues that JFK learned from the incident and was more restrained during the subsequent Cuban missile crisis. Still, I don't see how withholding promised air support for the anti-Castro insurgents being slaughtered on the beach reflects character or courage.

It's questions like these and others that make Wallace's book so fun. "Does Andrew Johnson's impeachment battle belong in a book about character?" "Were LBJ's lies about Vietnam -- however well intentioned -- truly acts of Presidential courage?" We could debate these questions for hours.

I do take issue with some rather glaring errors of fact. As an earlier reviewer pointed out, associating the House Un-American Committee with Senator McCarthy is silly. And the claim that LBJ fought in the Pacific War is just plain wrong. As Robert Caro has proven, LBJ spent most of WW II lounging on the West Coast, except for one near-death experience as an observer on a bombing raid. LBJ's talent for embellishment and political connections inflated that one harrowing incident into a medal-winning war record.

A few factual errors aside, Wallace's book is an enjoyable read for anyone looking to broaden his/her knowledge of our past Presidents or U.S. history in general.

Chris Wallace's Profiles in Presidential Courage is a good book. The basic premise is that character (defined as courage, steadiness of purpose & vision) matter far more than intelligence or mastery of policy in presidential quality. Wallace uses sixteen examples to illustrate his premise and does so with simple, clear prose. He also uses excerpts from the words of each President that explains the moment. The book has a few factual errors, but none of them detract from the premise. A worthwhile read.

This book is excellent for someone like me who's just getting into Presidential and U.S. history. Wallace does a great job of blending in historical background of what was going on in the country and events surrounding each President's act of courage, and also background on each President himself. I would very much recommend this book as a starting block for anyone who is interested in studying Presidential history.

As for everyone giving the book 1-star reviews, those reviews are either based on a) Wallace's personal character, which has nothing to do with whether this is a good book or not, or b) the book has a chapter on President Bush. Unlike these people claim, this book isn't a love-fest for Bush, nor is it trying to elevate Bush to the level of Washington and Lincoln.

On the intro chapter, page 10, Wallace writes:

"I wanted to look at those instances when a President did the unpopular thing and saw it through because he believed it was the right thing to do."

And page 12:

"One may or may not agree with the presidential decisions depicted in this book, but those decisions, undeniably, were brave."

The point of this book isn't to show how wonderful each President is, it's to simply show each President's courage under fire, regardless of whether people agree with their decisions or not.

Chris Wallace gives a a popular history book that for someone whom doesn't know much American History is a good primer. The reader will be exposed to many of our presidents such as washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Grant, Cleveland, Wilson, Roosevelt (TR and FDR), Truman, Kennedy, Nixon , Johnson and GW Bush (the son).
The book starts with a Journalist hook on a not so known tidbit about each President. The one on Jackson is so interesting about him surviving a bullet from a duel that this reviwer wished he used footnotes instead of the more common endnotes and list of books as source material. Again many of these antedotes are little known and may indeed be tales . Chris Wallace in an interview did not seem to know the origin of these stories.
The book is basically a collection of stories of Presidential courage and the knowledgable reader may quibble with some of the choices. Picking the T Roosevelt's negotiating the talks between Russian and japan.My pick would be Panama and the canal. Picking Andrew Johnson for what ? Picking Lincoln's emacipation proclamation. I would pick Lincoln waging the Civil War. Chris Wallace has picked many of the key Presidents but some of the examples could have been different.
There were some errors such as saying Joe McCarthy was on HUAC -he was a senator.This book is a good bed time book and good primer for converations with your political savvy friends but for the serious historian the lack of footnotes,errors and ignoring some of the details on the Presients he chooses to talk about might be irritating. It is interesting that all the Presidents mentioned with the exception of Andrew Johnson won reelection and wonders whether this influenced Wallace's decision.