The Power of the American Presidency: 1789-2000 [Paperback]

Michael A. Genovese (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 20, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0195125452 | ISBN-13: 978-0195125450

In its more than 200-year history, the office of the President of the United States has undergone a variety of dramatic changes. Because our founding fathers left the privileges and responsibilities of the job constitutionally vague and ill-defined, each occupant of the office--from George Washington to Bill Clinton--has tried to set the limits of presidential power as he has seen fit based on the domestic and international circumstances of the day as well as on his own ambition and abilities. In The Power of the American Presidency, Michael A. Genovese, one of the best known and respected scholars on the presidency, takes students on a journey through the personalities and politics of some of the most fascinating and at times powerful men in American history. Organized chronologically, the text offers an overview of the evolution and elasticity of presidential power by providing case studies of each president's personal characteristics and the defining historical events of each administration. From Abraham Lincoln, who stretched the boundaries of presidential power during the Civil War, to nearly forgotten presidents like Van Buren, Garfield, and Fillmore, who led weak administrations with limited power, Genovese presents the history of our country's highest office with insight, balanced judgment, and humor. The Power of the American Presidency will be widely used in undergraduate courses on the American Presidency as well as in courses on American history, American studies, and political science. It will also be of interest to anyone who wishes to gain a keener insight into the workings of the presidency.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating account of all the presidents, copiously illustrated and documented, with an arresting set of conclusions about the past, present, and future of the presidency."--James MacGregor Burns, Academy of Leadership

"Most students enter college courses on the presidency with a limited grasp of the institution's origins and evolution. Michael Genovese provides them with the essential information on presidential history while stimulating them to ponder the question of how the presidency has fit into American democracy. The bright spots and blemishes of presidential history, the Lincolns and the Hardings, are all here, vividly evoked in Genovese's fast-paced and colorful narrative."--Bruce Miroff, State University of New York, Albany

"Michael Genovese's The Power of the American Presidency is a pungently written and balanced overview of the development of the American presidency over the past two centuries. Genovese puts into perspective the shifting constitutional balance as well as the idiosyncratic personalities of all forty-two of our presidents. If you want a bird's eye view of the presidency, this is your book. The perfect antidote for students who "don't know much about history."--James P. Pfiffner, George Mason University

About the Author

Michael A. Genovese is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Leadership Studies at Loyola Marymount University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195125452
• ISBN-13: 978-0195125450
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #437,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is OK, December 11, 2003

By 

Matthew Wanamaker (Mill Creek, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Power of the American Presidency: 1789-2000 (Paperback)

This book gives very brief descriptions of most of the presidents. If you do not know much about the history of the presidency, this book might be useful. However, I would recomend a much more detailed book.

Genovese uses his own ranking system to put the presidents in order. He seems to base most of the ranking on whether or not the president improved the power that the office had not on actual policies. Therefore "administrative" presidents do not do well in his system no matter what policies they implemented.

The tables that Genovese uses contradict each other. Presidents are given different rank numbers in different tables. He also uses the same quotes multiple times for some of the presidents.

This book is ok for a quick overview of the presidency, but does not provide for many detailed profiles outside of a few presidents.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Growth of Power, April 23, 2003

By 

Edward P. Matos "edmatos52" (Laredo, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Power of the American Presidency: 1789-2000 (Paperback)

I like this book! "The Power of the American Presidency" is an informative and enjoyable book to read. Genovese gives the reader a broad view of the roots of the American presidency and its powers. Readers will see how some presidents excelled while others lagged behind, how some presidents developed and strengthened presidential powers to lead the country forward while others weakened them and failed to lead....

Genovese describes how a president was accused of breaking the law, or at least? steered around the US Constitution? in order to save a nation, how some loved the position of president while others couldn't wait for their term to end. Genovese shows us the presidents that made the top of the list of great presidents, those who landed on the bottom, and how others took the deep plunge into presidential obscurity. The reader will also discover which president served the longest term, which served the shortest, which president disliked politics.... But most importantly, Genovese explains the development of the American presidency and the expansion of its power.

"The Power of the American Presidency" entices the reader's thirst for knowledge and serves as a good jumping point for further study on the American presidency and presidential powers. Genovese's writing is smart, crisp, and at times witty but always clear. I like that this book can be read from beginning to end, as I did, or it can be used as a reference tool, as I frequently do. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.