Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman [Paperback]

Kendricks A. Clements (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 1999

Wilson’s visionary temperament and quick-paced leadership made him a uniquely articulate champion of the most essential American values. His policies, perhaps more so than any other president in this century, have shaped the world today. In this comprehensive biography, Kendrick Clements examines the brilliant successes as well as the failures of Wilson’s public career as professor, president of Princeton University, governor of New Jersey, and president. Tempering the impression of Wilson as a stiff moralist, Mr. Clements reveals fascinating details of his periodic bouts of depression. But the recurrent themes of this balanced and engrossing portrait are Wilson’s deep idealism and his drive for leadership. “The best available one-volume biography of our twenty-eighth president.”—Nicholas C. Burckel, History. “Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman deserves to be widely read...Clements displays a keen eye for anecdote and for telling quotations. He shows excellent judgment in evaluating varying interpretations of events and is not afraid to offer opinions of his own...The book is clearly written and well-paced.”—John A. Garraty, Journal of American History. “An engaging and useful book...a balanced treatment of Wilson’s strengths and weaknesses, his triumphs and failures.”—Presidential Studies Quarterly.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA A well documented and summarized history in which Clements gives the background for and the moral reasons on which Wilson based his decisions. This easily read and understood book presents Wilson as the first president to hold office once most Americans had become aware of their nation's global reach. Wilson, like those who followed him, struggled to balance the protection of national interests, the rights of other peoples, and the promotion of national ideals in a world being radically transformed by war, revolution, and nationalism. This is a brief but excellent book about the period and about the complicated, far-sighted president who tried to establish the first world government, The League of Nations. Barbara Batty, Port Arthur Independent School District
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

An engaging and useful book...a balanced treatment of Wilson's strengths and weaknesses, his triumphs and failures. (Presidential Studies Quarterly )

Deserves to be read...clearly written, well paced, and not afraid to offer opinions of its own. (John A. Garraty Journal Of American History )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee; Revised edition (August 24, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566632676
• ISBN-13: 978-1566632676
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making Woodrow Wilson Accessible for Undergraduate Readers, May 29, 2000

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Michael H. Ebner (Lake Forest, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman (Paperback)

Since 1982 I have been assigning a term paper on the life of Woodrow Wilson that is largely the result of the 69-volume papers of Woodrow Wilson being available. I was always searching for a suitable up-to-date biography--as assigned reading--that would accompany this project. Over nearly twenty years I had tried several, but clearly Clements' is the most successful. Neither overly brief nor excessive in its length, it takes the students through Wilson's life in a comprehensible manner that has proven beneficial to my students. I can recommend this book to anyone who wishes to refresh their understanding of Wilson.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Forget Woodrow Wilson, July 21, 2002

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Rolland W. Amos (Severn, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman (Paperback)

Kendrick A. Clements "Woodrow Wilson" delivers what it promises -an excellent introductory study of our 28th president - in just 223 pages of text. Some readers may want more intimate details about Wilson and the people in his life; for them there are 11 additional pages of pertinent bibliographical information. Clement's brief book, nevertheless - billed as the 'best available one-volume biography' on Wilson - provides the reader with that essential information that prompts many historians to rank Wilson in the top tier of U.S. presidents. We learn, for example, that Wilson (our only Ph.D. president) was one of just a handful of our truly intellectual presidents - i.e., he loved books and ideas and was a voracious reader of books and a prolific writer of books. He was the son of a Presbyterian minister who'd instilled in him a love of his fellow man and a desire to serve his fellow man. Wilson - like Theodore Roosevelt before him - came to believe that the federal government is an organ that must be involved in helping those unable to help themselves. As president he pushed through legislation that protected workers, women, and children from abuse and exploitaton in the workplace. He believed in the capitalist system and in the prerequisite free market conditions; consequently, he fought against any practices employed by business or industry designed to create monopolies or restrict free competition. As president he felt obligated to be deeply involved in both legislative and executive branch activities - in order to better realize his domestic and foreign affairs goals. Wilson was a decent man with a wide range of significant accomplishments: after acquiring his Ph.D. (political science) at Johns Hopkins University, he distinguished himself in a number of capacities - as a college/university professor, university president (Princeton), governor (New Jersey) and U.S. president (2 terms). While he was in office women got the vote, the Federal Reserve Bank was established, the mechanism for funding government activities was changed (the graduated income tax was adopted to suplement less effective tariff and excise tax revenues). When U.S. entry into World War I became unavoidable, Wilson vowed that the war should end with something positive - namely, with a non-punitive peace (provided for in his '14 Point Plan' for peace)and with the creation of an organization that could prevent world wars in the future (he proposed the League of Nations). Because U.S. congressional opposition was more powerful Wilson failed to achieve these goals - but he did win a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Nevertheless, Wilson was correct in warning the world that a punitive peace would cause serious trouble in the future (aka Adolph Hitler), and he was correct in predicting that the world would eventually be forced to create a collective organization of nations (aka the United Nations) to resolve international disputes and to punish nations who violate international law. We now see that Wilson was also important as the transitional president who helped the United States abandon its 19th Century isolationist positions - and he did his best to push the country into the modern era (20th Century) when it would eventually accept and assume its duties and responsibilities as a leader among nations.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Extremely comprehensive, but lacking readability..., May 7, 2001

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Thomas Moody - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman (Paperback)

3 and 1/2 stars...An excellent one volume account of Wilson and probably the best analysis of his Presidency and policies that's available. My critique and the reason that it only gets 3 1/2 stars is because this book fails to put you into the early 1900's with Wilson and fails miserably (in my opinion) to give any "atmosphere" concerning that time or especially WWI. Precise analysis of all Wilson's actions are given, but no perspective, so it definately reads like a textbook. Worthwile for historical research, but not for general reading.