Where They Stand

The American Presidents in the Eyes of Voters and Historians

Biography & Memoir, Political, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Where They Stand by Robert W. Merry, Simon & Schuster
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert W. Merry ISBN: 9781451625431
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication: June 26, 2012
Imprint: Simon & Schuster Language: English
Author: Robert W. Merry
ISBN: 9781451625431
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication: June 26, 2012
Imprint: Simon & Schuster
Language: English

The author of the acclaimed biography of President James Polk, A Country of Vast Designs, offers a fresh, playful, and challenging way of playing “Rating the Presidents,” by pitching historians’ views and subsequent experts’ polls against the judgment and votes of the presidents’ own contemporaries.

Merry posits that presidents rise and fall based on performance, as judged by the electorate. Thus, he explores the presidency by comparing the judgments of historians with how the voters saw things. Was the president reelected? If so, did his party hold office in the next election?

Where They Stand examines the chief executives Merry calls “Men of Destiny,’’ those who set the country toward new directions. There are six of them, including the three nearly always at the top of all academic polls—Lincoln, Washington, and FDR. He describes the “Split-Decision Presidents’’ (including Wilson and Nixon)—successful in their first terms and reelected; less successful in their second terms and succeeded by the opposition party. He describes the “Near Greats’’ (Jefferson, Jackson, Polk, TR, Truman), the “War Presidents’’ (Madison, McKinley, Lyndon Johnson), the flat-out failures (Buchanan, Pierce), and those whose standing has fluctuated (Grant, Cleveland, Eisenhower).

This voyage through our history provides a probing and provocative analysis of how presidential politics works and how the country sets its course. Where They Stand invites readers to pitch their opinions against the voters of old, the historians, the pollsters—and against the author himself. In this year of raucous presidential politics, Where They Stand will provide a context for the unfolding campaign drama.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The author of the acclaimed biography of President James Polk, A Country of Vast Designs, offers a fresh, playful, and challenging way of playing “Rating the Presidents,” by pitching historians’ views and subsequent experts’ polls against the judgment and votes of the presidents’ own contemporaries.

Merry posits that presidents rise and fall based on performance, as judged by the electorate. Thus, he explores the presidency by comparing the judgments of historians with how the voters saw things. Was the president reelected? If so, did his party hold office in the next election?

Where They Stand examines the chief executives Merry calls “Men of Destiny,’’ those who set the country toward new directions. There are six of them, including the three nearly always at the top of all academic polls—Lincoln, Washington, and FDR. He describes the “Split-Decision Presidents’’ (including Wilson and Nixon)—successful in their first terms and reelected; less successful in their second terms and succeeded by the opposition party. He describes the “Near Greats’’ (Jefferson, Jackson, Polk, TR, Truman), the “War Presidents’’ (Madison, McKinley, Lyndon Johnson), the flat-out failures (Buchanan, Pierce), and those whose standing has fluctuated (Grant, Cleveland, Eisenhower).

This voyage through our history provides a probing and provocative analysis of how presidential politics works and how the country sets its course. Where They Stand invites readers to pitch their opinions against the voters of old, the historians, the pollsters—and against the author himself. In this year of raucous presidential politics, Where They Stand will provide a context for the unfolding campaign drama.

More books from Simon & Schuster

Cover of the book Neil Flambé and the Crusader's Curse by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book The Benefit and The Burden by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book The Game for a Lifetime by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Clips of the Week by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Spy School by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book The Anastasia Syndrome by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Love from A to Z by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Into the Abyss by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Last Car to Elysian Fields by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Nest by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Sex Collectors by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Monkey Mind by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book The Cold Moon by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book Escape From Davao by Robert W. Merry
Cover of the book The Christmas Box Miracle by Robert W. Merry
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy