Description: McDonald explores how and why the presidency has evolved into such a complex and powerful institution, unlike any other in the world. He chronicles the presidency's creation, implementation, and evolution and explains why it's still working today despite its many perceived afflictions.
Review Quotes:
"Forrest McDonald makes history breathe."--New York Times
"A trenchant and provocative essay on ambiguities and dilemmas of the American presidency. It raises significant questions and throws out significant insights."--Times Literary Supplement
"Instructive and valuable, full of perceptive observations and free of cant and cliché"--New York Times Book Review
"A lucid, insightful, and well-researched analysis of the creation, establishment, and development of the presidency."--Choice
"This book was a pleasure to read. Knowledgeable and insightful, it is the work of a seasoned historian who has earned the right to make the strong judgments that he does. Above all, however, this book provokes us to ponder deeply the health not only of the presidency but of the whole regime."--Review of Politics
"This is a wonderfully instructive and entertaining book."--Journal of Southern History
"This intellectual history will assuredly prove profitable for both introductory and advance students."--American Review of Politics
"This thought-provoking work deserves the serious consideration of any reader interested in the American presidency."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
"[McDonald] recounts the growth of the national state, while expressing skepticism about its consequences. Even those holding different ideological views will find McDonald's perspective refreshing and generally judicious."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"An epic undertaking, meticulously researched and footnoted, written in the conversational style that readers have come to enjoy in McDonald's works."--Modern Age