Coolidge

Shlaes, Amity

3.79

6,895 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 0062119125 ISBN 13: 9780062119124

Publisher: Harperaudio, 2013

This brilliant and provocative reexamination of America's 30th president reveals a man who restored national trust in government, lived by example, suffered great tragedy, emphasized the importance of presidential humility and inspired optimism. Simultaneous.

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Review:

""Coolidge" is a welcome new biography of a great American president. Amity Shlaes shines fresh light on a leader of humble persistence who unexpectedly found himself in the presidency and whose faith in the American people helped restore prosperity during a period of great turmoil. Amidst today's economic hardships and an uncertain future, Shlaes illuminates a path forward -- making "Coolidge" a must-read for policymakers and citizens alike."--Paul Ryan

"Coolidge" is a welcome new biography of a great American president. Amity Shlaes shines fresh light on a leader of humble persistence who unexpectedly found himself in the presidency and whose faith in the American people helped restore prosperity during a period of great turmoil. Amidst today s economic hardships and an uncertain future, Shlaes illuminates a path forward -- making "Coolidge" a must-read for policymakers and citizens alike. --Paul Ryan"

History has paid little attention to the achievements of Coolidge because he seemed to be unduly passive. Yet Amity Shlaes, as his biographer, exposes the heroic nature of the man and brings to life one of the most vibrant periods in American economic history. --Alan Greenspan"

To read Amity Shlaes s well-crafted biography is to understand why Reagan so admired the famously reticent man whom Shlaes calls our great refrainer. --George F. Will"

Amity Shlaes s extraordinary biography describes how a single politician can change an entire political culture -- a story with plenty of echoes today. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, doyenne of the Washington salons, first disdained Coolidge, then admired him. After reading Coolidge, every reader will, too. --Anne Applebaum"

A marvelous book that is in many respects as subtle and powerful as Coolidge himself. Shlaes s masterly command of economics, policy, and personal portraiture illustrates the times, talents, character, and courage of the consummate New Englander. --Mark Helprin"

Coolidge is a welcome new biography of a great American president. Amity Shlaes shines fresh light on a leader of humble persistence who unexpectedly found himself in the presidency and whose faith in the American people helped restore prosperity during a period of great turmoil. Amidst today s economic hardships and an uncertain future, Shlaes illuminates a path forward -- making Coolidge a must-read for policymakers and citizens alike. --Paul Ryan"

Amity Shlaes s new biography carries a different and highly relevant message. . . . Read Coolidge, and better understand the forces bearing on the President and Congress almost a century later. --Paul Volcker"

Timely and important. . . . The research is exhaustive, and the political and economic analysis sound. --The Wall Street Journal"

With a deft finger on today s conservative pulse, Shlaes portrays Calvin Coolidge as a paragon of a president by virtue of his small-government policies. --The New York Times Book Review -- Editor's Choice"

From the Back Cover:

Calvin Coolidge, president from 1923 to 1929, never rated highly in polls, and history has remembered the decade in which he served as an extravagant period predating the Great Depression. Now Amity Shlaes provides a fresh look at the 1920s and its elusive president, showing that the mid-1920s was in fact a triumphant period that established our modern way of life: The nation electrified, Americans drove their first cars, and the federal deficit was replaced with a surplus. Coolidge is an eye-opening biography of the little-known president behind that era of remarkable growth and national optimism. Coolidge's trademark discipline and composure, Shlaes reveals, represented not weakness but strength, and he proved unafraid to take on the divisive issues of this crucial period: reining in public sector unions, unrelentingly curtailing spending, and rejecting funding for new interest groups. He reduced the federal budget even as the economy grew, wages rose, taxes fell, and unemployment dropped.

In this magisterial biography, Amity Shlaes captures the remarkable story of Calvin Coolidge and the decade of extraordinary prosperity that grew from his leadership.

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