Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis - Hardcover

Mark K. Updegrove

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312388039 ISBN 13: 9780312388034

Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc., 2009

Synopsis

As the nation's next president stands to inherit crises at home and abroad, this extremely timely history will reveal how his predecessors dealt with challenges that were there from day one. George Washington guided a fragile and fledgling nation; Thomas Jefferson faced a bitter, bipartisan schism; John Tyler brought stability after the first death of a sitting president; Abraham Lincoln faced a 'house divided'; Franklin Roosevelt confronted the Great Depression; Harry Truman inherited World War II; John Kennedy took office at the height of the Cold War; and, Gerald Ford aimed to bring America out of the 'long, national nightmare' of Watergate. This is a must-read for anyone interested in U.S. history and politics, leadership, and the enormous responsibilities of the American president.

About this title

Review:

"Once again Mark Updegrove has written an incisive slice of U.S. presidential history. "Fire" ratchets up harrowing memories of our leaders from George Washington to Gerald Ford. A wonderful read."--Douglas Brinkley is Professor of History at Rice University"Mark Updegrove's "Baptism by Fire"is a splendid companion to John F. Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage"." --Patricia O'Toole, author of "When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House "and"The Five of Hearts: An Intimate Portrait of Henry Adams and His Friends. ""At a moment of surpreme peril, Lincoln told us, 'The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.' As Mark Updegrove vividly demonstrates in this superbly written volume, Lincoln was hardly unique in meeting the test he set out. . . .I can't imagine a more timely or original way of seeing ourselves."--Richard Norton Smith, Scholar in Residence, George Mason University

About the Author:

Mark K. Updegrove is the author of "Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House, " which won "ForeWord Magazine"'s Silver "Book of the Year" Award for Political Science. He served as publisher of "Newsweek, " Los Angeles manager of "Time, " and president of "Time" Canada, and has written for "American Heritage, ""The Nation, ""Time, " and "Worth." Currently, he is an advertising executive and lives outside Charleston, South Carolina.

About this edition

• Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc.
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0312388039
• ISBN 13: 9780312388034
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304