Americans have named schools, counties, rivers, cities, and even their own children after U.S. presidents. Their work is in our laws, their words adorn our monuments, and their countenances appear in a trillion places (mostly on our currency). As we prepare to decide who will be the 44th president of the United States, can we truly say we understand the office and its phenomenal history? What do we really know about the men who helped transform a struggling republic into a superpower?


Using detailed top-ten lists, historian Thomas R. Flagel offers a provocative new look at an astonishingly resilient institution. With diligent research, he explores the best, worst, largest, and most controversial facets of an office that some feared would become a monarchy, others hoped would represent all of the people, and John Adams wanted to call "High Highness, the President of the United States of America, and the Protector of their Liberties."


Chapters include: Elections: the closest races, the most vicious campaigns, and the biggest landslides Presidential Character: careers, hobbies, the most religious presidents, and the Machiavellians The Domestic Sphere: the biggest deficit spenders, the most ambitious programs, vetoes, pardons, and the worst fights with the Superme Courts Foreign Affairs: diplomats, doctrines, and ranking the commanders in chief The Inner Circle: first ladies and vexing relatives, construction and destruction in the White House, scandals at the highest level, and the real West Wing In Retrospect: the most underrated and overrated presidents, assassinations and attempted assassinations, and the greatest changes to the presidency itself