Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Warren G. Harding : (The American Presidents Series) by John W. Dean, Arthur M. Schlesinger ISBN: 0-8050-6956-9 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 07 January, 2004 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (9 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: An Attempt at Rehabilitation
Comment: John W. Dean sets himself up a formidable task in his mini-biography of Warren G. Harding, the latest in the "American Presidents" series. Harding is generally considered by historians to be one of the worst presidents in history, if not at the absolute bottom of the barrel. His administration was marred by the nastiest White House scandal until Watergate half a century later. How can such a tarnished figure be rehabilitated?
Yet that's exactly what Dean has tried to do, with mixed results. Dean says in his Introduction that Harding has been the victim of a grave injustice by historians who have ignored "much of the relevant information about Harding and his presidency." This is a personal matter with Dean, who has long been fascinated with Harding and who grew up in Harding's hometown of Marion, Ohio. So Dean definitely has an agenda to portray Harding in as positive a light as he possibly can, given the facts.
And what are those facts? Dean claims that Nan Britton, who wrote a best-selling book after the president's death claiming that she and Harding had had an affair in the White House and that he fathered her illegitimate daughter, was nothing but an infatuated stalker (keep in mind that Clinton's people once posited the same thing about Monica Lewinsky). He claims that Harding dealt harshly and, in the words of one historian, "quite appropriately" with those people in his administration who were acting improperly, even though he was unaware of the full extent of their criminality, which would stain his administration after his untimely death. Dean devotes an entire chapter (in a book that only has nine of them) to the composition of Harding's cabinet and claims that "no president before or after Harding has done any better at cabinet making." This is a remarkable statement, and a bit of an exaggeration. I would suggest that he take a look at George Washington's cabinet, which included at various times John Jay, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton (and, if you feel like including the Vice President, John Adams) and did not, as Harding's cabinet did, include a future convicted felon.
So Dean has not altogether convinced me that Harding was a great president maligned by ignorant historians. He has convinced me, though, that there might be somewhat more to Harding than the memorable (if nasty) "just a slob" label put on him by the amusingly viperish Alice Roosevelt Longworth (daughter of Teddy). And while Harding's prose style (labeled "Gamalielese" after his Biblical middle name by H.L. Mencken) is enough to set anyone's teeth on edge ("it is so bad," Mencken memorably said of it, "that a sort of grandeur creeps into it"), and his administration, which was one of the shortest in history, didn't have time to accomplish anything memorable, Dean makes the case, without quite intending to, that Harding was a decent enough man who was in over his head and who died of overwork trying to live up to the job of being president. That might be as much of a reevaluation as Harding is ever going to get.
Rating: 1
Summary: John Dean should not write history
Comment: While the major networks and NPR are going crazy over Mr. Dean's latest "revelation," I think it is important to remember who and what John Dean is. Even before his brief time with the Nixon administration, Dean had been fired by his former law firm for engaging in suspicious and illegal activities and that was only the begining. After becoming special counsel to the President, Mr. Dean stole Whitehouse money to pay for his honeymoon and most likely stole funds for other purposes. Furthermore, his wife, Maureen Biner, had ran a Washington prostitute ring to help pay for the couples life in the fast lane. Most recently, Dean had to admit that he didn't write the book "Blind Ambition" while under oath.
While Dean would like to make you think he was involved with major decisions during the Nixon Administration, nothing could be further from the truth. Since Dean had shaggy hair and refused to wear an American lapel pin, Nixon would use him for press photo opportunities to appease the anti-Nixon media. On the other hand, Dean was heavily involved with the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP)and there is new evidence that suggests that Dean may have even ordered the Watergate break-in.
After Dean became "aware" of his criminal conduct, he jumped ship and told the Ervin Committee that he would reveal all that he knew if they would give him immunity. So, Dean cut his hair and bought a pair of horned rimmed glasses to look more credible, and gave a very self-serving testimony. Unfortunately for Dean, the committee decided not to give him immunity and he went to prison anyway.
"Worse Than Watergate" is a ridiculous comparison of Nixon and George W. Bush's "secrecy." First of all, Dean wasn't even close enough to Nixon to observe his behavior so there is no way that he could even compare the two Presidents. Furthermore, let us not forget the positives of Nixon's secret diplomacy, such as the China iniative that forever changed the stucture of the world or the Moscow trip, in which President Nixon became the first U.S. President to set foot in the Kremlin and signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. None of these magnificent feats would been accomplished if they were not done in secret because anyone who knows anything about the Chinese or the Russians know that they care about 'face' and they are not going to negotiate in public where they could possibly lose 'face.'
Despite popular misperceptions, the Cambodia bombing was not secret and that is why the Democratic Congress could not impeach Nixon for this fabled offense (although they did try but realized that it would be hypocritical to impeach someone for something that was not secret). Furthermore, there was no 'enemies list.' What came to called the enemies list was a list of people that Chuck Colson made of political opponents of the Nixon Administration. They were legally investigated by the IRS and the press members were denied various White House privileges. These ideas and practices were nothing new, JFK and LBJ had both used this practice against their opponents, including Nixon, his mother, and his good friend the Reverend Billy Graham.
In conclusion, the point is that historically John Wesley Dean III has only ever cared about one thing and no, it is not justice, it is not governmental reform, but it is infact the welfare and reputation of John Wesley Dean III. It is most likely that a publisher encouraged Dean to release the book at this time and Dean has never been one to miss out on a self-serving opportunity.
Furthermore, John Dean has no qualifications to write any sort of history. If academia has gotten on Stephen Ambrose's case for plaugerizing, it should be reccommended that Dean's books never be taken seriously. It does not help that Schlisinger, famous for his fictitious and dishonesty glorifications of the Kennedys, is also on the book.
Rating: 4
Summary: Sympathetic look at America's 29th President
Comment: When was the last time you read anything about our 29th President? Most folks would have to admit that they have not encountered the subject since high school. In most textbooks and indeed by most historical accounts Warren Harding was an incompetent President who was dogged by scandal. Not so says John Dean!!!! Dean has written a very engaging little book that takes yet another look at Warren Harding's brief Presidency. According to Dean, history has been quite unfair to the man. Using recently unearthed documents previously thought to have been destroyed, Dean portrays Harding as a personally engaging fellow and a predominately centrist President. Alas, he was betrayed by several of his appointees, most notably Interior Secretary Albert Fall and an old chum from Ohio, the Attorney General William Dougherty. But Harding died just as the Teapot Dome scandal began to erupt. He
was not around to defend himself but there appears to be precious little evidence that Harding was directly involved in the scandals in any way. Is this just revisionist history? Hard to say. But John Dean is quite convincing in his presentation. I am compelled to read more about Harding before reaching any final conclusions. If you are a history buff who has not yet partaken of any of the books in Arthur Schlesinger's American Presidents Series you a doing yourself a serious disservice. I have read a few of them now and they are top notch!!!
 |
Title: James K. Polk: 1845 - 1849: The American Presidents Series by John Seigenthaler, Arthur M. Schlesinger ISBN: 0805069429 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
 |
Title: William McKinley : (The American Presidents Series) by Kevin Phillips, Arthur M. Schlesinger ISBN: 0805069534 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
 |
Title: George Washington : (The American Presidents Series) by James MacGregor Burns, Susan Dunn ISBN: 0805069364 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 07 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
 |
Title: Franklin Delano Roosevelt : (The American Presidents Series) by Roy Jenkins, Arthur M. Schlesinger ISBN: 0805069593 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
 |
Title: Rutherford B. Hayes: 1877 - 1881: (The American Presidents Series) by Hans Trefousse, Arthur M. Schlesinger ISBN: 0805069089 Publisher: Times Books Pub. Date: 05 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
