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America's Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton
The Constitution states that "no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States," yet it seems political nobility is as American as apple pie.
As Hess illustrates, while there always have been dynasties in America, they have not always been the same families: Dynasties are born and dynasties die, their rise and fall is part of the flux of a constantly changing political scene.
America was founded in rebellion against nobility and inherited status. Yet from the start, dynastic families have been conspicuous in national politics. The Adamses. The Lodges. The Tafts. The Roosevelts. The Kennedys. And today the Bushes and the Clintons.
Longtime presidential historian Stephen Hess offers an encyclopedic tour of the families that have loomed large over America's political history.
Starting with John Adams, who served as the young nation's first vice president and earned the nickname "His Rotundity," Hess paints the portraits of the men and women who, by coincidence, connivance, or sheer sense of duty, have made up America's political elite. There are the well-known dynasties such as the Roosevelts and the Kennedys, and the names that live on only in history books, such as the Bayards (six
generations of U.S. senators) and the Breckinridges (a vice president, two senators, and six representatives).
Hess fills the pages of America's Political Dynasties with anecdotes and personality-filled stories of the families who have given the United States more than a fair share of its presidents, senators, governors, ambassadors, and cabinet members.
This book also tells us the stories of the Bushes and what looks to be a political dynasty in waiting, the Clintons. Emblematic of America's growing diversity, Hess also examines how women, along with ethnic and racial minorities, have joined the ranks of dynastic political families.
800 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2015
About the author
Stephen Hess
48 booksLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 10, 2015
An excellent read! As a follower of politics and history, I thought that I was well versed in this subject. I can hardly believe how much Hess has added so much to my understanding. For example, I was not aware that there has been seventy five American families in which three members of the same name have held national office over more than one generation. Hess covers all of these "dynasties", some well known, some not. As far as current events go, I was very interested in the current Bush and Clinton dynasty talk. As Hess states, "What is fascinating about the Bushes and Clintons in terms of background, style, and personality is that they have nothing in common except a burning desire to get elected president of the United States. A nice irony is that while the Clintons are not a dynasty but would like to be one, the Bushes are a dynasty but deny that they are one". I am thoroughly impressed with this book, and cannot recommend it strongly enough. Bravo, Mr. Hess!
November 2, 2015
Does the United States of America really have political dynasties? If pushed, maybe most people would think of the Kennedy clan and possibly in more recent times the Bush family, but these are exceptions to the rule?
Well no, which may come as a surprise to many readers when they recall that America was founded through rebellion against nobility and inherited status. The author of this massive book shows that there are many dynasties and gives an in-depth, interesting and focussed look at these as well as projecting to maybe the next dynasty-in-waiting if Hilary Rodham Clinton gets her way…
One was easily overwhelmed by the sheer mass of this book. To a foreigner who has not needed to study America’s comparatively short political history this was an engaging, fascinating read. One can imagine that it may impact on interested American readers in a different way, whilst remaining an engaging, fascinating read. It could have been useful to have featured a little more background information for the ignorant foreigner (or U.S. citizen who slept through class) since the narrative did not always follow a chronological timeline; at times this led to some confusion and uncertainty, especially as it made various assumptions about the reader’s knowledge. Yet overall it is a small complaint when you look at the bigger picture.
It was interesting to read about the author’s motivation for writing this book, it being an updated version of something he wrote a half-century earlier, typed on an electronic typewriter he bought from a going-out-of-business sale of the Nixon-Lodge Presidential Campaign Headquarters in December 1960. The inspiration for the book came as a result of his reading habits while stationed in Germany as a soldier in the late 1950s; searching for something interesting to read in the camp library led him to stumble on “The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress” which listed every legislator since the Continental Congress of 1774 and curiosity took over after noting many names kept reappearing time after time. The dynasty hunter was hooked!
The Constitution of the United States is quite clear: “No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States” yet the author has calculated that 44 American political families have had at least four members of the same name elected to federal office, and in 75 families three members of the same name held national office. Take matters further and a further 48 “mix and match” dynasties exist through marriage. Fascinating in its own way; bolstered by the author’s profiling of 17 (possibly soon to be 18?) families who have established firm dynasties.
Reviewing a book of this kind is difficult; how do you review a behemoth of a reference book, even when the author has managed to find an interesting twist to bring a story to life. If you have no care about politics you probably won’t be set on fire by this book, yet it had a lot of interest to offer even to someone who is interested in general knowledge yet quite ignorant about American political history (keeping track of one’s own country’s politicians is enough!).
It won’t be for everyone, yet if it catches your eye it probably will deliver a lot and exceed your expectations. For that, at least, it is worthy of closer consideration.
America’s Political Dynasties, written by Stephen Hess and published by The Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 9780815727088. YYYYY
Autamme.com
Well no, which may come as a surprise to many readers when they recall that America was founded through rebellion against nobility and inherited status. The author of this massive book shows that there are many dynasties and gives an in-depth, interesting and focussed look at these as well as projecting to maybe the next dynasty-in-waiting if Hilary Rodham Clinton gets her way…
One was easily overwhelmed by the sheer mass of this book. To a foreigner who has not needed to study America’s comparatively short political history this was an engaging, fascinating read. One can imagine that it may impact on interested American readers in a different way, whilst remaining an engaging, fascinating read. It could have been useful to have featured a little more background information for the ignorant foreigner (or U.S. citizen who slept through class) since the narrative did not always follow a chronological timeline; at times this led to some confusion and uncertainty, especially as it made various assumptions about the reader’s knowledge. Yet overall it is a small complaint when you look at the bigger picture.
It was interesting to read about the author’s motivation for writing this book, it being an updated version of something he wrote a half-century earlier, typed on an electronic typewriter he bought from a going-out-of-business sale of the Nixon-Lodge Presidential Campaign Headquarters in December 1960. The inspiration for the book came as a result of his reading habits while stationed in Germany as a soldier in the late 1950s; searching for something interesting to read in the camp library led him to stumble on “The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress” which listed every legislator since the Continental Congress of 1774 and curiosity took over after noting many names kept reappearing time after time. The dynasty hunter was hooked!
The Constitution of the United States is quite clear: “No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States” yet the author has calculated that 44 American political families have had at least four members of the same name elected to federal office, and in 75 families three members of the same name held national office. Take matters further and a further 48 “mix and match” dynasties exist through marriage. Fascinating in its own way; bolstered by the author’s profiling of 17 (possibly soon to be 18?) families who have established firm dynasties.
Reviewing a book of this kind is difficult; how do you review a behemoth of a reference book, even when the author has managed to find an interesting twist to bring a story to life. If you have no care about politics you probably won’t be set on fire by this book, yet it had a lot of interest to offer even to someone who is interested in general knowledge yet quite ignorant about American political history (keeping track of one’s own country’s politicians is enough!).
It won’t be for everyone, yet if it catches your eye it probably will deliver a lot and exceed your expectations. For that, at least, it is worthy of closer consideration.
America’s Political Dynasties, written by Stephen Hess and published by The Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 9780815727088. YYYYY
Autamme.com
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews