The American Presidency

by Charles O. Jones

Presidential authority Charles O. Jones provides a marvelously concise survey of the American presidency that

Genres: History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Charles O. Jones (born 1931) is Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is a graduate of the University of South Dakota and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has been a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Guggenheim fellow. He is a leading scholar of American politics. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow in the Governmental Studies Program at The Brookings Institution. Jones has written or edited 18 books and contributed over 100 articles and book chapters.

Reviews

[Wenshi Gao · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the executive branch of American government, the president presidency evolved.Read in Blinkist.

[Anthony Bergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Review originally posted on Dead Presidents)

The American Presidency (A Brief Insight)
By Charles O. Jones
Hardcover. 214 pages.
2009. Sterling Publishing

Someone once asked me what books I would make required reading if I were to teach a class about the Presidents, and I chose books that focused more on the individuals and their respective Presidencies instead of books that covered the institution of the Presidency.  I did this because most books about the Presidency itself are bulky, lengthy, and often boring.  Scholarly works about the institution -- the office, its responsibilities and duties, its history and evolution -- can't normally be classified as easy-to-read while maintaining its purpose.

This is no longer the case.  In The American Presidency, from Sterling Publishing's Brief Insights series (2009. Sterling Publishing), Charles O. Jones has written an academic view of the institution of the Presidency that is scholarly, informative, readable, and concise.  Jones, the Hawkins Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found a way to somehow squeeze a class about the Presidency into 214 pages and chronicle the biography of the highest office in the land from its conception during the drafting of the Constitution through its many changes since 1787 and to its current incarnation today.

The American Presidency is the best kind of textbook -- one that isn't designed to be textbook, but ends up being so authoritative on the subject it covers that it is, by default, the best possible source.  I'm not sure that Dr. Jones meant for this Brief Insights installment to be used in a classroom setting, but it is a credit to his ability as a writer and a Presidential scholar that his book would be perfect in that capacity.

Beyond its value as a succinct yet enlightening view on the Presidential politics and institutional history, The American Presidency is, quite simply, a cool-looking book.  It's small, colorful, and is filled with great photos and illustrations in both color and black-and-white.  Dr. Jones has also included helpful tables to further display information on the duties, responsibilities, and history of the Presidency.

If you are studying the Presidency and need an all-encompassing history of the office, its purpose, its history, and its always-changing role in American government and life, The American Presidency by Charles O. Jones, from Sterling Publishing's Brief Insights series is the only book you'll need.  If you're not studying the Presidency, it's still an entertaining and informative read, and that's a credit to its author and his knowledge on the subject.

Get The American Presidency (A Brief Insight) by Charles O. Jones at your local bookstore or Amazon today.  Also, be sure to check out Sterling Publishing's Brief Insights series, where you'll be able to find similarly engaging and illuminating books on a wide-range of subjects.