Presidential Ambition: How the Presidents Gained Power, Kept Power, and Got Things Done

I only wish Mr. Shenkman had more books out there. I read his "Revere" and "One Night Stands" book when I was in high school, but "Presidential Ambition" is where the author arrived at a new level. I could not put it down and have read it twice. I wish he'd re-issue it with GW Bush added in. This puts most of the Presidents on trial and turns the light on all the dirt associated with everyone from Polk to Pierce to Cleveland and even non-entities like Garfield and Arthur. I read so many things in this book that I had never heard of before (And 80% of the books I read are on Presidents): Pierce had an entire town destroyed. Benjamin Harrison turned a blind eye in the ousting of Hawaii's Queen (since she wasn't white). There's even a tale of a night when white citizens in Tacoma made all the Chinese of that town leave at gunpoint during Cleveland's administration (who didn't see fit to do anything about it since they weren't a decent sized voting block). Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again. Fascinating. Just fascinating. Leave your ridiculous Presidential pedestal at home 'cause he's knockin' 'em off one by one.

This book offers a fascinating insight into the lives of some of the men who have held the office of President. The author maintains that as times have gotten more complex, presidents are pressured to break the rules, lie and lend themselves to scandal to maintain political power. Shenkman poses and interesting question when he asks if the system is flawed or the individuals. He fairly concludes that both are flawed and proceeds to give example after example of how different presidents manipulated situations and circumstances to achieve and maintain their presidential ambitions. The thing that I liked best about this book is that it spotlights some obscure presidents that you rarely hear about such as James K. Polk, James Buchanan and Chester A. Arthur. I particularly found the chapter on Franklin Pierce very interesting. He had high presidential ambitions but at the same time, he had to keep his ambitions a secret from his wife because she did not want him involved in politics. The book does an excellent job of covering presidential amibitions up until the Eisenhower administration. After this, the author gives an abbreviated view of the Cold War, Vietnam and Watergate. I found this to be strange because it would seem that this period of American history would provide the most blatant examples fo men manipulating events and circumstances to maintain power and shape policy. In anycase, this was the only shortcoming that I didn't like but overall it is a very good easy to read book that is well worth your time.

As we get closer to the next Presidential election, Shenkman's book offered me a different way to look at history and think about office of the President. The book gives brief and easy to follow history and enabled me to put past presidents in the context of the events that surrouned their term and really created their drive to the White House. I definitely recommend it.

Shenkmans work is a must read for those who want to know the truth about our presidents. Shown warts and all, Shenkman seems to revel in pulling the cloak of greatness from these men. It's still heartening, none the less. He shows that crooked politicians are not a new phenomenon and that private moral behavior doesn't have to affect public behavior

This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who wishes to truly understand the Presidency and all its implications. Rick Shenkman is a genius!