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From the New York Times bestselling author of The American Story and How to Lead and host of PBS's History with David Rubenstein—David Rubenstein interviews living American presidents and top historians and journalists who reflect on the US presidency, including Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Maggie Haberman, Ron Chernow, and more.
For years, bestselling author David M. Rubenstein has distilled the contours of American democracy through conversations with noted leaders and historians. In The Highest Calling, he offers an enlightening overview of arguably the single most important position in the world: the American presidency.
Blending history and anecdote, Rubenstein chronicles the journeys of the presidents who have defined America as it exists now, what they envision for its future, and their legacy on the world stage. Drawing from his own experience in the Carter administration, he engages in dialogues with our nation's presidents and the historians who study them. Get exclusive access to fresh perspectives, including:
-Original interviews with most of the living US presidents
-Interviews with noted presidential historians like Annette Gordon-Reed, Ron Chernow, Candice Millard, and more
Through "chatty, insightful, and enlightening" (The Wall Street Journal) analysis, Rubenstein captures our country's most prominent leaders, the political genius and frays of the presidential role, and the wisdom that emerges from it.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 10, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781668067734
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781668067734
- File size: 3703 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 1, 2024
Rubenstein, best-selling author and host of PBS's History with David Rubenstein, considers the U.S. presidency through interviews with officeholders and historians. By talking with most of the living presidents, and scholars such as Jon Meacham and Annette Gordon-Reed, he considers how these men have defined the nation. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2024 Library Journal
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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September 1, 2024
A look at the American presidency stressing the diversity of those who have held the office. Businessman and philanthropist Rubenstein's new book follows in the path of his previous ones (The American Story, 2019, etc.): It's a collection of interviews, this one with experts on U.S. presidents, plus four with former presidents. The goal, he writes in an introduction, "is to remind readers how truly different our presidents have been in their backgrounds, personalities, goals, and perspectives, and how these differences can really shape, for the good or bad, the country and the world." It's a fairly self-evident thesis, and for the most part the interviews yield little by way of surprises. In an interview with George Washington scholar Douglas Bradburn, Rubenstein asks questions such as, "Did he enjoy being president?" and "How did Washington die?" The questions sound even more contrived when Rubenstein inquires of historian Annette Gordon-Reed, regarding Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved Sally Hemings, "Why couldn't they just get married? It was against the law?" He knows the answers, of course, so this rhetorical interview technique is jarring in print. Rubenstein fares better when he talks to actual presidents, including Bill Clinton (along with Hillary Rodham Clinton) and Joe Biden, but it would be a stretch to say there's much new in those either. Rubenstein comes across as genial and enthusiastic, but it's unclear exactly whom this book is for, besides would-be presidential history buffs who are just now learning about the subject. Entry-level sketches of former leaders of the free world: sometimes awkward, only occasionally interesting.COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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