Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post and NPR “We come to see in FDR the magisterial, central figure in the greatest and richest political tapestry of our nation’s entire history” —Nigel Hamilton, Boston Globe “Meticulously researched and authoritative” —Douglas Brinkley, The Washington Post “A workmanlike addition to the literature on Roosevelt.” —David Nasaw, The New York Times “Dallek offers an FDR relevant to our sharply divided nation” —Michael Kazin “Will rank among the standard biographies of its subject” — Publishers Weekly A one-volume biography of Roosevelt by the #1 New York Times bestselling biographer of JFK, focusing on his career as an incomparable politician, uniter, and deal maker In an era of such great national divisiveness, there could be no more timely biography of one of our greatest presidents than one that focuses on his unparalleled political ability as a uniter and consensus maker. Robert Dallek’s Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life takes a fresh look at the many compelling questions that have attracted all his biographers: how did a man who came from so privileged a background become the greatest presidential champion of the country’s needy? How did someone who never won recognition for his intellect foster revolutionary changes in the country’s economic and social institutions? How did Roosevelt work such a profound change in the country’s foreign relations? For FDR, politics was a far more interesting and fulfilling pursuit than the management of family fortunes or the indulgence of personal pleasure, and by the time he became president, he had commanded the love and affection of millions of people. While all Roosevelt’s biographers agree that the onset of polio at the age of thirty-nine endowed him with a much greater sense of humanity, Dallek sees the affliction as an insufficient explanation for his transformation into a masterful politician who would win an unprecedented four presidential terms, initiate landmark reforms that changed the American industrial system, and transform an isolationist country into an international superpower. Dallek attributes FDR’s success to two remarkable political insights. First, unlike any other president, he understood that effectiveness in the American political system depended on building a national consensus and commanding stable long-term popular support. Second, he made the presidency the central, most influential institution in modern America’s political system. In addressing the country’s international and domestic problems, Roosevelt recognized the vital importance of remaining closely attentive to the full range of public sentiment around policy-making decisions—perhaps FDR’s most enduring lesson in effective leadership.

Why have recent presidents failed to create the change they promised? Should we blame the individual men, all flawed in their own ways? Or are there fundamental reasons why modern presidents fail to deliver, time and time again? In The Impossible Presidency, historian Jeremi Suri charts the long rise and quick fall of the world's most important job, from the 1790s to the present day. As he shows, early presidents greatly expanded the power of the office beyond the limited role envisioned by the founders. Suri argues that the immense accomplishments of Washington, Jackson, Lincoln and FDR left their successors with outsized and unrealistic expectations. John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Ronald Reagan lost control of their agendas as they were buffeted by the onrush of events and threats their predecessors never had to face. Clinton and Obama were propelled to the presidency by their personal stories but hamstrung by prurient, partisan, and prejudiced criticisms of their leadership. Contemporary presidents must react to a truly globalized world and a rapid twenty-four-our news cycle. There is little room left for bold, strategic thinking. Suri traces our disenchantment with recent presidents to the current mismatch between presidential promises and the limitations of the office.

David Cameron was elected Conservative leader in 2005, promising to modernize the party following its three successive electoral defeats. He became Prime Minister in 2010, forming Britain’s first coalition government in 70 years, at a moment of economic crisis, and went on to win the first outright Conservative majority for 23 years at the 2015 general election. In For the Record, he will explain how the governments he led transformed the UK economy while implementing a modern, compassionate agenda that included reforming education and welfare, legalizing gay marriage, honoring the UK’s commitment to overseas aid and spearheading environmental policies. He will shed light on the seminal world events of his premiership—the Arab Spring; the rise of ISIS; the invasion of Ukraine; the conflicts in Libya, Iraq and Syria—as well as events at home, from the Olympic Games in 2012 to the Scottish referendum. He will provide, for the first time, his perspective on the EU referendum and his views on the future of Britain’s place in the world following Brexit. Revealing the battles and achievements of his life and career in intimate and frank detail, For the Record will be an important assessment of the significant political events of the last decade, the nature of power and the role of leadership at a time of profound global change.

A powerfully moving biography of JFK by one of his closest friends and advisors. Sorensen's work was first published in 1965 when the wounds caused by the assassination had barely time to heal. It has remained a classic and is indispensable for an evaluation of Kennedy and his place in history.

On 13 May 1940, Winston Churchill stood before the House of Parliament to deliver his first speech as prime minister. German troops were advancing across Europe; Neville Chamberlain's government had fallen three days earlier. Churchill needed to prove himself an able leader, and he also needed to convince an unwilling nation to support his stand against Hitler. In this taut meditation on a great leader under great pressure, Lukacs demonstrates that Churchill delivered his triumphant speech despite his own sense that England might soon fall to Hitler's armies. A riveting portrait of leadership in its confrontation with radical evil, Lukacs's book is essential reading for WWII buffs, Churchill aficionadi, and anyone interested in leadership.

"The number of women who have ruled as queens or empresses, or governed as presidents or prime ministers, remains but a small subset of the total of those who have attained ultimate political power. But this elite group of women have reached the hights of political and ceremonial leadership, including some of the most charismatic figures." -- BOOK JACKET.

Near the end of his second term as president of France, Francois Mitterrand decided to talk openly about his life, both personal and political. President for fourteen years, longer than anyone else in the history of the French Republic, Mitterrand was interested not in constructing an elaborate memorial to himself in words but in leaving behind a living testament. He therefore turned to someone whom he knew and trusted, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, a close friend of many years, to join him in a vibrant, vigorous exchange. The topics they discuss in these pages are childhood, faith, war, power, writing, and those moments - however and whenever they arrive - that shape and sometimes define us as people. Mitterrand and Wiesel's dialogue is spontaneous, thoughtful, lyrical, blunt, far-reaching, and candid, whether it involves controversial moments in Mitterrand's political career, Wiesel's memories of Auschwitz, the importance of family and religion in their lives, or simply their favorite books and walks. Here is an unobstructed view into the lives and times of two of the greatest figures of conscience of our century, an inspiring memoir in two voices.