The President as Leader

by Erwin C. Hargrove

Book Overview

Few issues have clung to the presidency in recent years as tenaciously as that of moral leadership. This timely book, based on a lifetime of personal observation by an award-winning author, examines the politics of ideals to propose that, just as moral purpose without political craft is weak, political acumen without moral appeal is futile.

Looking back to the timeless political theories of Aristotle and Machiavelli, Erwin C. Hargrove asks...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0700609962
• ISBN13: 9780700609963
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

The nexus of theory and empirics

This book is enormously interesting. The study of the presidency has evolved from biographical insights, to cumulative insight, to quantitative and formal modeling. Hargrove provides an interesting middle ground by constructing a foundation for analysis which harkens back to the big questions of politics (from Aristotelian rhetoric onward) and applies them to the study of the American presidency. Some insights are profound, others the stuff of common sense. Regardless, he provides a novel way to think about the presidency and does a great service to all who want to truly further their understanding of the institution.

Very good theory about the presidency

While the book looks like a good deal of other theory books, it differs in that it is quite easy to read. Even though Hargrove's ideas sometimes seem like common sense, I've refered back to them on many occasions when reading about presidents and their actions. I recommend it to anyone who wants to further understand motives in the presidency.