2011
First Published
3.25
Average Rating
232
Number of Pages
In this new biographical study of the only American ever to have been both President and Chief Justice of the United States, Jonathan Lurie reassesses William Howard Taft's multiple careers, which culminated in Taft's election to the presidency in 1908 as the chosen successor to Theodore Roosevelt. By 1912, however, the relationship between Taft and Roosevelt had ruptured. Lurie reexamines the Taft-Roosevelt friendship and concludes that it rested on flimsy ground. He also places Taft in a progressive context, taking Taft's own self-description as “a believer in progressive conservatism” as the starting point. At the end of his biography, Lurie concludes that this label is accurate when applied to Taft.
Avg Rating
3.25
Number of Ratings
20
5 STARS
10%
4 STARS
30%
3 STARS
40%
2 STARS
15%
1 STARS
5%
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Author
Jonathan Lurie
Author · 2 books
Jonathan Lurie is professor of history emeritus at Rutgers University.
