We the Presidents★

Eighteen presidents, beginning with Warren G. Harding and ending with Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (with a brief mention of the second Trump Administration), are covered in broad strokes and engaging detail in this 2022 title, fully updated for the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American Independence. Gruner’s approach strives to be nonpartisan and critically evaluative of all the presidents since Harding’s inauguration in 1921. He succeeds in weaving together the historical threads of the American story with a special focus on issues currently generating much interest, such as healthcare, immigration, taxation, and civil rights. The prevailing theme is that Americans continue to struggle with the role of the federal government in their lives. The epilogue, connecting Washington’s 1796 farewell address to the challenges of today’s political environment, shows that the American Experiment has lessons for readers to fully consider before the country can move into its next 250 years.

Gruner quickly connects moments of the past to the leading issues of the day. His exploration of immigration echoes actions and discussions that reach back nearly to the founding of the republic. A particularly strong section of the book is his coverage of the Clinton White House, where the author illustrates the decline of trust in government and the rise of political savagery in presidential campaigns (Willie Horton is mentioned here even though that topic was introduced in the Democratic primaries in 1988), along with the decline in US-Russian relations that Gruner traces back to actions taken by presidents or administrations in the 1930s and 1940s.

Generous use of statistics and charts will have thoughtful readers, even at the high school and college level, cross-checking and delving deeper into topics of interest as they arise. The author’s matter-of-fact tone and refreshing bipartisan evaluations, offering well-earned praise and scorn for presidents of either party, make for interesting, thought-provoking reading in our current age of echo chambers and biased political analysis on so many fronts. At 770 pages, the book is arduous, but worth it, with staggering endnotes and bibliographic references meticulously laid out in the back matter. An Open Shelf starred review.