| Chester Alan Arthur (The American Presidents)
(2004)
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| Front Cover |
Book Details |
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| Genre |
Biography; Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886; Presidents - United States - Biography; United States - Politics And Government - 1881-1885 |
| Publication Date |
6/21/2004 |
| Format |
Hardcover (8.0
x
5.4
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Times Books |
| Language |
English |
| Extras |
Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover; Remainder |
|
| Description |
| The Gilded Age bon vivant who became America's unlikeliest chief executive-and who presided over a sweeping reform of the system that nurtured him Chester Alan Arthur never dreamed that one day he would be president of the United States. A successful lawyer, Arthur had been forced out as the head of the Custom House of the Port of New York in 1877 in a power struggle between the two wings of the Republican Party. He became such a celebrity that he was nominated for vice president in 1880-despite his never having run for office before. Elected alongside James A. Garfield, Arthur found his life transformed just four months into his term, when an assassin shot and killed Garfield, catapulting Arthur into the presidency. The assassin was a deranged man who thought he deserved a federal job through the increasingly corrupt "spoils system." To the surprise of many, Arthur, a longtime beneficiary of that system, saw that the time had come for reform. His opportunity came in the winter of 1882-83, when he pushed through the Pendleton Act, which created a professional civil service and set America on a course toward greater reforms in the decades to come. Chester Arthur may be largely forgotten today, but Zachary Karabell eloquently shows how this unexpected president-of whom so little was expected-rose to the occasion when fate placed him in the White House. |
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| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E692 .K37 2004 |
| Dewey |
973.84092 |
| ISBN |
9780805069518 |
| Cover Price |
$20.00 |
| No. of Pages |
192 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
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| Notes/Review |
This is, by far, the shortest of the whole life biographies of US presidents I've read to date. It's one of the American Presidents series. Books in the series tend to be short, given the aim of the series to "present the grand panorama of our chief executives in volumes compact enough for the busy reader". Given the general view of Arthur's presidency I felt he was the best president to read from this series. A lightweight book for a lightweight president? Perhaps.
Most of the presidential biographies I've read begin a generation or more before their subject's birth. This one doesn't go back past his birth and uses only a few pages to launch him on his political career.
Arthur was elected to only one office in his entire life - that of vice president. His prior political career consisted of appointed office, and he gained the presidency after the assassination of Garfield. Most Americans don't even recognize his name; they have no idea he was president. He was neither loved nor hated. Today he is forgotten.
I feel the book was well written and treats the subject fairly, neither making him a hero nor a villain.
Includes index, bibliography, and chronology but no notes. |
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