Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 330
Trim: 0 x 0
978-0-7425-6284-4 • Hardback • July 2008 • $115.00 • (£88.00)
978-0-7425-6285-1 • Paperback • July 2008 • $41.00 • (£32.00)
978-0-7425-6339-1 • eBook • July 2008 • $39.00 • (£30.00)
Richard M. Pious is Adolf S. and Effie E. Ochs Professor of American Studies in the political science department at Barnard College and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
Chapter 1 Introduction: Presidential Fiascoes
Chapter 2
Chapter 1. Reputation: Eisenhower and the U-2 Flights
Chapter 3
Chapter 2. Power Stakes: Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs
Chapter 4
Chapter 3. Compellence: Johnson and the Vietnam Escalation
Chapter 5
Chapter 4. Command: Ford and the Mayaguez
Chapter 6
Chapter 5. Rhetoric: Carter and the Energy Crisis
Chapter 7
Chapter 6. Prerogative: Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair
Chapter 8
Chapter 7. Gamesmanship: Bush and the Budget
Chapter 9
Chapter 8. Program Innovation: Clinton and Health Care
Chapter 10
Chapter 9. Parallel Governance: Bush and Iraqi WMD
Chapter 11
Chapter 10. Presidents Unbound: Crises of Authority and Legitimacy
Chapter 12
Chapter 11. Risk and Resilience: Toward a White House Learning Curve
As Richard Pious traces the anatomy of presidential failures, he argues that, under conditions of high pressure and great uncertainty, presidents too often engage in ?situational constitutionalism? and fail to distinguish between their personal stakes andthe nation?s best interests. His carefully reconstructed and detailed case studies do not present merely the conventional wisdom about some obvious presidential blunders, but include incisive analyses of the underlying dynamics of presidential failures that contain important lessons for future presidents and citizens alike...
— James Pfiffner
This well-written work, which includes extensive footnotes and resources for further study, is recommended for academic libraries.
— Library Journal
His particular lens of anaylsis deepens our understanding of how presidents come to make failed policy choices.
— Public Administration Review
Pious has researched each case in great detail, yielding much information that may be new to readers, and provides a thorough bibliography. Appropriate for high school and college study, this will also have great appeal for devotees of poli-sci and presidential history.
— Publishers Weekly
Government executives, for their part, should be required to study this book closely and incorporate the lessons of executive failure. Highly recommended.
— CHOICE
Why Presidents Fail will engage students and educate us all. Filled with wisdom and innovative thinking, it is a volume everyone interested in the presidency will want to read.
— Presidential Studies Quarterly