Presidential Power and The Modern Presidents: Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

This book re-examines the theory and practice of presidential leadership. It considers events and decisions in the administrations of the presidents who followed FDR, Truman and Eisenhower and appraises the styles and skills of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter and Reagan. Richard E. Neustadt presents research and analysis on the judgement of presidential leadership and creates a framework of the modern president. In an effort to identify what America uses to measure the success of a president and his leadership, Presidential Power and the Modern President approaches the president himself by looking directly at his influence on governmental action. From Roosevelt to Reagan, Neustadt examines presidential success and suggests a theory of presidential power, testing it against the events in the administrations of postwar presidents.