Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Books

From his entrance into Democratic leadership circles in the 1950s through his years in the Kennedy administration and up until his last days, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., was always at the vital center of American politics. For more than half a century, the master historian recorded his experiences and opinions in journals that together form an intimate chronicle of life at the highest levels of American politics and culture in postwar America. This extraordinary volume contains his candid thoughts about the signal events of our time, from the Bay of Pigs to the devastating assassinations of the 1960s, from Vietnam to Watergate, and from the fall of the Soviet Union to Bush v. Gore. Filled with Schlesinger's trademark acerbic wit and tremendous insight, Journals is a fitting tribute to a most remarkable American life.

As special assistant to the president, Arthur Schlesinger witnessed firsthand the politics and personalities that influenced the now legendary Kennedy administration. Schlesingers close relationship with JFK, as a politician and as a friend, has resulted in this authoritative yet intimate account in which the president walks through the pages, from first to last, alert, alive, amused and amusing (John Kenneth Galbraith). A THOUSAND DAYS is at once a masterly literary achievement and a work of major historical significance (New York Times).

What does it mean to be an American? Is the republic a unified whole or a collection of disparate ethnic groups? In this book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr, examines the changing face of American history and shows how an increasing focus on ethnicity has affected life both in academic circles and on the street.

The Crisis of the Old Order, 1919-1933 , volume one of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.’s Age of Roosevelt series, is the first of three books that interpret the political, economic, social, and intellectual history of the early twentieth century in terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the spokesman and symbol of the period. Portraying the United States from the Great War to the Great Depression, The Crisis of the Old Order covers the Jazz Age and the rise and fall of the cult of business. For a season, prosperity seemed permanent, but the illusion came to an end when Wall Street crashed in October 1929. Public trust in the wisdom of business leadership crashed too. With a dramatist’s eye for vivid detail and a scholar’s respect for accuracy, Schlesinger brings to life the era that gave rise to FDR and his New Deal and changed the public face of the United States forever.

From two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., comes one of the most important and influential investigations of the American presidency. The Imperial Presidency traces the growth of presidential power over two centuries, from George Washington to George W. Bush, examining how it has both served and harmed the Constitution and what Americans can do about it in years to come. The book that gave the phrase “imperial presidency” to the language, this is a work of “substantial scholarship written with lucidity, charm, and wit” (The New Yorker).

- Compelling portraits of American history's most notable male and female leaders- Includes informative sidebars- Interesting, easy-to-understand content- Complements school curriculum