Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America by Jared Cohen (PDF)

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Accidental Presidents looks at eight men who came to the office without being elected to it. It demonstrates how the character of the man in that powerful seat affects the nation and world.Eight men have succeeded to the presidency when the incumbent died in office. In one way or another they vastly changed our history. Only Theodore Roosevelt would have been elected in his own right. Only TR, Truman, Coolidge, and LBJ were re-elected. John Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison who died 30 days into his term. He was kicked out of his party and became the first president threatened with impeachment. Millard Fillmore succeeded esteemed General Zachary Taylor. He immediately sacked the entire cabinet and delayed an inevitable Civil War by standing with Henry Clay’s compromise of 1850. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded our greatest president, sided with remnants of the Confederacy in Reconstruction. Chester Arthur, the embodiment of the spoils system, was so reviled as James Garfield’s successor that he had to defend himself against plotting Garfield’s assassination; but he reformed the civil service. Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts. Calvin Coolidge silently cooled down the Harding scandals and preserved the White House for the Republican Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression. Truman surprised everybody when he succeeded the great FDR and proved an able and accomplished president. Lyndon B. Johnson was named to deliver Texas electorally. He led the nation forward on Civil Rights but failed on Vietnam. Accidental Presidents adds immeasurably to our understanding of the power and limits of the American presidency in critical times.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “What a delightful book and brilliant concept! Jared Cohen treats us to some of the most colorful and momentous episodes in our history when we unexpectedly got a new president. He reveals the historic importance of some lesser-known leaders, such as John Tyler and Millard Fillmore, and highlights the greatness of Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson. Through their fascinating tales we learn why America is such a resilient nation and our Constitution a living document—lessons very powerful for today.”—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci “Fascinating, compelling and often alarming. With astonishing story after story, Jared Cohen chronicles the whole pageant of the unsteady, the unready and the unexpectedly capable. Nearly ten percent of our presidents succeeded because of the deaths of those who chose them mostly out of political expediency to be forgotten number twos. Will we luck out in the future with a surprising Harry Truman or with a wrecker like Andrew Johnson? In God we trust. But read Jared Cohen.” —Sidney Blumenthal, author of A Self-Made Man and Wrestling with His Angels“Thanks to Jared Cohen. The stories of eight accidental presidents are now all in one grand place. Cohen deserves a medal for performing this public service.” —Patricia O’Toole, author of The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made “History is the most contingent of enterprises, and little has proven more contingent than the nature of the American presidency. In this eloquent and often surprising book, Jared Cohen explores how fate has shaped the office–and all of us. In an age marked by widespread concerns about the character of the person who reaches the pinnacle (by whatever means), Cohen’s study is illuminating and resonant.””—Jon Meacham, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels “This is a fascinating prism through which to look at American history … It is a well written fast-paced book that is filled with interesting facts and insights. Anyone who is interested in American history will delight in it.” —Fareed Zakaria, CNN”A deep dive into the terms of eight former presidents is chock-full of political hijinks—and déjà vu … chapters flick at familiar themes: trust busting, scandal wrangling, and brawls that read like highbrow TMZ … The book is also a reminder that, when it came to succession, America’s founders basically winged it.” —Vanity Fair“One of the many insights to be found in Accidental Presidents is that history unfolds in death as well as in life.”—The Wall Street Journal”Pleasant reading for politics junkies, especially those keen on reading the political winds.”—Kirkus Reviews“Illuminating…[a] genuinely interesting history on a topic that has never been addressed in this depth.”—BooklistColorful…clear and engaging…confidently told.”—Publishers Weekly“Accidental Presidents is a compelling and comprehensive book of history that shines a light on unexplored corners of our history … In his typically engaging and gripping style, Jared Cohen tells us why it is not easy to amend the Constitution and why it should be amended. He explores the complexities of the American Constitution and politics as a gifted story-teller … It will resonate for a long time to come among the scholars and students of American history.”—Washington Review of Books“While much is known about the two successful accidentals, Roosevelt and Truman, and the partially-successful Lyndon, the latter Johnson, much of the book’s treasure lies in earlier, lesser known accidentals.”—New York Journal of Books”Every single sentence in this books counts.”—Fox News About the Author Jared Cohen is the founder and CEO of Jigsaw at Alphabet Inc. He also serves as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he ran Google Ideas at Google Inc. and served as chief advisor to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. From 2006 to 2010 he served as a member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff and as a close advisor to Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Accidental Presidents, The New Digital Age, Children of Jihad, and One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide. He lives in New York with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Not only do you learn about the different VPs that became presidents, you learn the history of what is happening at the time. It was a very interesting read and well written. It wasn’t dry by any means and kept my interest throughout.

⭐An assuredly not so small group exists that devour anything written about presidents. I belong to that group as does Jared Cohen, author of the recent book, “Accidental Presidents”. The book concerns not only the eight presidents who died in office, but more importantly, it is about the eight men who succeeded them. It’s informative and it gave me some new insights into some little pockets of history.Starting with the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841, Cohen introduces us to John Tyler, who had to fight off his label as “acting” president. He reminds us that there were some really bed apples along the way, most notably Andrew Johnson, but a couple of good ones, too…Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Some chapters are far better than others. One doesn’t think too much about Chester Arthur’s ascension, although he turned out surprisingly well, but there is barely an honorable mention about about Millard Fillmore. A mere eight or nine pages of prose about Fillmore left me wanting more. And I’m not sure I quite agree with Cohen’s offerings of savvy astuteness on the part of Calvin Coolidge following the death of President Harding.However, his chapter on Truman shines. It’s the best in the book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the correspondence between Truman and Elanor Roosevelt after Truman had been sworn in. Harry must have had a few choice Missouri words upon receipt of such letters where Eleanore offered direct and indirect advice about decisions that should be made in the Oval Office.I was disappointed that the author didn’t include a separate chapter on Gerald Ford. Yes, he does mention him in detail, but I disagree with his assumption that Ford’s rise was a “vastly different scenario.” Yes, his case is special in that Nixon didn’t die, but Ford really didn’t know he would become president until a couple of weeks before Nixon resigned, so his “preparation” was, in a large sense, no greater than that of Chester Arthur.Jared Cohen ends “Accidental Presidents” with a note on how he became interested in presidents. It’s a short, wonderful account and as a baby boomer myself, I can attest to my initial interests in the presidents when JFK ran against Nixon in 1960. I applaud the author’s book and recommend it to anyone who has a particular interest in presidential succession.

⭐Looking forward to reading this book. Reviews are good.

⭐I got the CD audio book to listen to while in the car and it doesn’t disappoint! VERY well researched book and a joy to listen to.

⭐Much is written about political considerations a presidential candidate makes, or should make, in selecting a VP running mate. But precious little attention is paid by the candidate, the party, or the press unless the candidate is manifestly unfit, as was the case with Senator John McCain’ selection. As Jared Cohen observes in his well crafted history of the topic, sometimes we (the USA) have gotten lucky through no fault of the president who dies, or the VP who assumes the burden of the highest office. Other times, it has been an unmitigated disaster, such as President Andrew Johnson, which had nothing to do with his impeachment. In many ways, we are still recovering from the damage done by his administration. Highly recommended!

⭐A well-written overview of the Vice Presidents who came to office following the President’s death. There’s pretty much one chapter per Vice President other than Truman who gets two (and is considered one of the few successful Vice Presidents). These are not comprehensive biographies, but reasonable summaries of each. It’s tough to write about such a broad range on a shortish book and the author makes a couple mistakes like confusing 19th Century Republican politician Thurlow Weed with 19th Century NY Democratic politician Boss Tweed in the Arthur chapter. Overall, good book.

⭐Wow! The things I never knew about these 8 guys who became our president! Knowing history is important and I thought i knew a little about the lives and performance of duty of most of our former presidents. Oh the things I did not know! To tell the truth, after reading this book, I am not as worried about our problems and our country’s survival today as I might have been before reading it. The cronyism, the lack of concern for the welfare of our country, the perception of the unimportance of the Vice President’s job and status, how little the VP was brought in on the affairs of state, and so many other historical factors that were revealed in this book. I really enjoyed reading it and greatly appreciate the tremendous amount of research that Jared Cohen conducted to get the facts he presented!

⭐Nice read. you learn just how close our nation came to having different precedence in succession and what those sudden changes in power meant for the trajectory of the country. Full of interesting facts and events as well as quotes and interviews to tell the stories. 8 men who took office due to a suddenly deceased president and how they handled it. Some of them went on to be elected for a full second term. Some of them barely survived themselves.

⭐Jacob Cohen’s accounts of the deaths of eight presidents and the men who succeeded them is superb and brings to life critical events in American history. Cohen’s writing style is remarkable, staying clear of burdening the reader with esoteric detail which is often found in books by more well-known presidential historians. This is a book which will stand the test of time – a must for university reading lists as well as the general reader.

⭐I wish this book had existed when I was going to school! Great analysis and lessons to draw from history,into the future.

⭐From start to finish, Accidental Presidents delivers a highly engaging and well researched account of the eight US Vice Presidents who assumed presidency, due to the death of their predecessors. Not only does this book deliver in presenting each story with page-turning interest, the content provides a remarkably relevant backdrop to our current political climate in 2019. A must read!

⭐Good book to read and very informative

⭐A good book.

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