Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan Paperback – March 1, 1991

Great Product

Neustadt makes one key argument as it relates to presidential power. Namely, presidential power "is the power to persuade." Neustadt argues that the President does not have an unlimited bounty of power; on the contrary, he argues that the chief executive must treat each decision as a trade-off, for his political capital is expended after every chief decision. Thus, especially given the intense media scrutiny and partisanship of the present, each decision has ramifications that either, very temporarily if at all, enhance the president's capital or permanently erase that capital. As Neustadt argues, the president cannot largely regain capital. This is evidenced by the presidencies of LBJ and Carter, in particular.All in all, this is a must-read for any scholar of the American presidency. This book has been read by every President in office since its publication as a lesson to those in power that each decision carries consequences. While you may not agree with the weak executive theory nor believe that this book still holds true half a century after its original publication, the fact remains that this still is a valuable insight into the modern presidency and should be treated as such. Don't get me wrong, this book is not a leisure read; it's incredibly dry, but you can feel the knowledge and understanding entering you as you read it.

I just got my book and I am so happy. Ordered it Tuesday and got it Thursday. That was very fast and I really appreciate it. The book is in order, absolutely nothing wrong with it.

While I usually study comparative politics and international relations, I've been on this bizarre United States Presidents kick this summer. Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents is considered a classic within the American politics subfield--specifically the study of US Presidents.At the time Neustadt was writing there was this linear image of the President making a decision on some matter of policy and then marshaling the resources to carry it out. The basic argument of the book is that this image of the President is flawed as few examples of this type of presidential leadership exist. The President to act as ultimate decider on policy actions is constrained by things like Congress, his own prestige and ability to persuade, and the competing interests within his own administrationI thought that Presidential Power gave a more realistic and less idealized view of presidential decision-making. I'd like to deal with two criticisms: the focus on policy failures and the perhaps outdated nature of the argument. Some people have taken issue with the focus on policy failures. Well, we often learn more about a president from his failures then his successes. If one looks only at success then are we really getting an accurate view of leadership?The second criticism is that the argument is outdated as Presidents seem to have taken more powers upon themselves from the 1990's onward with Congress and others playing less of the role articulated by Neustadt in the pages of this book. While I was tempted to agree thinking about the Clinton and Bush administrations, couldn't we say that elements of Neustadt's logic help explain the current governmental dysfunction evidenced by the battles between the Obama White House and Congress?A thought provoking thesis on the nature of American presidential leadership that should be read by political science students of all disciplines.

A compelling update to what might be the most important book about the Presidency

what I wanted

The first edition of this book, which I read as an undergraduate, will always make the top ten list of books that have influenced my life. I ordered the 1990 edition to bring me up to date before I give a speech that refers to the book. Sadly, the paperback is poorly printed. I believe it is a poorly performed optical scan of the hard-cover edition. Or it may be printed on cheap, absorbent paper that allows the ink to bleed. Or probably both. The edges of the type are soft and tend to plug up, especially in the bold face. The ink is a dark gray, not black. All this will make for a less pleasant reading experience. There is a random, faded image or smudge on the title page and another one on the back cover that I am guessing resulted from careless stacking of the folios before the book was bound, and there are other smudges on the outside edges of the pages.

A classic necessity of any presidential scholar.

Great book : v interesting

very good

It was tough to even get through the first chapter. All the examples cited were from the current events in 1950-60. I moved on to another book after a couple days of reading.

As if it were untouched.

Absolutely essential reading for any student of American politics & political history. In addition, the book can be considered as something of a bible for those seeking to understand the nature of power and influence. The language is, understandably, a bit less accessible than some more recent publications, but don't let that put you off - it is worth the effort.