Coolidge

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Overview

Calvin Coolidge never rated highly in polls, and history has remembered the decade in which he served as an extravagant period predating the Great Depression. Now Amity Shlaes provides a fresh look at the 1920s and our elusive thirtieth president. Coolidge reveals a triumphant period in which the nation electrified, Americans drove their first cars, and the federal deficit was replaced with a surplus—and the little-known man behind it.

Though dismissed as quiet and passive, Coolidge proved unafraid to take on the divisive issues of this crucial period: reining in public-sector unions, unrelentingly curtailing spending, and rejecting funding for new interest groups. Perhaps more than any other president, he understood that doing less could yield more, reducing the federal budget even as the economy grew, wages rose, taxes fell, and unemployment dropped.

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What People Are Saying

Alan Greenspan

“History has paid little attention to the achievements of Coolidge because he seemed to be unduly passive. Yet Amity Shlaes, as his biographer, exposes the heroic nature of the man and brings to life one of the most vibrant periods in American economic history.”

Paul Ryan

“Coolidge is a welcome new biography of a great American president. Amity Shlaes shines fresh light on a leader of humble persistence who unexpectedly found himself in the presidency and whose faith in the American people helped restore prosperity during a period of great turmoil. Amidst today’s economic hardships and an uncertain future, Shlaes illuminates a path forward — making Coolidge a must-read for policymakers and citizens alike.”

George F. Will

“To read Amity Shlaes’s well-crafted biography is to understand why Reagan so admired the famously reticent man whom Shlaes calls ‘our great refrainer.’”

Paul Volcker

“Amity Shlaes’s new biography carries a different and highly relevant message. . . . Read Coolidge, and better understand the forces bearing on the President and Congress almost a century later.”

Anne Applebaum

“Amity Shlaes’s extraordinary biography describes how a single politician can change an entire political culture — a story with plenty of echoes today. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, doyenne of the Washington salons, first disdained Coolidge, then admired him. After reading Coolidge, every reader will, too.”

Mark Helprin

“A marvelous book that is in many respects as subtle and powerful as Coolidge himself. Shlaes’s masterly command of economics, policy, and personal portraiture illustrates the times, talents, character, and courage of the consummate New Englander.”

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Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

He was nicknamed "Silent Cal"; his supporters were urged to "Keep Cool with Coolidge": The signature tone of our 30th President was so low key that even his contemporaries sometimes dismissed as a relative nonentity. That dismissive attitude might change with this new biography by journalist/author Amity Shaes (The Forgotten Man). In Coolidge, she argues that what this mild-mannered Massachusetts lawyer and government lacked in charisma; he gained in effectiveness and honest resolve. In her view, he deserves ample credit for presiding over pre-Depression prosperity and political stability. A presidential life certain to win wide attention in this new era of fierce economic debates.

Publishers Weekly

Reading perceived weaknesses as strengths and persistent setbacks as evidence of perseverance, journalist Shlaes (The Forgotten Man) glowingly portrays Coolidge as an unappreciated economic hero. Born in Vermont in 1872, Coolidge studied law in Northampton, Mass., married schoolteacher Grace Goodhue, and doggedly climbed the Republican political ladder. From governor of Massachusetts to vice president and then president of the United States, Coolidge distanced himself from the progressive elements of his party; he championed low taxes, small government, and commerce as the foundations of prosperity. Shlaes writes with crisp, engaging prose, and her keen eye for detail is rooted in a solid collection of source material. But the story's unrelenting linear trajectory bounces between such disparate topics as tax policies, maple syrup, and aviation with little indication of the degree of importance. Shlaes's reluctance to critically analyze Coolidge's political policies and actions is especially evident in her avoidance of delving into what Coolidge may have known about the Harding scandals and about weaknesses in the economy. Shlaes successfully shows, through clear explanations of Coolidge's fiscal policies, why modern-day conservatives should consider him an economic hero, but she fails to illuminate what it meant for all Americans to Keep Cool with Coolidge during the complex 1920s. 16-page b&w photo insert. Agents: Sarah Chalfant, Scott Moyers, Adam Eaglin, and Andrew Wylie, the Wylie Agency. (Feb.)

Kirkus Reviews

President from 1923 to 1929, Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) is traditionally dismissed as an honorable mediocrity, but journalist Shlaes (The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, 2007, etc.) argues that he was better than that. The author makes a convincing case, but readers who don't share her conservative views may not agree that he was superior to FDR, whom she skewered in The Forgotten Man. Raised in rural Vermont, Coolidge practiced law in Massachusetts. His celebrated New England reserve describes him accurately, but he was popular and flourished in Republican state politics. Progressive at first, he steadily grew less so, backing William Howard Taft against Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. As governor, he achieved national fame and the vice presidency by crushing the 1919 Boston police strike. Taking over after President Warren Harding's death, Coolidge set to work reducing federal taxes, expenses and personnel. By contemporary standards, he was a moderate. His opposition to business regulation and social programs provoked only modest controversy. Times were prosperous, and he got the credit and became very popular. Clearly an admirer, Shlaes stresses that, under Coolidge, the budget was balanced, tax cuts reduced the top rate by half, the national debt fell, and unemployment remained below five percent. Wages rose and interest rates fell, as well, so the poor had jobs and could borrow money more easily. Most historians portray the 1920s as a simpler time, but the author maintains that Coolidge's hands-off, minimal government, free-market approach remains ideal. Republican VP candidate Paul Ryan provides an enthusiastic endorsement, and like-minded readers will find Shlaes' well-researched but highly opinionated biography deeply satisfying.

Alan Greenspan

George F. Will

“To read Amity Shlaes's well-crafted biography is to understand why Reagan so admired the famously reticent man whom Shlaes calls ‘our great refrainer.'”

Anne Applebaum

“Amity Shlaes's extraordinary biography describes how a single politician can change an entire political culture — a story with plenty of echoes today. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, doyenne of the Washington salons, first disdained Coolidge, then admired him. After reading Coolidge, every reader will, too.”

Mark Helprin

“A marvelous book that is in many respects as subtle and powerful as Coolidge himself. Shlaes's masterly command of economics, policy, and personal portraiture illustrates the times, talents, character, and courage of the consummate New Englander.”

Paul Ryan

“Coolidge is a welcome new biography of a great American president. Amity Shlaes shines fresh light on a leader of humble persistence who unexpectedly found himself in the presidency and whose faith in the American people helped restore prosperity during a period of great turmoil. Amidst today's economic hardships and an uncertain future, Shlaes illuminates a path forward — making Coolidge a must-read for policymakers and citizens alike.”

Paul Volcker

“Amity Shlaes's new biography carries a different and highly relevant message. . . . Read Coolidge, and better understand the forces bearing on the President and Congress almost a century later.”

The Wall Street Journal

“Timely and important. . . . The research is exhaustive, and the political and economic analysis sound.”

The New York Times Book Review -- Editor's Choice

“With a deft finger on today’s conservative pulse, Shlaes portrays Calvin Coolidge as a paragon of a president by virtue of his small-government policies.”

USA Today

“Amity Shlaes's rich new biography reminds us that Calvin Coolidge must not be forgotten in our era of staggering government deficits and poisoned political rhetoric. . . . A finely muted drama.”

The Economist

“America's 30th president has been much misunderstood. . . . Shlaes's biography provides a window onto an unfairly tarnished period. It deserves to be widely read.”

Editor's Choice - The New York Times Book Review

"With a deft finger on today’s conservative pulse, Shlaes portrays Calvin Coolidge as a paragon of a president by virtue of his small-government policies."

Thomas Mallon

“Shlaes impresses readers with the single-mindedness of Coolidge's pursuit. . . . For the next decade or so, it may be Amity Shlaes who has custody of Coolidge's reputation.”

The Weekly Standard

“Amity Shlaes's new biography ushers in a long-overdue rehabilitation of the 30th president. . . . Coolidge is a compelling, endlessly rewarding, and persuasive contribution to historical scholarship.”

The New York Times Book Review  Editor's Choice

“With a deft finger on today's conservative pulse, Shlaes portrays Calvin Coolidge as a paragon of a president by virtue of his small-government policies.”

Library Journal

Calvin Coolidge is one of our most hazily remembered presidents. He was reserved but strong willed and a man of conviction. Shlaes (syndicated columnist, Bloomberg View; The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression) shows that there are lessons in Coolidge's time as chief executive for how a determined president can cut the budget if he tries. Coolidge, a flinty Vermonter, moved to Massachusetts to practice law. His quiet intelligence got him elected to a series of offices, including the top one. As Massachusetts governor, he put down the Boston police strike, during which the police attempted to hold the government hostage. That got him national press, the vice presidency, and, upon President Harding's death in 1923, the White House. VERDICT In spite of Coolidge's seeming inscrutable nature, Shlaes does an excellent job of bringing him to life. Her book is accessible but scholarly. Its bibliographical essay is an excellent guide for further reading. A good biography of a president undergoing historical reassessment; recommended.—Michael O. Eshleman, Hobbs, NM

Library Journal

Director of the George W. Bush Institute's economic growth project and author of the New York Times best-selling The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, Shlaes presents our 30th President as a model to emulate during these economically stressed times. One biography that might provoke fierce discussion in book clubs; with a one-day laydown on June 26 and a 150,000-copy first printing.

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Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780061967559
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 2/12/2013
Pages: 565
Sales rank: 10,713
Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 2.20 (d)

Meet the Author

Amity Shlaes writes a syndicated column for Bloomberg View and directs the Four Percent Growth Project at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Forgotten Man and The Greedy Hand. Shlaes chairs the jury of the Manhattan Institute's Hayek Book Prize and has won both the Hayek and the Bastiat Prize for Journalism. She is a trustee of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation.

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Coolidge

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Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews

Alan Greenspan

George F. Will

Anne Applebaum

Mark Helprin

Paul Ryan

Paul Volcker

The Wall Street Journal

The New York Times Book Review -- Editor's Choice

USA Today

The Economist

Editor's Choice - The New York Times Book Review

Thomas Mallon

The Weekly Standard

The New York Times Book Review &#151; Editor's Choice

Library Journal

Library Journal

Product Details

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

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The current administration should read this book.

Timely book that that dispells some myths about Coolidge and his

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Highly recomended

DO NOT TRUST SAME DAY DELIVERY IN MANHATTAN

Available on NOOK devices and apps

Nook Devices

NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet

NOOK

NOOK Color

NOOK Tablet

Tablet/Phone

NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet

NOOK for iOS

NOOK for Android

NOOK Kids for iPad

PC/Mac

NOOK for Windows 8

NOOK for PC

NOOK for Mac

NOOK Study

The New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice