First Fathers: The Men Who Inspired Our Presidents
A compelling introduction to the fathers of America's presidents
After so much literature about first ladies and first families, here finally is a fascinating book focused on the fathers of our presidents. This lively and entertaining account of 44 disparate men reveals how they inspired, motivated, and influenced sons who ultimately ascended to the presidency. They include two who were themselves presidents, John Adams and George H. W. Bush, as well as two stepfathers, those of Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton. First Fathers captures the whole range of the American experience—from utter destitution to immense wealth, from enormous success to abject failure, unified by a common thread—the restless, ambitious, quintessentially American pursuit of happiness.

Harold I. Gullan, PhD (Philadelphia, PA), is a distinguished presidential scholar and the author of the highly praised Faith of Our Mothers, on the mothers of American presidents, and The Upset That Wasn't, on the dramatic 1948 election.
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First Fathers: The Men Who Inspired Our Presidents
A compelling introduction to the fathers of America's presidents
After so much literature about first ladies and first families, here finally is a fascinating book focused on the fathers of our presidents. This lively and entertaining account of 44 disparate men reveals how they inspired, motivated, and influenced sons who ultimately ascended to the presidency. They include two who were themselves presidents, John Adams and George H. W. Bush, as well as two stepfathers, those of Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton. First Fathers captures the whole range of the American experience—from utter destitution to immense wealth, from enormous success to abject failure, unified by a common thread—the restless, ambitious, quintessentially American pursuit of happiness.

Harold I. Gullan, PhD (Philadelphia, PA), is a distinguished presidential scholar and the author of the highly praised Faith of Our Mothers, on the mothers of American presidents, and The Upset That Wasn't, on the dramatic 1948 election.
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First Fathers: The Men Who Inspired Our Presidents

First Fathers: The Men Who Inspired Our Presidents

by Harold I. Gullan
First Fathers: The Men Who Inspired Our Presidents

First Fathers: The Men Who Inspired Our Presidents

by Harold I. Gullan

Paperback

$19.95 
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Overview

A compelling introduction to the fathers of America's presidents
After so much literature about first ladies and first families, here finally is a fascinating book focused on the fathers of our presidents. This lively and entertaining account of 44 disparate men reveals how they inspired, motivated, and influenced sons who ultimately ascended to the presidency. They include two who were themselves presidents, John Adams and George H. W. Bush, as well as two stepfathers, those of Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton. First Fathers captures the whole range of the American experience—from utter destitution to immense wealth, from enormous success to abject failure, unified by a common thread—the restless, ambitious, quintessentially American pursuit of happiness.

Harold I. Gullan, PhD (Philadelphia, PA), is a distinguished presidential scholar and the author of the highly praised Faith of Our Mothers, on the mothers of American presidents, and The Upset That Wasn't, on the dramatic 1948 election.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781684422258
Publisher: TURNER PUB CO
Publication date: 04/01/2004
Pages: 324
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

HAROLD I. GULLAN, PH.D., is the author if the critically acclaimed Faith of Our Mothers, a book about the mothers of American presidents, and The Upset That Wasn’t , a unique account of the dramatic 1948 victory of Harry S. Truman over Thomas E. Dewey. Following a successful career in advertising, Gullan returned to school to earn his doctorate in history, in 1988. Since that time, he has served as a visiting professor at four major universities, and has written and spoken extensively about the American experience.

Read an Excerpt

http://catalogimages.wiley.com/images/db/pdf/0471465976.excerpt.pdf

Table of Contents

Acknowledgmentsvii
By Way of Introductionix
1Fathers of Founders1
Augustine Washington
John Adams Sr.
Peter Jefferson
James Madison Sr.
Spence Monroe
2The First Line28
John Adams
3Dramatic Departure41
Andrew Jackson Sr.
Abraham Van Buren
4Patriots and Pioneers49
Benjamin Harrison V
John Tyler Sr.
Samuel Polk
Richard Taylor
Nathaniel Fillmore
Benjamin Pierce
James Buchanan Sr.
5Soil of Greatness84
Thomas Lincoln
6Ambition's Sterner Stuff97
Jacob Johnson
Jesse Root Grant
Rutherford Hayes Jr.
Abram Garfield
William Arthur
7"Tell the Truth"124
Richard Falley Cleveland
John Scott Harrison
William McKinley Sr.
8"One Must Live for the Living"140
Theodore Roosevelt Sr.
9"My Will Is the Better Man"150
Alphonso Taft
10"You Have Only to Persevere"160
Joseph Ruggles Wilson
11"I Hate to Go Away"170
George Tryon Harding II
John Calvin Coolidge
Jesse Clark Hoover
12"Most Generous and Kindly of Men"193
James Roosevelt
13From the Heart of America201
John Anderson Truman
David Jacob Eisenhower
14"We Don't Want Any Losers"213
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr.
15"A Man Who Loved His Fellow Man"227
Sam Ealy Johnson Jr.
16"He Hears the Trains Go By"234
Francis Anthony Nixon
Leslie Lynch King Sr.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Sr.
17"Why Not the Best?"249
James Earl Carter Sr.
John Edward Reagan
18"Duty and Service"262
Prescott Sheldon Bush
19"The Name Doesn't Matter"270
William Jefferson Blythe III
Roger Clinton
20"If You Need Me, I'm Here"277
George Herbert Walker Bush
In Conclusion285
Some Books I've Found Helpful287
Index299

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"First Fathers is a fascinating glimpse at the relationships our presidents have had with their fathers. It fills an important niche in the study of the American Presidency." —Susan Eisenhower, author of Mrs. Ike

"Picking up First Fathers, I started out reading about my own ancestors, but quickly became fascinated by everyone else's. Dr. Gullan has gone a long way toward humanizing our chief executives." —Clifton Truman Daniel, grandson of President Harry S Truman

"A valuable new perspective...Gullan rounds out our understanding of his subjects in compelling fashion." —Kermit Roosevelt, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania, and great great grandson of Theordore Roosevelt

"Gullan has taken an ingenious idea and followed through with it. Considering the importance of presidents of the United States, this is a book that everyone interested in the presidency-- and who is not? -- should have. The author knows the literature, writes exceedingly well, a first-rate combination." —Dr. Robert H. Ferrell, author of Harry S Truman: A Life

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