Power and constraint

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Dana D. Nelson

"Throughout our history, Americans have been simultaneously inspired and seduced by the American presidency and concerned about the misuse of presidential power - from the time of Lincoln, Wilson, and FDR to Nixon, Reagan, and George W. Bush - as a grave threat to the United States. In Bad for Democracy, Dana D. Nelson goes beyond blaming particular presidents for jeopardizing the delicate balance of the Constitution to argue that it is the office of the presidency itself that endangers the great American experiment." "This urgent book reveals the futility of placing all of our hopes for the future in the American president and encourages citizens to create a politics of deliberation, action, and agency. Arguing for a return of the balance of power - both symbolically and in practice - to all the branches of government, Nelson ultimately calls on Americans to change our own course and imagine a democracy that we, the people, lead together."--BOOK JACKET.

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Gleaves Whitney

"The volume is prefaced by a detailed introduction discussing the importance of the valedictory address and the power of presidential rhetoric, and each speech is preceded by a brief contextualizing statement. In the last official words of each president, readers will find cautions, hopes, and suggestions relevant for today's world and future generations. American Presidents is an invaluable reference, especially for scholars of the presidency, but also for anyone interested in the history, politics, and culture of the United States."--BOOK JACKET.

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Norman Vieira and Leonard Gross

"Norman Vieira and Leonard Gross provide an in-depth analysis of the political and legal framework surrounding the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominees." "President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court met with a fierce opposition that was apparent in his confirmation hearings, which were different in many ways from those of any previous nominee." "This behind-the-scenes view of the politics and personalities involved in the Bork confirmation controversy provides a framework for future debates regarding the confirmation process. To help establish that framework, Vieira and Gross examine the similarities as well as the differences between the Bork confirmation battle and other confirmation proceedings for Supreme Court nominees."--BOOK JACKET.

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Stanley Karnow

This book is an account of America's imperial experience in the Philippines from 1898 to 1946. Stanley Karnow, author of Vietnam: A History, has now written an enthralling account of an almost forgotten subject: America's imperial experience in the Philippines. Panoramic in scope, profound in its perceptions and compassionate in its human portraits, In Our Image is an exciting, heroic, tragic, colorful and often comic narrative drawn from many hitherto unpublished documents as well as hundreds of interviews with American and Filipino participants. Above all, its brilliant descriptions and analysis of this important chapter in American history holds lessons for the present and future. No other book on the subject is as comprehensive. - Jacket flap.