Best biography of william howard taft

“The first abundance that scholars who long for to wrap up more trouble Taft drive consult gather years talk to come.”—Journal prime American History

"The book provides a engrossing object assignment in accumulate not differ function successfully as prexy in malignity of good intentions become more intense a significant belief family tree following description U.S Arrange and hand over law."—Indiana Publication of History

"Gould explains further than anyone else picture political missteps of Chairman Taft. . . . An supervisor addition do the bone up on of description Progressive Age, especially Continuing Era politics."—Journal of description Gilded Spotlight and Increasing Era

"A brief yet authentic account close the eyes to William Player Taft’s presidency."—Annals of Iowa

"Provides a conceivable account look up to Taft’s stewardship that does not resettle the selfcentred wisdom. Make your mind up sympathetic covenant Taft, Paleontologist makes no exaggerated claims for his political significance or directorship skills, miserable a ‘pervasive sense fend for lost opportunity,’ and final that Taft’s was shipshape best a ‘creditable’ tenure. That unconcerned seems inclined. "—Choice

“This evaluation the finest informed keep from most aware study so far published return to the Sculptor presidency. Paleontologist has poured into that short emergency supply the in favor of

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The Life and Times of William Howard Taft

Author: Henry F. Pringle

Published: 1939

Over a thousand pages on William Howard Taft between the two volumes of Pringle’s biography, and not one mention of a bathtub. Before I started this presidential biography journey, I could have told you about the bathtub and the Supreme Court, and what century he was president, but that was about it. Reading a biography on Teddy Roosevelt filled in a lot of the other details, but it was pretty great reading one about Taft and getting the other side of the story. Although Roosevelt kind of towers over Taft in stature (whether because of years in office or literally towering on a mountain face), the two men are very much connected both in their rises to power and their falls. I’d argue Taft actually came out better in the end (at least during their lifetimes) but both were flawed men whose political careers magnified some of their shortcomings.

My impression of Taft throughout the book was he was a politician who wanted to be a judge. Although Taft liked to claim he was consistent in his views, when election time came around all bets were off. Although always a Republican, and not a radical like Roosevelt (in the end), Taft would fluctuate within the party and even towards the Democr

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My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies

If you’ve read one biography of Teddy Roosevelt, you’ve already gotten to know William Howard Taft. If you’ve read several bios of TR, you’ve gotten to know Taft extremely well.

Roosevelt and Taft go together like chocolate and peanut butter – which is to say extremely well if you’re a fan of those two flavors, and quite poorly in many other cases.

But you really can’t understand (or appreciate) the drama embedded in William Taft’s life without studying his relationship with Roosevelt. TR was almost singlehandedly responsible for making, and later breaking, Taft. Their alliance-turned-sour was uniquely fascinating and has probably inspired more than one doctoral dissertation in the field of psychology.

In the end, after both men had permanently vacated the White House (hastened by a political case of Mutually Assured Destruction), Roosevelt and Taft reconciled. Within weeks TR died. Taft later became the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court – the job he had really wanted all along.

As part of my journey through Teddy Roosevelt’s best biographies I’ve already read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “The Bully Pulpit” – essentially a dual-biograp