"Imagine you have just been elected president. You are now commander-in-chief, chief executive, chief diplomat, chief legislator, chief of party, chief voice of the people, first responder, chief priest, and world leader. You're expected to fulfill your campaign promises, but you're also expected to solve the urgent crises of the day. What's on your to-do list? Where would you even start? The American presidency is in trouble. It has become overburdened,...

" Although the framers gave the president little authority, George Washington knew whatever he did would set precedents for generations of future leaders. To ensure their ability to defend the nation, he simply ignored the Constitution when he thought itnecessary. In a revealing new look at the birth of American government, "Mr. President" describes Washington's presidency in a time of continual crisis, as rebellion and attacks by foreign enemies...

"A crucial new big-picture framework that answers the question of how liberty flourishes in some states but falls to authoritarianism or anarchy in others--and explains how it can continue to thrive despite new threats"-- The most fundamental definition of liberty is that people are free from violence, intimidation, and other demeaning acts. Acemoglu and Robinson examine how and why human societies have achieved liberty-- or failed to achieve it....

Evaluates Lincoln's talents as a commander in chief in spite of limited military experience, tracing the ways in which he worked with, or against, his senior commanders to defeat the Confederacy and reshape the presidential role.

A former presidential advisor to Bill Clinton, Dick Morris argues that Obama has gone well beyond any previous president in extending executive power and asserts that Obama has embarked on an outrageous and sweeping scheme to decisively -- and illegally -- grab power away from Congress, the Courts, and the States to appropriate it to himself.