Recapturing the Oval Office: New Historical Approaches to the American Presidency
Miller Center of Public Affairs Books
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Recapturing the Oval Office: New Historical Approaches to the American Presidency
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Narrated by:
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Doug Miller
About this listen
In Recapturing the Oval Office, leading historians and social scientists forge an agenda for returning the study of the presidency to the mainstream practice of history, and they chart how the study of the presidency can be integrated into historical narratives that combine rich analyses of political, social, and cultural history.
The authors demonstrate how "bringing the presidency back in" can deepen understanding of crucial questions regarding race relations, religion, and political economy. The contributors illuminate the conditions that have both empowered and limited past presidents, and thus show how social, cultural, and political contexts matter. By making the history of the presidency a serious part of the scholarly agenda in the future, historians have the opportunity to influence debates about the proper role of the president today.
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Critic reviews
"A much-needed and altogether excellent effort at addressing a major question in U.S. historical scholarship: where did the presidency go? A stellar cast of contributors take to the task with vigor and skill, and succeed ably in bridging the gap between presidential agency and the structural forces that have long been the primary concern of professional historians." (Fredrik Logevall, Harvard University)
"Recapturing the Oval Office is a delightful book of high literary merit that will have an important impact on the historical profession. I envy the subtlety and forthrightness with which it demolishes shibboleths and sets forth a new agenda for the next generation." (Elizabeth Cobbs, Hoover Institution and San Diego State University)