William Howard Taft

The American Presidents Series: The 27th President, 1909-1913

By: Jeffrey Rosen, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Sean Wilentz

Narrated by: David Colacci

William Howard Taft never wanted to be president and yearned instead to serve as chief justice of the United States. But despite his ambivalence about politics, the former federal judge found success in the executive branch as governor of the Philippines and secretary of war, and he won a resounding victory in the presidential election of 1908 as Theodore Roosevelt's handpicked successor.

In this provocative assessment, Jeffrey Rosen reveals Taft's crucial role in shaping how America balances populism against the rule of law. Taft approached each decision as president by asking whether it comported with the Constitution, seeking to put Roosevelt's activist executive orders on firm legal grounds. But unlike Roosevelt, who thought the president could do anything the Constitution didn't forbid, Taft insisted he could do only what the Constitution explicitly allowed. This led to a dramatic breach with Roosevelt in the historic election of 1912.

Nine years later, Taft achieved his lifelong dream when President Warren Harding appointed him chief justice, and during his years on the Court he promoted consensus among the justices and transformed the judiciary into a modern, fully equal branch. Though he had chafed in the White House as a judicial president, he thrived as a presidential chief justice.

©2018 Jeffrey Rosen (P)2018 Tantor

The Reluctant President

This balanced portrayal of Taft also offers important insights into TR, Wilson, and the danger of demagoguery from both ends of the political spectrum.

Such bias!

honestly, this book became so biased that I didn't know how much of it to believe. The author so blatantly inserted his own political views that I now question the validity of the story he is telling.

A great brief history of Taft

I thought it was a great brief summary of Taft. It was definitely brief and was not as detailed as some of the other biographies I have read, but it covered a wide range of issues. My opinion is, they spent too much time talking about the quarrel between him and Roosevelt.

Instructive For Our Times

I greatly enjoyed the author’s ability to explore the two Tafts. One is the judicial Chief Executive. The other is the Presidential Chief Justice. Outstanding!

Brisk and compelling

It’s a good quick listen if shallow it’s effective and efficient. I liked it quite a bit.