The American Presidency - by William G Howell

About the Book

"This incisive undergraduate textbook emphasizes the institutional sources of presidential power and executive governance, enabling students to think more clearly and systematically about the American presidency at a time when media coverage of the White House is awash in anecdotes and personalities. William Howell offers unparalleled perspective on the world's most powerful office, from its original design in the Constitution to its historical growth over time; its elections and transitions to governance; its interactions with Congress, the courts, and the federal bureaucracy; and its persistent efforts to shape public policy. Comprehensive in scope and rooted in the latest scholarship, The American Presidency is the perfect guide for studying the presidency at a time of acute partisan polarization and popular anxiety about the health and well-being of the republic. Focuses on the institutional structures that presidents must navigate, the incentives and opportunities that drive them, and the constraints they routinely confront; Shows how legislators, judges, bureaucrats, the media, and the broader public shape the contours and limits of presidential power; Encourages students to view the institutional presidency as not just an object of study, but as a way of thinking about executive politics; Highlights the lasting effects of important historical moments on the institutional presidency; Enables students to grapple with enduring themes of power, rules, norms, and organization that undergird democracy"--

Book Synopsis

How institutions shape the American presidency

This incisive undergraduate textbook emphasizes the institutional sources of presidential power and executive governance, enabling students to think more clearly and systematically about the American presidency at a time when media coverage of the White House is awash in anecdotes and personalities. William Howell offers unparalleled perspective on the world's most powerful office, from its original design in the Constitution to its historical growth over time; its elections and transitions to governance; its interactions with Congress, the courts, and the federal bureaucracy; and its persistent efforts to shape public policy. Comprehensive in scope and rooted in the latest scholarship, The American Presidency is the perfect guide for studying the presidency at a time of acute partisan polarization and popular anxiety about the health and well-being of the republic.

• Focuses on the institutional structures that presidents must navigate, the incentives and opportunities that drive them, and the constraints they routinely confront
• Shows how legislators, judges, bureaucrats, the media, and the broader public shape the contours and limits of presidential power
• Encourages students to view the institutional presidency as not just an object of study but a way of thinking about executive politics
• Highlights the lasting effects of important historical moments on the institutional presidency
• Enables students to grapple with enduring themes of power, rules, norms, and organization that undergird democracy

Review Quotes

"A valuable reference for anyone interested in the highest political office in the land. . . . this textbook offers a more incisive and balanced examination of this elected office."---Jerry D. Lenaburg, New York Journal of Books

About the Author

William G. Howell is the Sydney Stein Professor in American Politics at the University of Chicago, where he is director of the Center for Effective Government and cohost of Not Another Politics Podcast. He has taught courses on the American presidency for more than twenty years, and his many books include Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy; The Wartime President; and Power without Persuasion (Princeton).