An ordinary man : the surprising life and historic presidency of Gerald R. Ford Cover Image

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An ordinary man : the surprising life and historic presidency of Gerald R. Ford / Richard Norton Smith.

Smith, Richard Norton, 1953- (author.).

Summary:

A preeminent presidential scholar examines the life of the thirty-eighth president from his hardscrabble childhood in Michigan to his years in Congress and efforts to guide the nation through its worst Constitutional crisis since the Civil War. Ford was an underrated leader whose tough decisions and personal decency look better with the passage of time. Illustrated with sixteen pages of black-and-white photos, this definitive biography, a decade in the making, will change history's views of a man whose warning about presidential arrogance ("God help the country") is more relevant than ever.

Record details

ISBN: 9780062684165
ISBN: 0062684167
Physical Description: x, 814 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2023]
Copyright: ©2023

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 715-783) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

A capacity for surprise -- Seven days in June -- pt. 1. Junior, 1912-1950 -- Secrets -- Luck and pluck -- Yale -- The view from the bridge -- Betty -- Time for a change -- pt. 2. Everybody's friend, 1950-1972 -- A modern Republican -- The middle of the road -- The congressman's congressman -- The Warren commission -- Holding the line -- The good soldier -- pt. 3. The replacement, June 1972-October 1974 -- Ahead of the curve -- "The worst job I ever had" -- "My God, this is going to change our whole life" -- Change and continuity -- The pardon -- Clearing the decks -- pt. 4. Riding the tiger, October 1974-December 1976 -- "Run over by history" -- A president in the making -- The cruelest month -- Starting over -- The dangerous summer -- "The cat has nine lives" -- The road to Kansas City -- I'm feeling good about America -- pt. 5. When is this retirement going to start? 1976-2006 -- Do what you can -- Lights in a tree -- "God help the country".