Description
Description
Inspiring stories of six US presidents and the distinctive leadership characteristics that set them apart and transformed America.
Finalist for the 2024 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the History category
The histories presented here are of a select group of US presidents, their inspired leadership characteristics, and how they may inspire us today. The traits these presidents possessed were cultivated over a lifetime of lived experience and immortalized through the power of the presidential word-speeches, letters, and addresses-which collectively represent the most transcendent documents in American history. Viewed through the lens of nuance, complication, human emotion, pathos, and drama, William Haldeman sets forth the lives of these presidents in ways to help inform our own lives, from leveraging our experience and instincts to making the right calls when they matter the most. Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, Haldeman appeals to both scholars and general audience readers alike, offering a refreshing view of presidential leadership that not only elevates leadership as a central part of the scholarly field, but also broadly engages American presidency enthusiasts and readers of history, biography, politics, and leadership development.
About the Author
About the Author
William Haldeman is Vice Chancellor and Chief Strategy Officer at the University of Pittsburgh. He has also served the White House Domestic Policy Council, two US secretaries of state, and as a senior staff member to a state governor.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"Engaging and highly readable, Meeting the Moment offers crossover appeal to scholars and general interest readers. Well sourced and objectively presented, it offers a stimulating analysis of presidential leadership and how good character traits applied at crucial times improved America and helped make good presidents great presidents." - The Epoch Times
"Haldeman offers a fresh, vibrant, and highly readable perspective on presidential leadership through situational and biographical analyses of key presidential decision points, examining and comparing qualities of presidential character permitting selected presidents to be successful, persuasively arguing that no flawless or indisputable set of characteristics distinguishes presidential greatness but, rather, that singular qualities and circumstances combine to produce history-changing or 'transformative' outcomes." - James Hilty, Professor Emeritus, Temple University, author of Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector
"In these perilous, highly polarized times, we can benefit from a historically grounded work that offers an informed, impartial analysis of exceptional presidential leadership. Bill Haldeman fills that need with his thoroughly researched, persuasively argued analysis of the inspired leadership exhibited by many of our most esteemed presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan." - Allan J. Lichtman, Distinguished Professor of History, American University, and the author of Predicting the Next President: The Keys to the White House
"America's success still depends on presidential leadership, and Bill Haldeman powerfully shows us how some prior chief executives used their talents and character to step up the pace of progress. We will only rarely have the privilege of electing a Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, or Roosevelt, but we can and should examine candidates for the White House using Haldeman's criteria for excellence in office- judgment, ingenuity, dedication, courage, confidence, and optimism. Voters can raise the bar of presidential quality by focusing on these dimensions of the soul." - Larry J. Sabato, Professor, University of Virginia; Director, Center for Politics at the University of Virginia
"Meeting the Moment should be of interest to both scholars within multiple disciplines as well as general interest readers. Haldeman brings real-world experience within government, along with his academic training, to provide a fascinating assessment of times of crisis and how six presidents rose to meet them. The inclusion of 'traditional' presidents such a Washington and Lincoln as well as 'modern' presidents such as FDR and Reagan enhances the book's appeal." - Lori Cox Han, coeditor of In the Public Domain: Presidents and the Challenges of Public Leadership
"Meeting the Moment is a profoundly insightful and engagingly written study of presidential leadership. William Haldeman scrutinizes six of our most important presidents-Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan -and demonstrates that through character and long experience each had acquired and honed a leadership quality essential for effectively meeting the supreme challenge of his time. The essential quality varied from president to president, but each possessed a key attribute that inspired others to follow and enabled the leader to successfully confront national adversity and crisis. This important book is a worthy contribution to the study of presidential greatness." - John Ferling, author of Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778-1781
"Bill Haldeman's book offers engaging stories on how American presidents-at pivotal moments and national crises-put to work some of the best qualities of leadership. Embodying these qualities, their compellin
Publishing Information
Publishing Information

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